“Motel Hell” (地獄のモーテル), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1980, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) O524

This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1980 for the first Japanese theatrical release of Motel Hell (地獄のモーテル), directed by Kevin Connor and distributed in Japan by United Artists (ユナイト映画).

The film is a cult black‑comedy horror in which a seemingly folksy farmer‑motel owner turns wayward travellers into his secret ingredient for award‑winning smoked meats.

Film background
Set in rural California, the story follows Vincent Smith and his sister Ida, who run the “Motel Hello” and a popular smoked‑meat business. Unlucky motorists are waylaid, planted up to their necks in the garden and “fattened up” before being harvested for Vincent’s famous sausages. When a young woman survives one of their staged accidents and begins to fall for Vincent, their grisly enterprise starts to unravel. Mixing satirical jabs at agribusiness and American hospitality with outrageous horror, the film has become a favourite among fans of offbeat ’80s splatter.

Poster design
The Japanese B2 art focuses on the victims’ terrifying perspective. The top third shows the isolated motel glowing faintly on a hill, silhouetted against a black night sky, with a shadowy figure holding a weapon in the foreground. From this figure’s position, rows of screaming human heads stretch towards the viewer, each bound with a noose, suggesting the infamous “garden” where Vincent’s captives are buried. Electric blue highlights around the faces and horizon give the composition a lurid, supernatural edge. The bright yellow copy running down the right side promises “生きたまま味わう無限のショック！” (“the endless shock of being eaten alive”), while the thick, blood‑red title 「地獄のモーテル」 sprawls across the bottom, rendered with a rough, dripping texture.

This poster is in excellent condition (please refer to the imagery of the exact poster for sale).

It is over 45 years old.

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.