In a few weeks it will be time again for the festival of Samhain, the holiday more popularly known as Halloween. Historically celebrated in remembrance of those who have passed on, the days of Halloween are rife with images and activities that represent death like ghosts, skeletons, blood, and all manner of scary things.

These scary things include horror movies. Now while the current trend for horror films and their posters is to show as much violence and gore as they can in one panel, there have been movie poster designers who have preferred to let us imagine the ghoulies, ghosties, and long-leggedy things in the movies instead of showing them to us. Some posters don’t even look like they’re for scary movies!

Here are some horror film posters that have gone for subtlety instead of images of monsters and bloody body parts. Could you tell what horrifying events are going to happen in the movies by looking at the posters? Will they give you the heebie-jeebies or will they inspire you to create your own subtle but creepy poster designs?

Horror Film Posters : 10 Unique Examples

The Shining – 1980

This film features an axe-murdering Jack Nicholson, ghostly revelers, and a really bad case cabin fever. Instead of showing these on the poster, designer Saul Bass used stark, black typographical composition of the film’s title set against a yellow background.

Our only clue to what happens in the movie? There’s a horrified face inside the letter “T” and yet we don’t even know whose it is. The only thing we can tell is that whoever owns that face is afraid and, perhaps, we should be as well.
 
 

The Exorcist – 1973

For The Exorcist’s poster, the designer played with strong contrasts of light and dark. The street where the man is standing is enshrouded by darkness while a blinding light emanates from the window. This effective and eerie use of chiaroscuro can be interpreted as the battle of good versus evil – which is exactly the theme of The Exorcist.
 
 

The Innocents – 1961

At first glance, the yellow French poster for The Innocents doesn’t betray the film’s gothic feel. In fact, if it weren’t for the black swan in the middle, which is a symbol for the inner self or for mystery, one wouldn’t know that The Innocents was a psychological thriller.
 
 

Devil – 2010

This film is about five strangers trapped in an elevator with the Devil. The smart use of typography lets you know that the Devil’s inside the small, enclosed space and it’s all going to hell.

It’s probably not going to be a pleasant elevator ride.
 
 

Ghost Story – 1981

For this Fred Astaire starrer, the poster designer decided to play around with negative space. Having everything swallowed by the darkness gives off a feeling of being trapped, away from anyone who can keep you safe. Of course, there’s also the question of what’s inside the decrepit house?
 
 

Teeth – 2007

This is a harmless-looking horror film poster showing a pretty young girl soaking in a bubble bath. A red herring, if there ever was one, considering that Teeth has been described by a critic from The Hollywood Reporter as “The most alarming cautionary tale for men since Fatal Attraction.”
 
 

The Day of the Dead – 1985

Another example of a horror film poster that explores a color palette unusual for zombie movies or scary movies in general where, instead of the typical blacks and reds, the designer decided to use a light blue and bright yellow for the background.
 
 

Cabin Fever – 2003

This is a little more obvious than the rest, with its strong red background. Here, the location takes centerstage. It is depicted by a cabin in the woods and a bunch of trees which also form a menacing image of a skull.
 
 

Premonition – 2007

Taking a similar tack to Cabin Fever, this clever design for Premonition uses trees to show a woman’s face.
 
 

Delicatessen – 1992

This French post-apocalyptic, horror-comedy film about a man who uses people as a cheap source of meat. Make no mistake, there are no signs of the butcher’s crimes on the poster. Instead, what one sees is an image of a metal sculpture of a pig, set against an orange background.
 
 
 
 
Do you know any other subtle but haunting horror film posters or do you have any other favorite scary posters? Please let us know by sending in your answers through the comment box!

If you’ve been inspired to create your own scary posters, let LargeFormatPosters.com do the printing for you! We offer cheap poster printing without sacrificing quality. With our excellent customer service and fast turnaround times, you don’t need to be worried to print your posters online. Contact us via Live Chat or dial (800)591-1644 to order your posters or prints.

Happy Halloween!