Willy Wonka
A beloved children's film reimagined as psychological horror — stripping away the sugar coating to reveal the darkness that was always there.
Genre Subversion
My goal was to turn a movie poster into an opposite genre. I chose Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory because a lot of people feel Willy Wonka's story is creepy — beneath the whimsy and candy-colored surface lies something darker and more unsettling.
I focused in on that underlying eeriness, reimagining this beloved children's film as a psychological horror experience. The project challenged me to subvert expectations and reveal the sinister undertones that many viewers have always sensed but never seen made explicit.
Creating the Trippy Vibe
I created this poster entirely in Adobe Illustrator, using dodge and burn techniques to manipulate light and shadow. The process involved building several layers to create a disorienting, trippy vibe that mirrors the surreal and sometimes disturbing moments in the film.
The layered approach allowed me to distort familiar imagery, making Gene Wilder's iconic face feel simultaneously recognizable and alien — emphasizing the duality of Wonka himself: charming yet menacing, playful yet controlling.
The Final Design
The final design strips away the sugar coating to reveal the psychological tension beneath. By transforming a beloved children's classic into a horror poster, the project invites viewers to reconsider what they thought they knew about Willy Wonka's factory — and the man behind it.