The poster depicts a man holding a weapon walking menacingly towards an old, looming house against a dark backdrop. This establishes the horror genre and setting of the film about the true story of murders that occurred in the Amityville house. Minimal text builds mystery while credits and certification information identify the production details and target audience for this R-rated American thriller.

1. Film Title: The Amityville Horror Release Date: 15 April 2005 Genre : Horror/Thriller

2. Brief Plot Synopsis from first impressions of the Poster/First impressions of digipak– style etc. In 1973 in a small community of Amityville on Long Island, New York, the entire DeFeo family was murdered in their beds, after they had only lived in the house for 28 days. The oldest son, Ronald DeFeo Jr. confesses to police that he heard voices from the house, and he was ordered to kill all 6 family members. A year later, the house is sold to George (Ryan Reynolds) and Kathy Lutz (Melissa George) for a cheap price. They ask why so cheap, and they were told that the DeFeo family was murdered in the house. George tells his wife that houses don’t kill, people do. So they move in with their three children and start a new life. Unfortunately, their dream house becomes a nightmare. George begins to hear voices and the process starts all over again. The longer they are in the house, the worse it gets, and everything comes to a climax on the 28th day.

3. Briefly describe the content of the poster: The poster shows a man from behind (giving an air of mystery) who appears to be brandishing some sort of weapon. He is approaching a house.

4. Describe the layout e.g. colour/photography/fonts/copy etc Very dark colours, black and red – connotes horror and fear. Also grey to connote dreariness and attract attention to the old house in which the film is set.

5. What colours were used principally on this artefact? There are 5 noticeable colours used in the poster, these being a deep red for the title (to foreshadow the horror and bloodshed that the film will contain) white for the graffiti on the walls and the headline: ‘Based on a true story.’ as well as the credits and production and promotional information at the bottom of the poster, these stand out as they contrast against the dark blacks/greys and reds that take up the rest of the poste. The grey connotes the feel of the old ruins and the old house which is central to the poster. The black foreshadows the dark content of the film and there is also a slight green tint over the greyness of the house which shows the ruralness of the setting.

6. Was there a specific style e.g. layout / typography i.e. a common look for the artefact? The specific style is of a slasher/psychotic nature, as the male (who we can only sefrom behind) is walking owards the house in a somewhat psychotic manner, brandishing a weapon, which matches the mood given by the colours used (as mentioned above).

7. What images did the artefact contain? The images consisted of a man walking towards a old manor house which is lit up slightly in contrast to the dark background

8. What was the purpose of the images? How are they composed – shot distance/angle/framing? The images are used to show give the audience clues in reference to what the film will be like. The image of the man walking in a sinister manner towards the house with a weapon informs the audience of the general plot. The camera shot of the man is from behind, at a low angle, so we feel that we are personally watching him, and the low angle reveals his domineering threatening character. The house is shot at a low angle and is the centrepiece as it is the main setting of the film.

9. What connotations do they suggest? The low angle connotes the man’s character: domineering and threatening. The low angle of the house shows it looming over us in a scary fashion, suggesting that horror lurks inside.

10. Does it link to the Album/Film title? It links to the title “The Amityville Horror” as the images and colours used definitely connote horror, and the central image of the Amityville manor itself is the main setting for the film (hence the name).

11. How is the band/Star presented – image? Text – Think representation/stereotypes etc. The only character on the poster is represented as the stereotypical villain – walking up to the house with a weapon, preparing to attack his victim etc.

12. What was the tone of the text– i.e. style of language -formal/humorous etc. There is minimal text on the poster as the images are of most importance to set the scene, however the shortness of the text creates an air of mystery, making the audience want to see the film.

13. What industry information was included on the poster/digipak cover – e.g. barcodes/certification/logos etc. There are credits at the bottom e.g main cast, producers etc, as well related logos such as Universal Studios etc. There is also an ‘R’ rating. We know from this that the poster is American, as we have a different system in the UK.

14. Write down anything you think worked particularly well on this product? I think the images and the way in which they were constructed (from a particular angle to give a daunting look) helped to strengthen the product and made it appealing for it’s demographic.