Film Poster Analysis - The Amityville Horror

Film Poster Analysis - The Amityville Horror

What are the main colours in the poster and what do they connote?

The main colours are: green, black and red - very dull and mysterious matching the image itself. The lighting of the yellow/green tint seems to fall exactly on the focused man and fades outwards over the house, expressing his importance over the house and in the story. The tint of a dull green connotes imagery of moss and decay matching the exterior of the house, technique of the editing within the poster and disorientation of the plot. In further, green is used to symbolise greed and jealousy which could match the persons meaning to kill.

What symbols are used in the poster? Do you need the audience foreknowledge to decode the symbols?

There are hardly any symblos within the poster, with the knowledge of the film you can figure out the reason for why the two lights at the top of the building are on and how they stare out of the film. However without knowledge of the film it would not be clear.

What are the main figures/objects/backgrounds of the poster and how is attention gained?

The focal point of the poster is the house as it contains the largest amount of the page, however this is overridden by the glowing silhouetted man carrying a large object - these are both shown photographically. As the man overrides the house with help of post-editing shadows and effects - it connotes how the character holds a big influence on the story line and affects the home dramatically. Around the focal point there is an illustrative script on the wall written in scratched, fast font - a convention largely used in the horror industry as it connotes terror, panic and danger. The writing includes “watch ‘em and kill ‘em” ambiguously influences curiosity in the audience in hope to grab their attention and want to go see the film. These writing also link with the silhouetted figure holding a weapon showing that his purpose may be to watch and kill the household within.

Given that all the movie posters have the same purpose - to get audiences to go see a movie - what persuasive techniques are used by the poster?

The techniques are mainly revolved around the plot of the film - focusing on the tag line and ambiguity of the shadowed man.

Which genre conventions are referred to?

Blood red writing is the most obvious horror convention because of the imagery of using the color, as it connotes danger, blood, angst and the devil; all themes conventionally used within a horror film. The large ambiguous man also leads conventions because he is used to show terror without and creates vunerability because the audience has not and probably will not see him fully/see his face. The character has a large build and is armed with a large weapon - all stereotypes of a raged, ‘unnatural’ figure out for one thing - this fear is universal and is used regulary because of this.

Is a star used as a USP?

I think there are two USP’s used within this poster; the first being Michael Bay producer of ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ at the top of the film poster, shows the quality of the film due to his success of past films. The second is the fact it is based on a true story which appeals to certain audiences and is placed under the title to show it’s priority.

How does the tag-line work?

The first film used the tag-line “For God’s sake get out” but the 2005 re-make changed the tag-line to “Based on a true story” using this as a USP. It is also placed under the title of the film (where the focal point is) to gain audience appreciation and market the film.