How The Posters Came To Be

When it comes to creating a film, I believe that every single aspect of it must reach its best and most full potential. In a good movie it all starts from a good script, a gripping and unique story, and this uniqueness has to be carried through the whole process of creation up until the very last piece of promotion, the Poster. Even before I started shooting "Escalation" I had in mind a specific name for who would have been a perfect candidate to bring to life what I envisioned to be both an oniric and ominous vision of death and consequences. The name had in mind was none other than Christopher Shy, a great artist whose most recent piece of work was the poster for the Nicholas Cage film "Mandy", directed by Panos Cosmatos. In that poster I saw all the visionary talent I needed to create unique and gripping imagery for the Poster of "Escalation".  The ending result is nothing short of amazing. Broken TVs lay on the ground, the electric charges they generate give form to the embodiment of the evil conscience of the main lead, from whom then a cross-like shape is formed, bringing to view the consequences of one person's selfish ego.

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At the same time I had always envisioned "Escalation" as a story that would find itself perfectly at home in between the classic cautionary tales that became a staple of the legendary EC comics and their iconic "Tales From The Crypt" series. Thanks to Troy Escamilla, Director of the Houston Horror Film Festival I had the opportunity to meet Casey Booth, an amazing artist whose style has been deeply influenced exactly by EC comics. Once I saw his art it was love at first sight and a new collaboration was born as "Escalation" finally found its most iconic visual representation in a poster that showcased all the tension and gory fun of the film while still being able to avoid spoilers. The magic you find when you work with truly passionate artists that understand the core concept of a film and know exactly how to embody that in a drawing. Thanks to Casey finally "Escalation" got a brand new poster that got to meet the "Tales From The Crypt'' style it was meant for.