Resurgent Orion Pictures does well when it plays into the studio’s retro reputation, and that is exactly what it’s doing with the newest poster for their upcoming horror flick The Prodigy.
The film is about a mother who notices her young son Miles exhibiting strange behavior and comes to believe that he may be possessed by a supernatural force. The movie, with its ad campaign centering around the phrase “What’s wrong with Miles?” is aiming to take the creepy kid genre to new heights. But that doesn’t mean it can’t also look to the past for inspiration, which is the message this new poster sends.
The poster features Miles standing in a doorway, illuminated by an eerie orange glow from outside. This is quite reminiscent of the iconic Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster featuring a little boy looking out his doorway at an alien craft. But Miles isn’t looking out, he’s looking in, suggesting that whatever’s outside is following him and not the other way around. But that’s not where the homage stops. We also get Miles’ elongated shadow in the shape of a hammer, recalling the cross shadow Damien cast in The Omen‘s poster. And of course, there’s also the poster’s font, which looks to be straight out of the 1970s.
If this retro poster is any indication, then lovers of ’70s horror will no doubt be into The Prodigy, which is in theaters now.
