15 Movie Poster Trends That Really Need To Die
5. Show Only Half Of A Character's Face
I'm sure there's hidden symbolism and an eerie sense of secrecy behind a movie poster where only half of a character's face is on display, and the other becoming buried in shadow, but over time this has become such an overused trope in movie marketing and promotional material that it's gotten downright annoying.
Even when shadows aren't the main problem, showing a bisected face can just be a case of moving one of the actors a little bit out of frame. Midsommar, Lone Survivor, Destroyer and In The Shadow Of The Moon are just a few recent examples of a movie promoting itself with the obscure choice of obstructing the face of one of the leads.
There are neat exceptions like in 2018's Venom where half of Tom Hardy's gorgeous face is being drenched by the even more handsome black Symbiote, or the classic and obvious Face/Off where John Travolta and Nicholas Cage share half a poster each, but other times it's just off-putting to see a half of a lead character's face covered in darkness.