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Last week I was in a video store and saw this DVD of Alien Uprising.
Something about this cover seems awfully familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on where I've seen it before...
Oh yeah. Now I remember.
Jesus, look at those two covers. They're virtually identical! The same extreme closeup filling the space, the same grizzled skin texture, even the same gold-lensed eye gear with a cityscape reflected in them. Hell, it would have been easier if the designer had just xeroxed the Hancock cover and called it a day.
There's no way you can convince me that this wasn't intentional. Go on, try it. Try and convince me. You can't do it, I say.
In addition to the swiped layout, I'm a bit puzzled by the title as well. The film concerns a group of friends whose night of partying is interrupted by extraterrestrials attacking the Earth. An uprising is an act of resistance or rebellion. Aliens coming from the sky is an invasion. Wouldn't Alien Invasion have made more sense? It's called a dictionary, guys. They're free all over the interwebs.
Also, that prominent "and Jean-Claude Van Damme" callout is a bit suspicious. I've not seen the film, but I'm betting this is one of those deals where they can only afford to hire a name actor for one day, and shoot all of his scenes in that short time. I'd be very surprised if he's in the film for more than twenty minutes, tops.
Welcome to another installment of "DVD Doppelgangers," in which I search the video store for DVD covers that are a little too similar to be a coincidence.
First we have the cruel and sadistic dog killin' movie, Marley & Me. I love the blurb at the bottom that reads, "The Best Family Film Of The Year." Sure, if you're the Manson family.
I'm all for teaching kids about the circle of life, but did they have to give us a full twenty grueling minutes of Marley being put to sleep? That's right folks, I just spoiled the movie for you. Marley dies. But he doesn't just die quickly or heroically. Here the camera lovingly lingers over every single detail of his drawn out demise. Keep your kids far away from it, unless you want them telling their court appointed psychiatrists about it someday.
Then we have The Dog Who Saved Christmas. Looks just a little familiar, doesn't it? Good Lord, they even used a yellow lab! In fact it wouldn't surprise me if this was the exact same dog they used on the Marley DVD, just a few months older.
They even placed this dog in the same white, formless void as the Marley cover. The font isn't exactly the same, but it's darn close. Half the text is even red here as well.
And would you look at that, there's a broken Xmas ornament on the invisible floor. Why, this dog is just as mischievous and accident prone as poor old dead Marley! Gosh, if I didn't know better, I'd think that this studio was hoping fans of Marley & Me would see this DVD and buy it, thinking it's a sequel. But we all know that no corporation would stoop that low.
By the way, for those who might be thinking that this is somehow a sequel (and who could, since Marley's dead?), I feel I have to point out that Marley was somewhat realistic, while this movie is a fantasy tale. Marley was portrayed as a real dog. Zeus, the canine in The Dog Who Saved Christmas, is a talking dog. Yeah, you heard me. He talks. Except only the audience can hear him, not the characters in the movie. Pretty much like the baby in Look Who's Talking. And he's voiced by Mario Lopez (!). The film makers accomplish this amazing talking effect by showing Zeus staring off into the distance, mouth closed, while Mr. Lopez's voice is dubbed over the soundtrack. It's quite an impressive effect.
Because this is a holiday movie, they Photoshopped a Xmas tree branch in the dog's mouth. Nice touch. Xmas trees are toxic to dogs. They won't kill them, but they can make them really sick if eaten.
Welcome to another installment of "DVD Doppelgangers," in which I search the video store for DVD covers that are a little too similar to be a coincidence. I've got my eye on you, lazy graphic designers of the world.
Tonight we have the DVD cover of the excellent horror-comedy Zombieland. I really liked this movie a lot, and if you've not yet seen it, I highly recommend it.
Next we have the DVD cover for Vampire Killers. Once again, even though I've not seen this movie, it seems familiar somehow...
Let's examine the cover more closely...
• Muted, almost black and white desaturated color palette? Check!
• Ominous stormy sky? Check!
• Reddish title, set in all caps and angled at 8º? White text above said title? Check and Check!
• Hero dressed in black, holding shotgun against shoulder? Check!
• Ancillary characters arranged behind hero? Check!
• Mud splatters along the bottom to give the cover a grungy "grindhouse" feel? Check!
• Altering the original cover art to mimic a high-grossing recent American release and hopefully ride on its successful coattails? That's a BIG check!
Vampire Killers is actually a recent British release, and just for fun, here's a look at the original DVD cover art. As you can see, if you don't get too distracted by the top of the cover, the title is actually Lesbian Vampire Killers. I'm assuming that it's about killers who eliminate lesbian vampires, and not about vampire killers who happen to be gay. I'm also assuming the title was changed to something less provocative so as not to offend Aunt Bee and her prudish coven of church ladies here in America. Would society really have reverted back to the Bronze Age if a DVD called Lesbian Vampire Killers was released to stores? Sometimes I wonder about the future of this country. But that's a post for another time.
It's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. What about a "blatant ripoff?" Is that considered flattering as well?
Here's the DVD/poster art for the movie Burn After Reading. I saw the movie in the theater when it came out and liked it a lot. I was also a big admirer of the poster art, and studied it while waiting in the lobby. Something about that layout and the 1960s hand lettering really spoke to me.
Apparently I wasn't the only one impressed with the poster. Here's the DVD cover of I'll Believe You. Even though I've not seen the movie, something about the cover seems familiar... I just can't put my finger on it. Other than the layout, the number and arrangement of boxes containing actor's faces, the title in the middle, the names listed across the top, the similar font, and the call out quote box on the left, they're totally different.
But this cover has a flying saucer on it, so there's no way it can be swiped from Burn After Reading.
By the way, despite what the designer of this poster would like you to think, that font is not hand-lettered like the Burn After Reading title. It's called "Addled" or "Ad lib," and is freely available all over the internet.
Then we have the DVD cover for The Maiden Heist. It too seems familiar, but again, I can't quite figure out why. As you can see, the boxes containing the actor's faces are separated by colored dots, so it can't possibly be a ripoff.
Once again they've used a free internet font to simulate the hand-lettering of Burn After Reading. The identical Es and Is are a dead giveaway.
Stay tuned for more DVD Dopplegangers!
