16 Movie Posters That Dropped Brilliantly Smart Hints About The Plot

Movie posters used to be massive in the good ol’ days. When you had to fill those huge hoardings to spread the word about an upcoming movie. And the emphasis used to be on making them aesthetically beautiful. Over the years, the designers began having fun with them and leaving clues about the story, which the audience would understand only later. The art has evolved and we’ve seen some amazing work in the form of movie posters, which are really really smart.

1. O.J: Made in America

Based on the great American crime story, revolving around O.J. Simpson the poster uses one of the most significant pieces of evidence on the poster with the American flag imprinted on it. And the bit of blood dripping is just perfect.

2. Kahaani

Sujoy Ghosh’s thriller had a tremendous pay-off in the end, and the hints were there all the way from the first poster itself. After the bloody climax, the Durga avatar makes complete sense.

3. Shaitan

The poster of the movie about the inner demon, showed a mirror image of its characters, one being the sombre one and the other one being the wild version. The aesthetics of the poster were quite trippy.

4. The Thing

Something infiltrates the workplace of a group of scientists, and the poster nicely captures the paranoia of being unable to see the real face of others. John Carpenter’s movie was creepy and the poster was able to capture it.

5. The Birth of A Nation

The American flag once again, and how it is drawn through files of black people who adorn the muddy blood colour of the flag. This movie might not have got any appreciation, but the poster is nothing short of brilliant.

6. Ant Man

Launching funny man Paul Rudd as a superhero, the makers went micro-mini when launching the first poster of the superhero. Much to the fans amusement, the poster showed a minuscule superhero visible as a dot against a white background. Quite brilliant.

7. Hard Candy

Ellen Page’s breakout movie where she lures a much older Patrick Wilson, is conveyed perfectly with this image of a little girl standing on a bear-trap.

8. Lord of War

Starring Nicholas Cage as one of the world’s largest arms dealer, the movie poster beautifully captures the essence of its lead character with this portrait made with bullets.

9. Saw V

Following Jigsaw’s death, the movie shows a different character taking on the mantle of the vigilante. The poster manages to give us the creeps with that vivid strap of the mask.

10. Fight Club

Soap is integral to the narrative of David Fincher’s Fight Club. And it is also of utmost significance that the poster says it wipes off blood stains. After you’ve seen the movie, both hints make a lot of sense.

11. Buried

Probably the most literal of all the posters in this selection, the poster of the Ryan Reynolds-starrer shows a man trapped in a box giving the impression of being six feet under.

12. The Dark Knight Rises

A superhero’s rise from the pits, the poster beautifully portrays the symbol of Batman which looms over the city’s frail infrastructure as people look up to him to be the saviour.

13. Love, Sex Aur Dhokha

Dibakar Banerjee’s voyeuristic thriller smartly involves all three elements of its title, as it shows a pair of lovers’ feet implying sex, making a heart out of it and drawing many eyes behind it.

14. Deadpool

Ryan Reynold’s superhero venture was unlike anything else, and it was marketed unlike any other superhero movie. Essentially selling the love story, this poster was glossed up as a beautiful date movie. Of course it was far from it.

15. Suicide Squad

The bright assault of colours in this poster tried to take away the dull, seriousness of the movie as Warner Bros desperately tried to emulate the Marvel model. However, it keenly includes all characters in the form of cereals which is quite cool.