Five Of The Coolest Choices For Horror Movie Posters

A well made sign can help advertise a scary movie. There are many viewers who base their decision to see a film on the impression they get from the advertisements they see outside theaters. The best film posters give a few pieces of important information about it, such as the actors and director, as well as an artistic representation of what the movie itself is about.

The cinema posters for a film should work on several levels. It should give basic information about the feature such as who is starring in it and who made it. It should also give some idea of what the movie is about and why it is scary. But it should not give away too much information or viewers may be turned off about seeing it.

Many magazines, websites, and movie critics have created lists of what they consider to be the "best" horror film posters. Some of these list are extensive, covering up to 100 different posters. Others are much shorter, listing only 10 or so posters. While these lists will vary somewhat, most of them include several of the same posters over and over again.

One of the most ubiquitous horror movie posters is that for the film "Jaws". Starring Roy Schneider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss, this movie about a man-eating Great White shark was directed by Steven Spielberg. The poster is minimal in details, showing only a female swimmer, a beautiful stretch of blue ocean water, and a giant, toothy shark rearing up from the deep. It makes its point in a simple, straightforward manner.

The poster for "Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht" was a bit more stylized. This remake film was released in the late 1970s and starred Klaus Kinski. The poster was mostly black and white, with only a small bit of color included to highlight certain features. A demonic looking vampire with giant claws and sharp teeth held a vulnerable looking woman in his arms. It is not romantic as many modern vampire stories try to be. Instead it is more frightening in its view of vampires.

"House" is a lesser known film from the 1980s starring William Katt, George Wendt, and Richard Moll. The poster takes a minimalist theme, like that of "Jaws", though this is a bit more grotesque. Here a disembodied hand floats through space to press on an innocent looking doorbell. The hand is rotten, with flesh flaking away and bones and sinew peeking through. It shows that whatever is going to happen in that house, it probably won't be good.

In 1956 the science fiction film "Forbidden Planet" was released, starring Anne Francis and Leslie Nielson. Though it had many sci-fi elements, this film also had horror elements in it, and the poster helped make this point. It showed a woman gripped in the arms of a sinister looking robot and trapped on a strange looking planet.

There is almost nothing as frightening as the sense of vulnerability you feel while you sleep. Anything could happen to you. The poster for "A Nightmare on Elm Street" plays on these fears. A pretty teen played by Heather Langenkamp lays in bed with a look of surprise and horror on her face as a clawed hand reaches out of her dreams to attack her.