2. ‘The Amityville Horror’ is a 2005 remake of the classic 1970s supernatural horror film of the
same name, centred around a haunted house that drove a father of two to murder his entire
family. Due to its focus on the house itself as a source of evil, the film draws many
comparisons with my own, and the numerous demons and ghosts that haunt the estate
interlink with my idea to create a vast array of paranormal entities. Because of this, analysing
the poster for such a film will be very useful, as it will allow me to understand what an
audience would come to expect from a horror film of this calibre, and how I can twist their
expectations with my own unique take on a poster.
Overall, this poster mainly abides by the conventions of its form – implying that the film
itself is relatively formulaic in providing its scares, and caters towards fans of the original
instead of bringing anything new to the classic tale. This respect for conventions can be seen
in the large image, dominating the entirety of the frame, and a basic application of the rule of
thirds, where the character and threat are placed within the middle third and the title and
institutional information are placed in the bottom third. Much like other posters of the
subgenre, a tagline is used; however, the tagline is placed directly underneath the title instead
of its usual placement at the top of the frame, which is taken up instead by information about
the film’s producer. It can be argued that this has been done in the knowledge that the
majority of audiences will already be familiar with the plot of the film, and that they will
therefore be more interested in who has been tasked with remaking it, as it will provide them
with a hint into what the film will be like. However, despite the prime placement at the top of
the frame, this strip of information is substantially smaller in terms of font size than the
tagline, suggesting that it merely serves to introduce the film as opposed to giving an insight
into the plot. This instead has been tasked to the tagline, but due to the notoriety of the
narrative, it is simplified and abdicated to a lesser position.
The focal point within the image itself is the house, as it looms over the smaller main
character and appears to be the source of the evil. By using washed out blacks, greys and
sepia tones to depict its recognisable ‘face’, the house is portrayed as something ancient and
powerful, controlled by some sinister undying force beyond comprehension. In conjunction
with this, the scratched, grainy quality of the image further adds to the idea that the house has
been the cause of innumerable tragedies for centuries, and will continue to inflict terror upon
its residents for centuries to come. Also, this hand-me-down quality is reminiscent of the
original poster for the 1970s film, which will suggest to fans that this version will be a
faithful remake to the original and will retain the authenticity of the era in which it was
filmed in. Proceeding on from this, the aforementioned ‘face’ of the house is on full display
in this poster, as no other houses of note look like it. It also gives a warped sense of life to the
house itself, enforcing how this inanimate structure is the actual source of the horror
throughout this film and has a mind of its own in controlling its victims. The low angle shot
only serves to exemplify its power over the comparatively small protagonist, which hints
towards the way in which the house will slowly take control of him as the film progresses.
Despite it’s clear individuality, however, this house (and all the events that transpire within it)
falls comfortably within the conventions of a supernatural horror film – it’s large, distinctive,
and old-fashioned, like every other haunted house within the supernatural subgenre.
Beneath the house, the main character of George can be seen centrally within the frame. He is
hunched over and facing towards the house, almost pained in his body language, and is
holding a shotgun limply in his right hand. The fact that he is hunched over further demeans
his role as a human being, and shows that he is of secondary importance as a character to the
house itself. Moreover, the placement of the house directly above him suggests that the
oppression of the house is physically causing him to stoop, and this gives an indication of
how it possesses George both physically and mentally. Overall this shows how he is merely a
puppet to the dominant power of the Amityville house, channelling the supernatural evils
3. through his own physical abilities, and will eventually serve as the primary antagonist within
the film because of this. This idea is strengthened by the fact that he is holding a shotgun - a
more realistic take on the usual knives and axes associated with the subgenre. Guns are also
commonly seen as more impersonal weapons than the standard melee weapons of horror, and
this also shows how George isn’t motivated by personal hatred or desire, but is completely
out of control of his own thoughts and actions. Furthermore, the contrast of white and black
in his clothing suggests the conflict of his innocence and the impending evil that is taking him
over, and it is this conflict that the film will revolve around and play upon within its
narrative. Also, an aura of light is also noticeable around George. Although light is usually
associated with divinity and heavenly purpose, the light here is tainted yellow, and appears to
be radiating from the house itself. This further enforces how it is corrupting all things that
were previously associated with goodness and purity, and filling them with malignant
purpose.
Unusually, only a portion of the image is actually shown in this poster, as the house appears
to be rising out of some form of darkness or decay that is gradually pressing in on the sides. It
is reminiscent of a glimpse through a windscreen wiper, rubbing dirt off a screen in order to
view a distorted, tainted landscape. In relation to the Amityville horror, however, it signifies
the deteriorating state of mind of the central character and how the sharp-edged darkness of
the house is rapidly contributing to his loss of sanity. Although the audience sees George at a
distance, this dirt-speckled image almost appears to be placing the audience into the
characters perspective as the darkness takes hold and begins to seep its way into his thoughts.
This shows that George will be the character that the audience will be most likely to affiliate
with, and will take up most of the screen time, and it is this empathy with his situation that
will allow the audience to experience the horror as though it is happening to themselves,
creating a lasting effect. It also illustrates how, after the credits have rolled, the film will have
‘tainted’ the lives of the audience members due to its shocking nature and visceral horror,
made all the more real by the fact that it is ‘based on a true story’. Essentially, therefore, the
evil that resides within the house will have taken the audience as its victims, as well as the
fictional protagonist himself, and it is this guarantee of terror that is likely to draw audiences
to watch the film.
Furthermore, in terms of the composition of the poster, the house itself is slanted and tilted
towards the sky, taking up over half of the actual image. Due to this tilted position, it gives
the impression that the house has risen from the ground itself and not been constructed by
normal builders and architects, and this evidently emphasises its otherworldly nature. It also
allows the audience to entertain the idea that the Amityville house is rising from hell itself,
and that the force within its walls is related to the Devil in some way or another. George’s
position beneath it, therefore, renders him vastly inferior to its power, and yet it is clear to the
audience that his aggressive state of mind (seen from his body language/weapon) is linked
directly to the house, consolidating how it is using him as a pawn through which to channel
its evil. Indeed, the open door in front of George is representative of a huge, gaping mouth,
and his close proximity to it suggests that it is about to swallow him whole and fully take
control of his life. The fact that we can only see his back only serves to dehumanise him
more, clearly demonstrating how any attachment felt towards George will soon be replaced
by fear and pity.
Interestingly, the words ‘Katch ‘em and kill ‘em’ appear lopsided and unconventional on the
border of the bottom third of the poster. They are placed intentionally to run through the title
and into the institutional information, and could potentially serve as an extra tagline for the
film despite their unconventional placement. It can be argued that the reason for their
positioning is that they serve as an indication into George’s thoughts, and that due to the
unstable nature of his mind, they are sporadically placed to represent how his thoughts are
4. messy, unstructured, and disturbed. The faint, drooping font of the words reinforces this
point, as they appear almost translucent – as though some otherworldly entity have placed
them there, and they are rapidly fading into the darkness of George’s mind, becoming part of
his unconscious thought process. Also, the purposeful misspelling and abbreviations used
within this phrase serve to highlight the undoing of his mind, as all knowledge of spelling and
grammar is being erased by the possessive force inside his head. ‘K’ is also a significantly
more plosive sound than ‘C’, which adds an undercurrent of violence to the protagonist’s
thoughts that we as an audience know will manifest itself into physical aggression. In
addition to this, the phrase has a certain singsong nature to it, and the simplicity of the rhyme
and alliteration draws associations with nursery songs, which subsequently juxtaposes with
the threatening nature of the phrase. The idea of creepy children and contrapuntal childish
music is another convention of the subgenre, and the use of this phrase therefore serves to
root the film even more firmly within the supernatural category – especially because the
narrative also contains both of these features. Ultimately, the phrase of ‘Katch ‘em & Kill
‘Em’ creates a tagline catchy enough to embed itself into the audiences sub consciousness,
allowing them to unconsciously be reminded of the film whenever they next hear a similar
sounding nursery rhyme. Evidently, however, the poster deems the ‘based on a true story’
tagline to be more relevant to the film, as it is given a bolder font and a more central
placement. This may be because audiences can only truly be scared if they find the nature of
the horror relatable to their own daily lives; so if it was a true story, they are substantially
more likely to be scared by it, thus increasing their likelihood of watching the film.
The title of the film, ‘The Amityville Horror’, anchors the image, and provides a name for the
dominant house that takes up the majority of the frame. By using the word ‘the’, audiences
are instantly able to grasp the fact that this is a well-known, one of a kind horror story that
has been immortalised over time and will continue to be remembered as time goes on. Again,
by using the actual name of the ‘Amityville’ estate, the director is staying faithful to the
original and heavily relying upon the notion that everybody going to see the film will already
be familiar with the story behind it. This expands the target audience from fans of the original
film to all lovers of horror tales/fables, meaning a large variety of people are likely to see this
movie based upon the infamy of the tale alone. In terms of the design of the title itself, a red
serif font is used in order to evoke a menacing feeling that works in conjunction with the
proposed evil of the image. Using a red font is usually more typical of slasher horror films,
but due to the violent, bloody subject of The Amityville Horror, it is appropriately used here
to symbolise the bloodshed caused by the Amityville house. The serif font, however, firmly
anchors the film within the supernatural subgenre, as it is this subgenre that is often
considered to be more sophisticated/intellectually stimulating than other slasher or gothic
films, and the serif font mirrors that degree of professionalism, hence why it is used in so
many modern-day supernatural films. Moreover, the word ‘Amityville’ is enlarged in relation
to the other words, placing further significance on the house itself, and perhaps indicating that
there will be more focus and information on the history of the house than there was in the
original film. Indeed, the fact that the ‘Y’ is dripping down further strengthens this idea, as
the elongated length of the letter could be symbolic of the long bloody history of the house
and its former residents. Within the letters themselves, a slight orange tinge can also be seen,
which brings associations with fire and hell, enforcing the previously mentioned idea that the
house appears to be rising from hell itself.
This poster heavily influences my own, primarily with the unique aesthetic that makes it
appear as though the image is eroding/ripping down the sides. I feel as though this adds a
unique dynamic to the poster, as though one were seeing it through the distorted vision of the
protagonist, and this will be reflected in my use of leaking walls in the promotional poster for
‘The Basement’. This concept of dripping/leaking will be a reflection of the protagonist’s
5. degrading mental state and will subsequently blur the line between reality and nightmares. In
addition to this, the subtle tint used on the title of ‘The Amityville Horror’ seems to raise the
text, as though it is leaping out of the page, as well as drawing associations with corruption
and possession of malignant darkness. For this reason, a subtle red tint will be used on the
poster of ‘The Basement’ in order to reflect the corruption of Joel’s innocence by the devil.
