Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ highly anticipated new film Kinds of Kindness has brought us a delightfully bizarre selection of film posters in the run-up to its release. In typical Lanthimos style, the offbeat designs are suitably stylish and cryptic, giving us a subtle taste of the film’s absurdist dark comedy flavour.
We’ve already seen some stunning film posters this year but the Kinds of Kindness designs are a masterclass in crafting mystery and intrigue with striking, stripped-back visuals. With Lanthimos’ last release Poor Things receiving high praise (and some stunning movie posters alongside it), the upcoming release has a lot to live up to. But on the poster visuals alone, it looks like it’s going to be a delightfully weird experience (and honestly I’d expect nothing less).
(Image credit: Searchlight Pictures)
Since the film began filming in 2022, Lanthimos fans have eagerly awaited any crumbs of information on the director’s latest release. While I can’t say that the series of posters are particularly revelatory, they don’t disappoint in being suitably weird and Lanthimos-esque with dreamscape visuals, a classily curated colour palette and the recurring aesthetic of bizarre oversized heads.
Naturally, there has been a mixed response to the posters, with some finding the designs strange and disturbing. In response to the latest poster (below) one user on X responded “Grossed out, frightened, intrigued. All of the above,” while another joked “This looks amazing and I hope I never see it again in my life.” Others reported that the eerie design gave them feelings of trypophobia (fear of closely clustered holes) due to the strange textured design.
Exclusive poster for Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘KINDS OF KINDNESS’In theaters on June 21. pic.twitter.com/RzTWNnSdkAJune 14, 2024
Not everyone was as disturbed by the designs, with film fans on the r/Letterboxd subreddit sharing their praise for the series of individual character posters. “How delightfully weird. Looking forward to it,” one user commented. “My sleep paralysis demons have formed a union, I see…” another user joked, while another added, “Just when you think Yorgos can’t get any more Yorgos-y.”
While it’s clear they’re not for everyone, the Kinds of Kindness posters fill me with faith that poster design is only getting better. After the popularity of last year’s artistic Poor Things posters and a bountiful harvest of stunning poster designs so far this year, the plague of floating head posters seems to have ceased. At last, I can rest.
