The Art of Horror II: A Sci-Fi Twist

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Art, Art of Horror, artist, entertainment, film, horror, illustration, monster, movie posters, poster, poster art, sci-fi, science fiction

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but we all know that it’s the cover art which initially draws our attention to a book in the first place.

Movies are no different. A lot of time, effort, talent and money goes into designing a movie poster, because it’s that first impression which often translates into big bucks or big flops.

I’ve sung the praises of movie posters before. First in the post “The Art of Horror“, and then again in “Hammer’s Glamour: The Art of Hammer Films“. Illustrated movie posters have sadly fallen out of fashion in Hollywood. But that’s all the more reason to keep highlighting a few classic examples here!

My love of cheesy, eccentric, down-right bad B-movies is no secret. Currently on my “to-watch” list are gems like “The Two-Headed Transplant”, “Drive-In Massacre”, and “Track of the Moon Beast”. (This is a real list, btw, I’m not just making it up for effect.)

A few things in particular come to mind when I think of the 1950-60’s era: 1) Classic family life and glamourous everyday fashions, and 2) crazy, campy, colourful science fiction films. Films about brains that won’t die, aliens and space ships, women from Mars, and babes in gold bikinis. So today, we’re going to be focusing on film posters of the psychedelic sci-fi persuasion. Now, not all of these are from the ’50-60’s era, but every poster has something in common: Each is a work of art; a vibrant illustration of the fantastical, soaked to the core with rich imagination and a mastery of colour and composition.

One of my favourites from today’s selections is, to me, the embodiment of kooky 1950’s science fiction: “The Brain Eaters” (1958).

Hammer’s Glamour: The Art of Hammer Films

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Art, Bill Wiggins, film, Hammer Films, horror, movie posters, Tom Chantrell

You don’t need to visit the local art gallery to see some incredible works of art. Two years ago I wrote “The Art of Horror” — a blog post that highlighted the lost art of illustrated film posters.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that illustrated movie posters really started to fall out of vogue. And such a shame that they did too. In my previous post, I focused on posters and artists from Hollywood’s Golden Age. But this time, I’m going to dive head first into a pool of glorious Technicolour — the posters of Hammer Films.

From the late 50’s through the 70’s, the British production company was well known for its love and use of bright colour, scantily clad bodies, lavish sets, and often garish special effects. And you know what? I loved every bit of it. And if you don’t? Something’s seriously the matter with you. ;P

Terror Tuesday: Poe & Price

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adaptation, Charles Beaumont, Edgar Allan Poe, Fall of the House of Usher, film, horror, movie posters, photography, Pit and the Pendulum, Richard Matheson, Roger Corman, Tales of Terror, The Haunted Palace, The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, The Tomb of Ligeia, Tower of London, Vincent Price

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There are many memorable pairings in the world of horror: Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee, Van Helsing & Dracula, Doctor Frankenstein & his Monster, Scooby Doo & Shaggy. And here is another interesting duo for your consideration — Vincent Price & Edgar Allan Poe.

If you’re a fan of Poe and a fan of Price, and you happen to be a film producer, the only logical thing to do is adapt Poe to the big screen and cast Vincent Price as your lead. Which is exactly what film producer Roger Corman did.

Between 1960 and 1964, Corman produced eight films adapted from Edgar Allan Poe’s writings. Only one of the films, “The Premature Burial” (1962), didn’t star Vincent Price.

Corman covered the most popular and recognizable of Poe’s tales. For his “Poe Cycle”, he collaborated with writers Richard Matheson (“The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, “The Raven“, “Tales of Terror”), and Charles Beaumont (“Masque of the Red Death”, “The Haunted Palace”). At the time, both men were hard at work writing for one of my all-time favourite shows, the classic, ever-popular anthology series, The Twilight Zone.