Pages

▼

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Tuesday Top 10: Favorite Horror Movie Posters

It's Tuesday, and that means two things: a top 10 list on The Vault of Horror, and a terrible poster on Day of the Woman. Well, this week, to counterbalance the retina-rupturingly awful one-sheets that BJ-C tirelessly trashes, I've decided to give everyone a welcome respite and regale you with what I consider to be, without a doubt, the ten finest horror film posters ever produced. I think you'll get a big kick out of these--some are familiar friends, while others may be a bit more obscure...

10. The Omen (Polish)
by Andrzej Klimowski

Apparently, when they're not trying to screw in lightbulbs, the Poles are busy making soul-jarringly upsetting movie posters. Please excuse me while I never sleep again.

9. Dracula's Daughter (French)
by Joseph Koutachy

For whatever reason, very often the foreign posters created for American horror films turned out to be even more effective than their domestic counterparts. Case in point, this incredible illustration of the mesmerizing Gloria Holden.

8. Nosferatu (Czechoslovakian)
By K. Kriz-Karlin

A great line illustration for one of the most terrifying horror films ever made. There were a ton of international posters made for this German masterpiece. This one is the best.

7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2
(Withdrawn due to breach of copyright)

What a brilliant concept, spoofing The Breakfast Club poster from the previous year. Unfortunately, the folks at Universal did not agree, and so this poster was not seen for very long.

6. The House on Haunted Hill
Artist unknown

Something else worth noting is that, historically, the finest movie posters have been painted, not photographed. Too bad this practice is far less common than it used to be.

5. Nosferatu the Vampyre
By David Palladini

An absolutely gorgeous illustration for the remake of the silent classic. Possibly the only thing about the Werner Herzog version that was superior to the Murnau original.

4. The Evil Dead
Artist unknown

Very familiar to horror fans, and with good reason. This painting was actually based on a photographic poster also created for the film.

3. Nekromantik (German)
By Andreas Marschall

There's something about the juxtaposition of sex and death that has always fascinated horror fans--as was so eloquently pointed out by Jewel Shepard in my interview yesterday.

2. A Nightmare on Elm Street
By Matthew William Peak

One of the most recognizable pieces of horror art ever created. An amazing work by Peak worthy of being put alongside anything Drew Struzan was doing for other '80s gems like The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

1. The Bride of Frankenstein
By Karoly Grosz

A stunning art deco image by Universal house artist Grosz. How could you not instantly fall in love with this poster? Screw greatest horror poster of all time--this might very well be the greatest movie poster of all time!
at

14 comments:

  1. Mike McPaddenAugust 4, 2009 at 11:17 AM

    That OMEN poster is an apocalyptic mind-ripper! Thanks for finding it and sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. B-SolAugust 4, 2009 at 11:22 AM

    I originally saw it in excellent book of poster art called FILM POSTERS: HORROR. You should check it out...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wings1295August 4, 2009 at 11:55 AM

    Great choices!!! The Omen and the Nosferatu posters are my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  4. DMAugust 4, 2009 at 12:24 PM

    Love the pics and I think that Omen one will haunt me forever. I suggest taking a peek at the Polish "Christine" poster, and I'd like to know if you even considered the Halloween pumpkin/knife combo. Because that is a fantastic image.

    ReplyDelete
  5. B-SolAugust 4, 2009 at 12:32 PM

    The Halloween poster was definitely a close runner up!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousAugust 4, 2009 at 1:02 PM

    Holy jesus that Omen poster is incredibly frightening. Looks like the cover of a Celtic Frost album.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Robert RingAugust 4, 2009 at 1:11 PM

    B-Sol, these are pretty good. But where's Creature from the Black Lagoon?!?!?!?!?!?! That one's a classic.

    ReplyDelete
  8. DMAugust 4, 2009 at 3:02 PM

    I'm glad it was a contender :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Matt-suzakaAugust 5, 2009 at 3:34 AM

    Those are some great picks for posters!

    I will always love that original Nightmare poster art, but the standout on this list for me easily, is for Chainsaw II!

    I was like 9 or 10 when that film came out, and I remember all too well seeing that poster at such a tender and innocent age, on the wall at some video store...and I thought "That poster is fucking awesome!" Because, it is fucking awesome! especially to a kid barely in the double digits!

    ReplyDelete
  10. DrippedJakeAugust 5, 2009 at 4:03 AM

    That Kinski Nosferatu poster is amazing. It misrepresents how low-key that movie is but it's gorgeous.

    While not a horror film, the Polish poster for the French period piece Danton is one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen.

    ReplyDelete
  11. RayRayAugust 5, 2009 at 3:59 PM

    That Omen poster is somethign else. Simple, yet effective, like a more polished up version of those creepy Medieval woodcuts of demons and the like.

    ReplyDelete
  12. the jaded viewerAugust 7, 2009 at 2:34 PM

    The best thing about the NOES poster is the lack of Freddy. Best to see him in the movie than on a poster.

    ReplyDelete
  13. bavafan@hotmailJune 10, 2011 at 1:34 PM

    some of my favourite poster designs:

    NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
    BLACK SABBATH
    WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?
    SUSPIRIA
    THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM
    BLOODY PIT OF HORROR/TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE (DOUBLE BILL)
    THE GHOST

    ReplyDelete
  14. B-SolJune 11, 2011 at 12:20 AM

    The book I found these in is an excellent source, I'd suggest looking it up!

    ReplyDelete