100 Illustrated Horror Film Posters: Part 1, and Part 2. Some truly stunning, every one of them worth at least a quick look.
I’m especially fond of this type of poster. When I was young they fascinated me and got my imagination going like few other things. As I got older and got to see the actual films I discovered that my imagination was a lot more entertaining and scary than the real thing. But the posters are still magic to me.
And here is a quick reminder that the whole 3D horror film thing is hardly new.
With 26 posters being released at once it will be no surprise that most of them aren’t particularly remarkable. But the effect of seeing them all one after another is pretty strong. Each poster hints at one aspect of this magical world the film will show us, and by the 26th I found myself quite intrigued by all the strange things that are apparently happening in it.
Adding that to the novelty of all these posters being shown in all these sites and I’m willing to say this marketing effort is a success.
The posters for Tyler Perry’s movies are one of this site’s obsessions. So I just have to post the latest one.
But even if I didn’t have to, I would do it anyway. Keeping with the tradition this early poster is beautiful and restrained, and feels and looks different from most of the other posters you are likely to see nowadays. Also, I’m a sucker for smoke effects.
That said, this is sort of an oddly dark poster. Tyler Perry’s brand basically means two things for me: humor and heart-warming sentimentality (and I mean that in the best way possible). This seems to lack both of those elements, and I wonder if this is a reflection of the movie’s tone or just a reflection of an over eager attempt to keep the poster clean and sophisticated.
IGN released a few days ago this very entertaining list written by Jay Hainsworth of what they deem to be The Top 25 Comic Book Movie Posters. Some of the longtime readers might notice that many posters from this old post make an appearance. Which probably tells you more about the scarcity of great comic book posters than it tells about mine or Jay’s taste.
They do go with different choices for number one (seen above), although it is sort of a variation on the choice I made. But I have to admit that looking back I probably agree with them.
However, you know what I really don’t like about this list? Two. Freaking. Posters. Per. Page. For a total of 13 pages. 13! I understand the urge to increase the page views, but this is just ridiculous guys.
I guess the idea of this poster is to draw attention to the 3D effect but still produce a creepy poster that feels like the poster for a serious horror movie. I like the idea, but I’m not sure the execution works all that well. The 3D aspect is much more muted than it was in the last poster, but when compared to modern horror posters I don’t think this comes out as particularly scary. the poster ends up being neither here nor there.
So, what should they do different to sell this movie? I’m not sure. I really don’t know how you sell a 3D horror movie well. I’m not even sure you can. Is this something people are really interested in? If so, who exactly? And why? I don’t know the answer to any of these questions, and that makes it hard for me to think of a good marketing strategy.
If 3D does indeed become a a normal way of seeing films, and that does seem likely, we will eventually come to a better understanding of how to market these films, and we will probably develop a whole visual vocabulary from which to draw from which is relevant to this day and age. But right now, and for at least the next couple of years, I think we will see a lot of trial and error. Emphasis on the error.
This weekend I ended up watching a fair chunk of Krull, which reminded me of just how much I liked this one back when I was a child. A truly under appreciated gem of a fantasy movie if you ask me.
The posters, unfortunately, aren’t anything to write home about. Typical and uninspired eighties fair and one of a million posters for a sci-fi/fantasy movie menacingly showcasing a planet seen from space. The sheer inventiveness and wonder of the movie aren’t really captured in any of them.
But I’m feeling nostalgic enough to make me post the anyway.
I have to admit, the Terminator’s face emerging from the destroyed remains of a city is one of the coolest poster images I have seen this year. A very good idea expertly executed in this case.
And this flash “moving” version makes the whole thing even better. I wonder how long it will take until motion posters of this kind become something we see commonly on theater lobbies?
I’m kind of surprised at how much weight the Terminator brand still carries with me, and with how good the marketing materials for this film have been. Considering the director of Salvation is the infamous McG I’m keeping my hopes down. But as it turns out I sure would love one more great Terminator film.
MoviePosterAddict 