Existing Film Research - The Amityville Horror

I have decided to look at supernatural horrors in which the demon/ghost is not doubled up with the victim. From research that I have already done I have realised that there seems to be two recurring themes in supernatural horrors - a possessed spirit taking the form of a human, or a demon roaming the house of their victim. This particular film was made quite a long time after the first version of 'The Omen' but a mere year before the second (2006) version.

This is a very typical image of a haunted house. This has deliberately been used in the trailer along with the dark setting to create a sense of uncertainty in the audience. I have learnt that uncertainty and 'the unknown' plays a big part in the plot of supernatural horrors based on a house - it adds to the vulnerability of the characters.

What I've picked up on in this trailer is the text used. The text here mirrors the idea of 'the unknown' and plays on the audiences minds - it's all a big mystery!

Although the demon is not possessing the main characters here, it is still taking the form of a little girl - a child. Children seem to be a recurring theme in horrors such as these because they evoke pity. I believe that although the audience are intended to hate the child for inflicting horror on the protagonists, they are also supposed to pity the ghost's situation.