It’s too early to tell how the year will pan out in terms of horror movies. We still have “Let the Right One In” coming this month, which has been hailed as one of the most effective genre movies of the past decade. And we’ve got “Quarantine” opening soon, a remake of the Spanish film [rec]. And then there’s “Saw V,” “Passengers” and “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” (that one rolls right off the tongue, don’t it?)
But it’s not too soon to take a look at how the year is shaping up in movie posters for horror films. Sure, movie posters really never seem to affect how well horror movies do. But I still love ‘em, and nothing whets my appetite for a horror film more than a chilling poster that burns itself into my retinas for all eternity. So let’s take a look at this year’s best horror movie posters thus far….
Shrooms
Sure, we know you probably haven’t seen this. This one went straight to DVD. But come on! How can you not love this poster! Great image. Great tagline. Huge kudos to whomever designed this one. It’s simultaneously so wrong and so right.
More sweet horror posters of 2008 after the jump….
The Ruins
Two companion posters for this one. Quite simply, one of the most beautifully horrific posters in recent memory (particularly the one featuring the face). Deeply disturbing. While horror movie buffs were divided on the film, I found the movie incredibly chilling (like the novel it’s based on) and I thought the poster campaign remains 2008’s strongest.
The Eye
Another stunner. An absolutely brilliant representation in a single image of what’s going on with the movie. I’m sure it was tempting to simply slap Jessica Alba’s beautiful face on a poster and hope for the best. So props to the studio for taking a riskier approach with the poster, and creating an image that is creepy as hell without being disgusting.
Cloverfield
Love or hate the movie, you can’t deny that this image had fanboys and fangirls everywhere drooling to be there on opening night. (And trust me, I was first in line). Another clever campaign that hit on all cylinders.
One Missed Call
Another remake of an Asian horror film (one of many in 2008), this one had a suitably bizarre poster that takes a second glance to see what’s going on. And while I preferred the original film (from Takashi Miike) I’ll give the edge to the U.S. poster.
Untraceable
The final poster for this Diane Lane thriller was somewhat generic, but this teaser poster that came out early was a cute idea — the screen of the computer is a mirrored paper that shows your reflection (kinda). Fits the theme of the film perfectly and does something unique.
Stuck
Stuart Gordon’s sick, twisted, hilarious, chilling horror-comedy was one of the unexpected genre critical hits of the year (71% at Rotten Tomatoes). Given that it’s based on the 2001 true story of the woman who ends up with a man in her windshield after hitting him with her car — only to wait for him to die rather than get him help — the tabloid movie poster is awesome. And if you haven’t seen the movie, check it out — it’s a wild, unpredictable ride that’s surprisingly smart.
Blindness
Man, I love this poster. The eye-chart layout is another one of those ideas that seems so obvious — and yet, I know I wouldn’t have thought of it myself in a million years.
What did I miss? Any other posters that caught your eye this year?
I hate to be a complete dork, but [rec] is a Spanish horror movie for people looking for it. Again, sorry and a great list of cool posters.
You are TOTALLY right. I fixed my post. Had my mind on The Eye and One Missed Call. Great catch – I fixed my mistake. In fact, I haven’t seen [rec] yet but have it at home ready to watch (since I always prefer to see the original before the remake).
Again, great catch, and thanks! Sorry about that.
No worries. I have been dying to see the original since first reading about it. I was thinking how almost all the best posters came from average to below average to craptacular movies, oh well.