The Auteurs

I love this poster for Ti West's blandly titled but reportedly quite impressive horror flick The House of the Devil most of all for its perfectly realized retro look. Already available on VOD and coming to theaters next Friday, The House of the Devil is an ’80s-set babysitter-in-peril movie shot in echt ’80s style and starring newcomer Jocelin Donahue, the great Tom Noonan, Warhol superstar Mary Woronov, and mumblecore darling Greta Gerwig. The posters for the film (and there are a few) complete the stunt, with their old school look, faded edges and faked fold lines. They were designed by L.A. design studio Kellerhouse, whose superb work has graced many a Criterion DVD cover (including the award-winning Mishima box) and who were, I only just discovered, also responsible for one of the other best movies posters of 2009, The Girlfriend Experience. The poster below is, I believe, the official release poster that will hang in theater lobbies, but I prefer the version above, with its old dark house silhouetted against a green sky and the crescent of a lunar eclipse, as well as its chorus of grabbing hands reminiscent of those on the Antichrist poster. This poster feels more 70s than 80s with its graphic simplicity, and the white band at the bottom with the credit block is a nice touch. Actually the whole thing is quite similar in feel and style and color scheme to another of my favorite horror movie posters, the 1968 one-sheet for Rosemary's Baby.

Categories: Movie Poster of the Week