Reptile (Netflix) Movie Poster

I wanted my poster to have an aggressively vintage aesthetic that would be the perfect vehicle for a striking visual. Just enough to pique interest through an unsettling image but not enough to be repulsive. I immediately envisioned that after watching the trailer and reading a short interview with the director Grant Singer where he explains that he wanted his film to keep his audience in suspense as he revealed a story full of deception, corruption, and illusion. 

I began my research by understanding exactly what a reptile is and its place in the world. They’re cold-blooded creatures who eat other animals and have cunning survival instincts. They first appeared on earth over 300 million years ago and a group of them evolved into dinosaurs! Turns out reptiles are fascinating in many ways. 

During my visual research I took a left turn and headed into the public domain imagery found on the library of congress website. I came across a lot of excellent examples of the style of illustration I wanted to pursue. One of the images I found was a public announcement warning people against tuberculosis from 1918. It was nearly perfect so I vectorized the original image then added a second hand gripping the snake, replaced the eye with an “x” to show it’s dead (or at least trying to convince you), bent the tongue so it appears limp, added in the end of the tail to show that the snake might not actually be dead,  and changed the color to align with the reds of the official campaign’s palette.   

This poster was intentionally designed to serve as a teaser or possibly a screening–not necessarily the key art. Striking visuals like this clearly command your attention but they can often fall short of representing the film in a way that would deem it suitable for key art in today’s market. This piece in particular also lacks any robust versatility. It conveys one thing pretty well but doesn’t do enough heavy lifting to go beyond that.

I love working on these types of exercises because they keep me actively engaged as I make decisions. I have to consider what the client would need in order to confidently put out the right image, or set of images, that do justice to the project. 

If you’re a filmmaker or distributor and are ready to begin the marketing strategy for your project get in touch so we can discuss creating impactful assets that elevate your project. Thanks for stopping by!

-Juan Luis