The original concept of this was horror movie coverboxes which is what the spirit of the list still is, however, some movies ended up with some badass posters and some shitty coverboxes especially after new editions of the DVDs and blu-rays started to come out. I am not sure if it is a rights issue with these re-releases or if it is a way to differentiate between editions but slapping a random scene from the movie with some words over it does not a coverbox make. I miss the golden age of the coverbox image/poster. It seems like a fair amount of the time now the images are just there to clue you in to the marketing where it used to be that a cool coverbox could mean the difference between you renting it and something else altogether. This makes me feel like a curmudgeon to say but while we still have some awesome posters from time to time. DVD and Blu-ray covers often don’t do much for me.

 

Part of this comes from having worked in video stores for years and years. Back in the video store heyday there was much more of a market for just browsing around looking for things that caught your eye. I suppose this still goes on with services like Netflix but often times it seems like the movie renting experience is more destination oriented where you know what you want from Redbox before you get there and not a lot of random ‘this looks interesting’ rentals. I could be way out of touch here and maybe people still do this but it feels to me like the market is changed and covers don’t have the same impact they once did. At any rate, here are my 10 favorite covers/posters for horror films. These are way more subjective than other lists as my preferences play strictly to my particular aesthetic but I will try to explain why for each with more than ‘it looks cool.’ Most of these are from the 80’s and I encountered them at a time when I was a kid sneaking time in the forbidden horror section allowing my imagination to run wild. The images here are largely the ones that captured that imagination and held on to it. Also I think they all look cool. As usual, debate and discussion is welcome down in the comments. Share your lists and don’t be an asshat. So with that, here we go.

10. Evil Dead 2 (1987)

 It is hard to argue this image has much to do with the actual movie but when it first came out and I was a child unaware of how awesome the film was and how it probably shouldn’t scare me so much I sleep on the floor of my parents’ bedroom off the strength of one out of context scene glimpsed at a Drive-In it really set up the expectation that some really creepy and scary shit was up here. I like how clean and simple the image is and how creepy the human eyes make it look. Sure we wouldn’t see anything even vaguely like this in the movie until the follow up Army of Darkness but it is still a great poster.

9.Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)

I really like the simplicity of this one and how it plays on the widely held fear of some rando killer hiding behind the curtains ready to stab you in the middle of the night. This was the movie that introduced Jason’s now iconic hockey mask so it didn’t have that crutch to stand on yet. It was also an offshoot of the outline based images from the first two films’ covers. The cool blade coming at you is courtesy of the movie being released in 3D which might be the only cool thing that 3D added to the movie. There is an argument to be made for the bloody mask on the 4th installment’s cover but for my money, this is the best of the series as far as posters are concerned.

8.Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors (1987)

If you were to take a poll of Nightmare fans as to which film is their favorite of the series I think you would be hardpressed to find many who didn’t say Dream Warriors. It wasn’t as scary or serious as the first movie but it was world’s better than the lame second film. Who doesn’t want to see a bunch of people learn how to control their dreams and fight back? When many of them die anyway it ups the stakes a bit and that is compelling. The poster image reflects that as instead of a group of horrified victims you have a bunch of kids with some shit for Freddy’s ass. Look at Kristin straight walking barefoot on the blade there! That is badass and Freddy looks at least a bit befuddled by them not being afraid of him. Other posters in the series would play off the concept but with diminishing returns. This one is awesome.

7.You’re Next (2013)

The only current or even really modern film on the list, the poster for You’re Next is simple and effective and conveys the general feeling of the film which is about home invasion murders. Think about this for a second. How much would you straight shit yourself if you got up to get a glass of water in the middle of the night and that was waiting for you at the end of the hall? Probably a lot, regardless of what you had for dinner. This design really invokes the feeling that the movie wants you to have and it does it without any details beyond the fact that dudes in animal masks who carry axes are very scary.

 

 6.Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The only instance on the list where I allowed a second film from one series, this first poster really needed to convey the core concept in a way that made sense. It is hard to say ‘fucked up burn victim kills people in their dreams with a glove with metal blades on the fingers’ with a simple image but this poster gets the idea across that going to sleep equals claw murder. It is not cluttered with nonsense and gets straight to the point that, along with the tagline, sleeping and dreaming can be hazardous to your health particularly if you are vulnerable to knives attached to someone’s fingers. I also like how wide Nacy’s eyes are because if you take the image literally, that is the look of horror and the dawning realization that you should have splurged for that waterproof mattress cover after all.

 5. Gothic (1986)

 

Gothic is an interesting film about the night that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein while telling spooky stories at a castle with Lord Byron and a bunch of friends but none of that matters when you look at this image and see some fucked up little troll sitting on lady’s chest about to do god knows what. When I was a kid this image really captivated me and I was intrigued by the whole thing, partially because I suspected that this might be a documentary. I was a scared little kid until about 5th grade, sue me. I have always remembered this coverbox image and I currently maintain that the little imp here looks like 2008 American Idol runner up David Archuletta. No one else agrees with me but seriously if you put that kid in black Lee Press on Nails and have him perch naked over a lady it would be a perfect match.

4. House (1986)

It has always been hard to take House seriously as a horror film because A: It is intentionally funny (pretty classic Fred Dekker) and B. Greatest American Hero William Katt is the lead but film content aside the poster is creepy and if you are a young child who probably should have been checked out for deep seeded emotional issues, it is pretty scary. I am fond of these sorts of simple illustrations that get the point across that dead things aren’t staying so dead at this messed up house and you can expect to see some decomposing zombie things. No word on fat zombies or Norm hanging out but you don’t need to clutter the image.

3. Fright Night (1985)

Fight Night is one of my two favorite movies of all time and the coverbox is no slouch either. I was insensed when re-issues just had the shot of Evil Ed with the cross burned in his forehead because, while that is an iconic film moment, the cover is so cool looking. The art is fantastic and the vampire in the mist is freaky looking but what really gets me is the shape of Jerry in the upper floor window. That is super creepy because you know we are dealing with one guy in a neighborhood who is really dangerous. I was really torn when the sequel came out because they did a verison of this with an apartment building as a secondary image but the main poster was eyes, lips and fangs against a stark white background. I should have included that one now that I think about it but it is at least in my top 20.

 

2. Halloween  (1978)

Simple and creepy, the knife blending into the sharp teeth on the jack o lantern plays up the iconic imagery with a new form of terror. People weren’t so used to these movies when Halloween came out and Michael Myers was a normal crazy guy of the sort that could totally hack through the average peaceful neighborhood and that is expressed here with a simple hand holding a deadly looking knife. The pumpkin tells you it is Halloween but also hints that maybe there is more going on here than a crazy guy with a grudge against his family. Again, I like simplest the best and this image always creeped me out when I was a kid.

1. Sleepaway Camp (1983)

I first encountered this coverbox at a rental/big box electronics store called Federated. I bought my first Nintendo there, I rented both Alien and Aliens there and I became obsessed with this coverbox image there. With the full note on the back of the box and a simple shoe skewered by a knife I was intrigued. The note talked about a murderous mutant and raised questions at the time about why you would keep writing your letter to tell your mom and dad that you hear someone coming up behind you but I still thought the trailing writing and blood spatters were creepy and cool and I found myself trying to imagine how horrifying this movie was. I didn’t actually see the movie until about two or three years ago at a horror festival and it wasn’t anything like what I had imagined (but it was so much more) but this cover endures for me as the coolest and scariest horror coverbox I have ever seen.

So here is the list. Sound off below. I am very interested in hearing about your experience and relationship with posters and cover boxes particularly when it comes to horror.