The emphasis on exaggeration stems from an African tradition of "visualizing the invisible," said Joseph Oduro-Frimpong, director of the Centre of African Popular Culture at Ashesi University and a poster collector.
"The posters' audiences have not seen the film, so it's impossible for them to know [whether they are accurate]," Oduro-Frimpong said.
"Therefore, the artists tap into what they call imaginative painting. They will highlight these things and in doing so incorporate things that are not in there.
There is a kind of sensationalism to it."
When the Audience Fights Back
The reinterpretations sometimes led to threats, insults, or physical attacks from viewers who felt deceived.
Kofi recalled an incident in the 1990s when people beat him up after watching the action film Double Impact and realizing it lacked a beheading scene depicted on the poster.
At the Centre for National Culture in Accra, dozens of colorful posters from Deadly Prey Gallery are displayed.
They include Jennifer Lopez launching an arrow at a snake in Anaconda, and a mouse emerging from Jamie Lee Curtis' mouth in Halloween.
>>> Christopher Nolan Forces Rivals to Flee as He Dominates Blockbuster Season
"We are preserving a tradition," Kofi said. "We are preserving a history."
