The murky, melodramatic world of blaxploitation cinema provides (perhaps surprisingly) the perfect setting for cheesy horror movies. Most gore fans are fond of a bit of political incorrectness, and movies like Black Devil Doll from Hell and The Zebra Killer (in which the murderer wears blackface) certainly weren’t trying too hard to be tasteful.

Blaxploitation is also the ideal avenue for the kind of subtle social criticism at which the best horror movies have always excelled (think: the original Night of the Living Dead). And as one of the few genres that commonly features African-American lead characters, it’s a great place for voices that aren’t often heard in mainstream movies.

It’s a common myth that black people always die first in horror flicks. At least here they got to be the stars as well – and the artwork used to market the films put them center-frame as awesomely as any scene. Read on for 15 of the cheesiest blaxploitation horror movie posters in history…