Movie posters are an art form, and a good one does more than just tell the viewer the name of the film and who's in it. A truly great poster tells the viewer a story, conveys a message about the film, and symbolizes the movie for the audience. The horror movie poster has to be bold and it has to be memorable.
Too many posters from modern Hollywood can be called "floating head" posters, just using pictures of the stars' heads with little imagination shown. While these can be effective, they are usually not particularly memorable. They don't affect the viewer and or give that sense of wonder or, when it comes to the horror genre, of dread, that only the best posters can.
Friday The 13th (1980)
While the original Friday the 13th might not have aged well, this poster is actually a classic of the horror genre, sought after by collectors, and can be quite expensive.
Science fiction and fantasy illustrator Alex Ebel created this poster for the first Friday the 13th movie. Here he's showing the doomed campers inside the outline of Mrs. Vorhees, illustrating her obsession with them and the stalking she does in the film. Her bloody knife dipping onto the logo promises the viewer that there is more to come.
The Thing (1982)
Drew Struzan is a master at conveying the idea of a movie in just one image, and this is what he's done here. This poster for John Carpenter's The Thing has a real sense of claustrophobia with the figure hemmed in and surrounded by walls of ice.
The figure is seemingly frozen in place, the bright light taking away their identity and giving the viewer an idea of just what powers the title "Thing" might process. The poster is a classic, strongly and boldly communicating the terror of the film.
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Evil Dead still holds up today, and this poster is one of the reasons. One of the most famous horror posters, it grabs the viewer's attention with its bold image of a rotting hand and arm bursting out of the ground and trying to drag a fighting woman down with him.
The image is all angled and off-kilter, designed to unsettle the viewer. Even the title logo is skewed, with the "V" and the "A" reaching out just like the struggling woman as if they were trying to escape, as well.
Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Matthew Peak created this poster for Wes Craven's original Nightmare On Elm Street and then did the same for the next four sequels. It's one of the many facts about Nightmare on Elm Street that fans may not know.
It's a beautiful illustration, with the bold color palette cutting through the darkness, just like Freddy's glove. The glove hangs over Nancy's face and Peak is able to make her look completely terrified as if she's just been frightened awake and is gasping in horror.
The Exorcist (1973)
One of the most iconic and imitated movie posters of all time, the image of the priest showing up outside Regan's home was created by artist Bill Gold and it's a masterpiece of light and shadow, creating an ominous mood.
The mist swirling around the wet street and the lone figure pausing before the shaft of light from the window symbolized the evil and danger awash in the house. The typeset of the title The Exorcist is simple and elegant, pinning down the image. The poster is both eerie and incredibly evocative.
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Stephen Frankfurt's minimalist poster for Rosemary's Baby is almost as disturbing as the film itself. The image brilliantly mirrors Polanski’s psychological horror while also conveying a sense of dread and unease.
The poster is dominated by the image of Mia Farrow, eyes staring into the void, and the symbol of motherhood, the baby carriage, ominously silhouetted inside her head. There is a sense of somberness, capped off by the tagline "Pray for Rosemary's baby."
The House On Haunted Hill (1959)
A lot is going on here in Reynold Brown's poster for The House On Haunted Hill. Brown was an artist renowned for his movie posters, designing and painting the posters for Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Creature From the Black Lagoon, and Spartacus to name just a few of hundreds.
Here he's using several horror motifs to convey the terror of the movie, with a huge skeleton dangling a woman by the neck, while a spot-on rendering of Vincent Price looks on. The painting tells the viewer the story of what lurks inside the haunted house, and what it can do to those who walk through the door.
The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)
One of the best of the original Frankenstein movies, 1935's The Bride of Frankenstein also has one of its best poster designs. The poster almost looks like it is almost on fire, with the bride's hair forming flames surrounding the monster.
The monster's painted in bold shadow, using greens, yellows, and oranges, outlined by the hair of his bride, while Elizabeth Frankenstein looks on from behind the creature. The portrait of the monster is particularly striking, with its dark shading and color.
Halloween (1978)
Robert Gleason designed and painted this masterpiece of the genre, giving the viewer just enough information to know they're in for a different kind of film experience. The symbol of Halloween, the pumpkin with the flaming eyes is there, but that's not the only thing going to get carved.
The pumpkin slowly morphs into the knife seamlessly and the hand gripping the knife so hard that the veins stand out is a nice touch. The tagline and the image itself stand out boldly against the all-black background. The viewer doesn't have to guess that the hand with the knife is the "he" that's being referred to.
The Mummy (1932)
This poster for the original The Mummy is a fantastic example of the design and style of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Boris Karloff, arguably the best actor to play Frankenstein, plays the mummy here and is painted almost impressionistically, using splashes of whites, greens, yellows, and browns to make up the bandages and face.
The woman is painted much the same way but uses the more realistic flesh tones for her still-living skin. After Frankenstein, Karloff is now a star and gets his name above the title and in letters almost as large. Only three copies of this very rare and expensive poster are known to exist, according to Sotheby’s and reported by Rueters.