Movie posters have evolved, but not for the better. David Konow addressed this issue in “The Art of the Poster,” saying, “Whether it’s a sign of the declining quality of film or illustration in general, these days most movie posters just don’t inspire the same artistic awe.” (143). Konow realized the lost value of movie posters. Modern movie posters are usually more about highlighting an actor or a director by featuring them in the poster. This is done to get people to go see the movie just for the star power. In contrast, older films used more of an artistic approach by creating a movie poster that is an extension of the movie itself in order to get people to go see their movie. The poster for the movie Alien created by Steve Frankfurt and Philip Gips in 1979, is the best example of how older movie posters are much more artistic and original than modern movie posters. Alien is an amazing movie poster that has lasted through the years and is still regarded as one of the best movie posters of all times. What makes this movie poster so great is the almost unnoticeable hints about how the movie will be more about psychological fears rather than physical fears. The movie poster reveals through visual clues that the natural born fears that people suppress will be the main obstacle the characters will be facing, which only makes the actual alien all the more terrifying.

One of the first fears people have is the fear of the dark. The dark is scary to people because they cannot see what is beyond the darkness. One of the first things that stands out in the poster is how dark the background is, which plays into this fear of the dark. It is completely black like an empty abyss. That type of darkness is usually associated with evil. This darkness makes the surroundings of the poster feel empty. The bleakness of the background does serve to make the unholy yellow light hatching out of the egg, all the more dramatic. The yellow with the green mist is there to contrast with the emptiness of the rest of the poster. The color yellow grabs a person’s attention because it is a sign of caution and physical illness. This gives the person viewing the poster a warning that something bad is to come and that they should be afraid. The shadow on the egg masks most of it and plays into fear of the dark because the shadow helps the egg blend into the surrounding darkness. The only reason it stands out from the darkness is because of the yellow light emerging from the egg. This is done to make the egg and what is inside seem all the more horrifying because the natural fear of the dark likes to hide monsters. 

The fear of the dark is enhanced when a person is alone. A natural fear people have is of loneliness. Isolation from others, and society will drive a person mad. The movie poster instills this fear of isolation within us. The title of this film, Alien, also emphasizes isolation, not just because the white contrasts with the bleak background but because of the separation of the letters. In order to fill in the space, the letters are very spaced out from each other. A word is supposed to have its letters near each other, but when the letters are spaced out, it gives them the feel that they can stand on their own. The title of the film is not the only thing isolated, as everything is separated to create this empty feeling. The four main parts of the poster (the title, the egg, the netting, and the tagline) do not overlap. They are completely separate from each other. This adds to the isolation theme of the letters in the title. The characters of the film will have to face this fear of isolation as described in the tagline, “In space no one can hear you scream.” In space, people are also isolated from their home, so they are going to be on their own with this subconscious fear and in an alien environment.

Part of what plays into the fear of isolation is the fact that there is no escape. The psychological fear of being trapped is present in the poster. This can be seen with netting on the bottom of the poster. Nets are used to trap and keep something within. The net is a symbol of entrapment because nothing can escape the net. The netting in the poster looks metallic and very sturdy, so it is going to be difficult for someone to escape. Plus, the film is going to be taking place in space, which is a very dark and foreboding environment. The egg is also an icon for entrapment. What is also terrifying about the egg in the poster is the bumpy exterior and the unknown interior. The bumps make the egg look very tough and hard to escape. The other concerning thing about the egg’s interior is that there is an unknown thing trying to escape. The thing hatching is probably threatening and harmful, given the yellow light, which can represent caution or sickness only adding to the subconscious fears a person can have while viewing this movie poster.

Whatever is coming out of the egg brings up the fear of the unknown. The actual alien is not shown for this reason. It is to make the viewer of the poster fearful of the unknown. It is easier to fear something that is not known because then there are multiple fears possible rather than just one. The yellow light coming out of the egg is foreign making it frightful and mysterious. The mist around the egg and netting also creates fear because it creates a blur of the unfamiliar. The fog plays into our fear of the unknown. There is also a reason why this movie takes place in space. Outer space is the perfect setting for a film to emphasize psychological fears since a lot of space is unknown.

The fears of the dark, of isolation, of entrapment, and of the unknown all form this psychological fear that a person can find within the movie poster. That is why this poster is regarded as one of the best movie posters of all time. Tim Robey, from the Telegraph, regarded this movie poster as, “an image that spoke instantly of some unimaginable terror. […] Ingeniously, the poster managed to convey an unforgettably potent flavour of the film’s atmosphere, while cleaving to a design quite distinct from any of the horrors it was about to inflict.” Robey found this movie poster terrifying because of the primal fears presented in the poster. Robey called the movie poster genius because of the way it reflects the movie so well while not giving away any of the true horrors of the film. That is why this movie poster is memorable and has a cult following. Modern movie posters are not remembered much and a lot of movie marketing is geared towards trailers and not posters. A great movie poster will get someone hooked. That is what this Alien poster did. That is why the movie got a lot of attention and what helped draw people to go see it.  The audience loved Alien and this helped it earn an academy award and lots of sequels and there are many who still enjoy this franchise. The poster brilliantly combined sci-fi and horror to create one of the most terrifying films of all time. David Konow is right about how modern movie posters do not inspire artistic awe like this Alien movie poster did.  Modern posters are too busy highlighting big name actors but they are not as powerful or as influential as an older poster such as Alien. A beloved and psychologically scary` movie franchised was hatched from this amazing movie poster.

