It’s been a fun year for posters, hasn’t it? From the major marketing fail of the poster for “The Northman” that simply forgot the title to the optical illusions of “Nope” and the inexplicable vintage flair of “Confess Fletch,” those fearing that the art of poster design as exactly that, an art, can and should rest easy.
There is, as always, a war between contractual obligations that demand certain actors to have a certain amount of pixel space and the desires of innovative artists to do more than just get bums on seats. But if anything, the sign of a fight is the sign of people — both those who make these things and those who enjoy them — who cares. At a time when the fabric of cinema itself might be fraying, where various viewing modes are all in precarious health, it’s nice that something like poster design is a constant, whatever platform you’re admiring them on. As we get kick-off our Best of 2022 coverage, here are our favorite movie posters of 2022.
16. “Pearl”
“An X-traordinary Origin Story,” and the prequel origin film to the sleazeploitation horror “X,” filmmaker Ti West had a productive 2022, releasing two films and teasing a third in a trilogy. The second of his two films this year was “Pearl,” starring Mia Goth, an origin film about the title villain whose fervent aspiration to become a movie star led her to commit violent acts on her family’s Texas homestead in 1918. A24 always makes some pretty great posters, and for “Pearl,” they made at least three good ones, but we love this mischievous version: Goth with an axe, her hands all bloody, and a sweet “shhh” smile on her face, teasing all the terrors to come. – Rodrigo Perez
15. “White Noise”
“White Noise” marks a change of pace for Noah Baumbach in more ways than one, and P+A and Marija Tiurina’s wildly intricate poster thrusts the viewer into this new world which, according to this design, might not be so far from “The Simpsons” town of Springfield. That might be an easy touchstone, but it is thrilling to see a filmmaker so often associated with mumblecore movies embracing something so inventive, something that will probably feel plain confusing and overwhelming to many folks scrolling past the film on Netflix – such are the pros and cons of an algorithmic, still-happy, low-attention span film community and world we’re moving through. Perhaps Baumbach knows that there’s just too much damn noise, and that’s the whole point.
14. “Flux Gourmet”
It’s pretty much gotten to the point that any time Peter Strickland ever releases a movie, that movie will end up on Best Posters of the year and usually Best trailers too. The U.K. filmmaker of horror oddities such as “In Fabric” and “The Duke Of Burgundy” has his pulse on the corner where Euro-erotica, Giallo, ’60s and ’70s psychedelia, and far-out mondo softcore meet, i.e., tapping the well of some of the most outre design periods in cinematic history. His latest bizarro horror, “Flux Gourmet”— about a soundscape art collective who finds themselves embroiled in power struggles, artistic vendettas, and gastrointestinal disorders (toldja it was weird)—has a similar strange vibe and thus its eerie, well-designed two-tone poster gives off, once again, the mood of a very strange affair in store for the viewer. – RP
13. “Bones and All”
Luca Guadagnino has never claimed to make palatable films — his stories of desire and obsession, horror and regret, demand multiple viewings to defragment the mysteries of the human soul. Those ambitions are perfectly distilled in Elizabeth Peyton’s first poster for the film — what could be appreciated as an abstract mood piece, in fact, presents the film’s cannibal lovers, played by Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet, sharing a passionate kiss. The optical illusion has an effect not dissimilar to Akiko Stehrenberger’s painted “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire” piece for NEON (included in our Best Posters of 2019 list), which works as much as a poetic embodiment of the film’s heart and soul as it does represent two lovers doing what they do best. We admit we also love the heart-shaped minimalist version for the U.S.
12. “Aftersun”
The question that’s been breaking the hearts of audiences since May is how to resurrect a memory. How do you make beautiful, make real, the ephemeral images you have of your childhood, of past relationships, to hold on to something to give you answers? It’s the problem posed by Charlotte Wells’ beautiful debut “Aftersun,” in a straightforward and brilliant setup of an all-inclusive-family holiday between father and daughter. The UK poster design by Intermission and MUBI leans into the well-worn quality of it all, the fact that your favorite childhood photographs are probably the ones with frayed edges, folded up too many times, colors leaking, and smiles intact. Stars Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal are beaming on the simple and powerful poster, offering viewers another glimpse at some of the more loving, joyful moments of their time together that was cut too short. The kind of perfect portrait of an imperfect family you want to hold onto for dear life.
11. “Triangle of Sadness”
Depending on who you ask, there can be great beauty and awful vulgarity to be found in the bold, gold poster design of “Triangle Of Sadness” from The Einstein Couple and riddertoft. An enormous vomiting incident is at the core of Ruben Östlund’s social satire set on a yacht, and the filmmaker has never cared about spoilers. So to see scene-stealer Sunnyi Melles puking up her guts, bulging eyes so close to leaking tears, and for those guts to be, in fact, liquid gold is completely fitting. If you thought you could find the line between art and trash, don’t bother because Östlund’s film, and this poster, are hellbent on throwing up all over it.
