Covers for Horror Movies....What Happened?

[daveblackeye15]

For a few years now I've begun noticing a trend with the box covers for horror movies (as well as sci-fi and such)

Let's start with an example.

Last night I was scanning around Blockbluster looking for something good (they didn't have the original Exorcist but at least I made up for that with Sin City, anyway) Now my Blockbuster pretty much ,like almost all others, only carries games, and new stuff, and VERY few old/good.obscure stuff. Whenever I glance around in there I can't help but notice all the straight to video horror movies which I am quite sure will suck (kind of unfair even after I thought Dog Soliders would blow but it turned out to be a great little werewolf movie) but practically all the covers are boring and uninteresting, not really making me want to watch them.

Now here's another example.

A few weeks ago I was down in Ashland, I visited the town's Mom and Pop store DJ's Video and as usually I go check out the horror section. Each time I do this my eyes are always scanning and glaring at nearly ever cover. Why? Mom and Pop usually carry older and harder to find movies (movies that Blockbuster wouldn't carry). The covers I saw were VHS stuff and they looked old-

But the covers!

It seems like way back they had artists, good and great artists, create some great gripping and often plenty scary covers.

Sure, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Sure, the movie could totally blow and you just got suckered and  wasted your money.

But damn it at least you could go "DAMN! That's one kick ass cover!"

At the store I saw a box cover for "The Cars that Ate Paris" (I think it was that one. I know it was a killer car movie). The cover had a spiked and killer looking car going down the street of a city (I'm quite sure that's what was happening) A while ago I saw the DVD cover for "The Cars that Ate Paris" (or whichever movie it was)  and this DVD cover was nothing compared to the original cover.

The DVD cover was a black and gold close up of a section of the car we could see spikes and such and get the gerneral idea that it was a horror movie.

I don't like that cover much.

 The old cover was a gritty looking piece of art drawn my someone. This new cover looks like it's trying to be cool or the next thriller movie.

That's the problem, it seems like the cover are trying to be more in your face (not the punk attitue) and try and be sleek and cool. What happened to all those great artists that gave kick ass covers for crappy and good horror movies from the seventies and eighties and earlier nineties?

Did they begin to die out along with the Mom and Pop video stores?

Take a look at this site I found. It's just zombie covers but a lot of these I've never heard of and I love a lot of the covers. some are scary and some are just kick ass!

http://www.zombiejunkyard.com/printable_boxart/index0003.html

Look around there a bit.

What the hell happened to making great covers that could draw you in?

Apologize if this went on a little long and if I repeated a few things.



Post Edited (08-27-05 16:33)

[Menard]

Perhaps it might have to do with the older covers being, in large part, from artwork associated with a movie which was released to theatres, whereas a lot of what is being seen on straight-to-video horror is just that, artwork done for a video cover and probably on a computer.

I thought DOG SOLDIERS had a pretty good cover, but there are different covers.

If I see one more DVD horror cover with the cast lined up front to back; well, it just seems like that is a good indication that it is going to suck, being that they could not even come up with original artwork for the cover.

If anybody has not seen DOG SOLDIERS, I highly recommend it. Think of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD with werewolves instead of zombies, and with a pace that is pumped up on adrenaline.

[daveblackeye15]

Dog Soliders rule. When I first saw the cover it did creep me out, I think back then I was rather bias against new horror movies because I thought they all sucked and will forever suck (thankfully I was wrong)

Now I think Dog Soliders has a good cover though no where near the neat art of the old ones.

And I also figure that if the cast is lined up on the cover then it's gonna be lame.

[ulthar]

Thanks for the link, Dave.  Those are some pretty cool covers.

I especially like the one for Beowulf with Christophe Lambert (!!), since I am just beginning to build (and hopefully sell) small Beowulf clusters.  I'll have to post this image (or link to it appropriately) on the web site when the sales page goes live.

Wonderful!

[Zapranoth]

Beowulf clusters?

Are those like little caramel turtles, but with..  

oh, I see.  Praise Google!

I like the "!!" after Christopher Lambert.  Just makes ya wanna mutter, "Connermccleodofclanmccleod" don't it?

[StatCat]

with the advent of computers and compositing graphics together you're seeing less and less original hand drawn artwork. It's kind of an old thing to do now but I agree the covers from the 50s- even 80s are hands down better in every sense. Computers ruin everything- blame them.