Write Up: Mute's "The Evil Dead" and "Suspiria" Movie Posters

While we may be long past All Hallow's Eve and nearing Christmahanakwanzika at breakneck speeds, the nice thing about great horror is its timelessness. I present exhibits A and B: Evil Dead and Suspiria. Both movies have stood strong against the ravages of time and are fan favorites amongst cinema lovers and their non-fanatical brethren alike. Accordingly, the films' followers (especially those who, like myself, have an unhealthy appreciation for “The Chin” and all that he does) have generously donated an overabundance of well-meaning (but usually mediocre) artwork to the global community known as the Internet. What I’m getting at is this: while there’s an ocean of inspired Evil Dead and (to a lesser extent) Suspiria posters floating around the Web, there’s very few pieces that actually get me excited enough to write about and / or purchase. But wouldn’t you know it, I found two such prints that I think are pretty damn fantastic, and led me to an artist who I wasn’t previously familiar with to boot. Take a look, won't you?

The Evil Dead Movie Poster
Mute
420 mm x 594 mm (Giclée) - Signed and Numbered
£30 (~ $48) - Limited to 20

I love the artist's use of cross-hatching to imply detail and shadow, which also manages to give this poster a distinctly medieval look. And when combined with the print's muted color palette, the artwork is not only striking, but pretty terrifying.

Here's what artist Mute had to say about his relationship with the famed cult classic:

"One reason The Evil Dead is so fondly thought of is that the home-made, low budget effort is always endearing, especially when done so well! Few movies present you with something new and exciting, but in equal measures, say “you can go out and do it yourself”. Somewhere sat on a dusty VHS is evidence of me and my friends age 14, equipped with nothing but a camcorder, fake blood, and the woods behind my house. All I can think is thank God YouTube didn’t exist in 1997."

Mute's The Evil Dead poster is currently available through muteart.bigcartel.com for £30. The giclée measures 420 mm x 594 mm and is limited to an edition of 20. It's also worth noting that this print was created for the "Paper Cuts: Alternative Horror Poster Art" exhibition, which is a part of the Sheffield Horror Film Festival. To learn more about Mute, please check out mute-art.com and follow @mute_art on Twitter.

Suspiria Movie Poster
Mute
420 mm x 594 mm (Giclée) - Signed and Numbered
£30 (~ $48) - Limited to 20

But it seems one classic wasn't enough for Mute as he also set his sights on the king of all Goblin-scored films set in a ballet school-cum-witches' coven. No, I'm not talking about White Nights, the answer is Suspiria! Mute wonderfully captures all of the terror, paranoia, and vibrant mise-en-scene in Argento's film by casting his design in an ominous crimson hue.

The artist on his memories of Suspiria:

"My first viewing of Suspiria was on 35mm here at the Showroom in 2003. By this time, my enjoyment of horror cinema was more about exploring the genre and trying to figure out how they did the special effects - the scare factor was almost gone from my viewing experience... I say ‘almost’ mainly due to this movie! I was genuinely creeped out by what was unfolding; the Goblin score (at times awesomely loud!) never lets you relax for a second! The infamous theme is hard to forget and still sounds amazing to this day.

If every room you go in is strangely lit with unexplainable red light, start to worry."

Like Mute's Evil Dead print, his Suspiria poster is currently available through muteart.bigcartel.com for £30. The artwork is signed and numbered and is limited to an edition of 20. Head over to mute-art.com to see more of the artist's work.

Gallery 1988's "Crazy 4 Cult 5" Art Exhibit

Well it's been about a week since "Crazy 4 Cult 5" premiered, and now it's time to take a look at Gallery 1988's inventory and see what's left. As a heads up, there's a lot more available than what I'm mentioning here, the posters below just happen to be a few of my favorites.

"1984-1987 at 1988" Art Print
Andrew Wilson
18" x 24"
$70 - Limited to 88
Inspired By: Predator, Goonies, Big Trouble in Little China, and The NeverEnding Story

This poster is a perfect condensation of my childhood. You've got Arnie kicking some Predator ass, a gang of kids set on discovering a long lost treasure, Kurt Russell kicking some mystical wizard ass, and a kid named Bastian riding a dog/dragon/Mr. Snuffleupagus-type creature named Falkor through the sky - yep, the 80s were a strange/awesome period for blockbuster films. To get a better picture of all of the details that went into making "1984-1987 at 1988" such a success, I highly recommend checking out the preliminary digital sketch. The "1984-1987 at 1988" giclee is currently available through the Gallery 1988 website for $70. The signed and numbered poster is limited to an edition of 88 and measures 18" x 24". For more information on artist Andrew Wilson, be sure to visit his blog at andrewandavid.blogspot.com.

"Coffee Break" Art Print
Pat Kinsella
11" x 14"
$50 - Limited to 55
Inspired By: Ghostbusters

Pat Kinsella really nailed this. All the little details, like the smoking Ghost Trap, the tabletop with the hole blasted through it, and the spilled coffee…everywhere, are what really tell the tale of our lone hero and his previously precarious predicament (yeah I'm a sucker for alliteration). I’ve never wanted a Proton Pack this badly before. Again with the detail, I’m just blown away! The artist was totally able to delineate all of the whirring, buzzing and humming wires, cables and cogs (oh my!). Pat Kinsella's "Coffee Break" art print measures 11" x 14", is limited to an edition of 55 and costs $50. The print is currently available through Gallery 1988 and is signed and numbered. To check out Pat's portfolio and blog head over to patkinsella.com. Note: I think this piece may have originally been for Gallery 1988's "3G" show, but it's listed in the "Crazy 4 Cult" inventory, so I'm going for it.

"Onda Punk" Art Print
Jay Shaw (Iron Jaiden)
19" x 25"
$30 - Limited to 40
Inspired By: Repo Man

I love Repo Man, it's such a strange combination of genres and seemingly incongruous elements that somehow mesh together to make a zany, fun little piece of 1980s magic. There's a lot of good things I could say about this poster, but I think the artist sums it up best (taken from the Jay's website):

"'A Onda Punk' was the title given to the American film Repo Man for it's release in Brazil. The title literally translates to 'The Wave Punk'. Brazilian film posters of the 60s, 70s and 80s often incorporated very bright colors coupled with absurd imagery. The idea was to make the posters more appealing to young Brazilians than the films themselves. This approach to film advertising was taken because most of the movies released in Brazil during that period were goofy comedies considered culturally harmless by the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1964 to 1985. A Onda Punk was not released in Brazil until 1986 after the dictatorship fell. Rumor has it the inclusion of the Circle Jerks song 'Coup D'Etat' in the beginning of the film was the primary reason for the delay in release. A Onda Punk was never given a proper poster for it's Brazilian theatrical release so I thought it would be fun to make one now. It features Fox Harris' character, Frank, wearing the grill of the 1964 Malibu as glasses while he drives around Los Angeles."

Bottom line, this is a kick ass screen print at an amazing price by a really talented up and coming artist. Iron Jaiden's "Onda Punk" art print is available through Gallery 1988 for the surprisingly low price of $30. The print measures 19" x 25" and is limited to an edition of 40. To learn more about Jay Shaw (AKA Iron Jaiden) head over to kingdomofnonsense.com.

Suspiria Art Print
Keith Noordzy
13" x 10"
$35 - Limited to 20
Inspired By: Suspira

This one is particularly awesome. I haven't seen Suspiria since I was a little kid obsessed with mutilated corpses and armed with a subscription to Fangoria (that came out a lot creepier than I intended it to be), but I remember how elegantly and stylish was despite my initially low expectations. Pretty impressive. Keith Noordzy has created a wonderful ode to Argento's masterpiece and has somehow captured the spirit of the 70s with this print. Like all of the artwork included in this post, Keith's Suspiria print is available through Gallery 1988's website. The poster is limited to an edition of 20, measures 13" x 10" and costs $35. For more info on Keith Noordzy check out his blog and portfolio at quid-squid.com.

Conclusion? It's amazingly cool to see "Crazy 4 Cult 5" artwork in the gallery, but if you can't see it in person, at least you and I have a chance to pick up some fantastic prints after the fact. I recommend checking out the rest of Gallery 1988's offerings when you have some time, because there's far more available than what I've included here.

By the way, I just realized this is my 100th post! I think I should buy a poster in celebration, or something.