This poster for The Amityville Horror uses conventional horror imagery and techniques to attract audiences. It depicts a dimly lit haunted house emerging from darkness, with windows that seem to watch like eyes. Near the house stands a determined but ambiguous man with a gun. Text hints at supernatural possession and a true story basis to enhance believability and fear. Overall it draws viewers in with a ominous atmosphere and questions about the evil within the house and the man's role.

1. The Amityville Horror is within the supernatural sub
genre, the film uses ghosts to scare the audience
and a house which on its own possesses evil. The
poster depicts different aspects of the film to tease
the audience. Half of the house is illuminated
leaving the audience wanting to know what is inside
the house and how it is involved in the narrative.
This poster is very conventional based on the
house, villain and horror iconography being the
weapon.The black background with the dimly lit
house gives an eerie feeling as if the house is its
own presence, erupting from the darkness with the
ivy plant creeping up the side of the house. The
viewer's eyes are immediately drawn to the house
coming out from the darkness because it takes up
the top 2/3 of the poster.
The colours in this poster include light greens and
greys. The font of the title of the film is also different
than in the first poster, the use of red colour is a
traditional convention used by horror movies signifying blood, violence and death. The
slogan of the film is hand-scratched into the wall which immediately creates unease because
of the idea that it is someone's attempt to convey a message. The 'katch em and kill em' line
purposefully spells the word 'catch' wrong, this plays on the idea that a child may have
scratched the message into the wall, as children are conventionally used as being
possessed and ‘scary’ this message abides by general conventions. As the slogan is in grey,
almost like graffiti, there is a violent nature depicted, the word ‘kill’ gives the audience an
insight into what events are going to take place during the film.
The contrast between the white house and the black background makes the front of the
house stand out. The surrounding darkness from the house, clouding at the sides could
illustrate the being consumed by darkness, portraying the narrative and displaying how the
house is being consumed by evil. The two windows at the top of the house are lit, this may
be showing that something is happening in there, or one of the protagonists is in there. While
the windows at the bottom of the house are dark, the lights being off could symbolize death.
With the windows at the top of the house slightly rounded and lit up it almost personifies the
house with the windows being eyes, as if the house is watching, or the evil within the house
is watching. The title of the film uses quite a simple font, although the graphics of making it
look slightly smudged or flickering like a candlelight gives off an uneasy feel as the
candlelight could represent a supernatural presence, this is conventional in horror movies.
The blurred aspect to the font also uses the illusion factor of the film.
The main title has been placed at the bottom of the poster, beneath the main image, as it is
coloured in dark orange/red this stands out predominantly from the rest of the dark colouring
used. These colours are important as they have different connotations in horror, for example
blood and death. Just above the title there are newspaper clippings presented which faintly
say ‘he was possessed’, although this does not stand out very much and is almost

2. unreadable, once it has be spotted the audience gain an insight into the narrative and events
that will occur. Underneath the title are credits to people who were involved in the making of
the film. This provides the audience with a chance to see who is in the film and which
companies are involved in the production. It also allows them to possibly recognise names
and build a perception of what the film will be like, based on their reputations.
The house is used as a key attribute of the film; this poster uses a low angle to display the
house, making the viewers of the poster feel vulnerable and intimidated by the sheer size of
the house. This low angle shot makes the house seem like its looming over us. The man's
stance in front of the house looks determined, his shoulders are squared with his head is
facing downwards as if he is preparing himself for a fight. The gun in his hand makes the
viewers confused as to whether he is the hero or the villain, the way he is positioned could
suggest either, but the fact that his face is not covered and he is in dark clothing, indicates
that he is the antagonist.
At the top of the poster there is a skyline stating the director and producers name; as
Michael Bay is a famous director and producer, the audience may be familiar with his work
and therefore may make a decision to watch the movie based on his other work such as ‘A
Nightmare on Elm Street’ and ‘Ouija’. Underneath the title is small printed text saying ‘based
on a true story’, this is chilling to the audience and instantly grabs their attention, as the film
will seem more realistic and therefore be more enticing, it makes it more believable and as a
result of this, the viewers will experience more fear.