The Amityville Horror - In depth Film Analysis

The lighting and colours used in ‘The Amityville Horror’ trailer contributes to the way in which the audience view it and helps them to understand which genre the film belongs to. Right at the beginning of the trailer, before the family have moved into the Amityville house, the lighting is very bright and colours such as green are used through the trees. The colour green connotes nature and health, which is exactly what the family have at the beginning of the trailer. The family are ecstatic to be buying the new house and this is demonstrated through the colour green and bright lighting. However, green could also connote sickness or bad health which could symbolise the upcoming events in the film trailer.


Another part of the trailer where lighting and colour is used effectively is the shot where the lightning is surrounding the house. The lighting here is generally dark, but is brightened up by the lightning. This could simply be a device to make the audience have negative feelings towards the house. Darkness connotes death and evil; therefore by using a shot of the house in a dark setting, the audience are more likely to believe that supernatural beings haunt the house. Subtly, the lighting in this part of the trailer allows the audience to get an insight to the mood of the film.






The mise en scene also contributes to the way that the viewer sees the trailer. Dark make up is cleverly used on the little girl (Jodie) to make the audience fear her. This completely contrasts the idea that little children are innocent which is represented by the other little girl in the trailer. Put next to each other, there is a noticeable difference in the way that the audience view each child due the dark make up on Jodie. This symbolises the loss of innocence in Jodie which makes the audience sympathise with her a little bit. However, the audience don’t trust her with the other little girl, and fear that she may corrupt her also.


Another element of the mise en scene that adds to the meaning of the trailer is the props used. Guns are used in the trailer which connotes violence and paired with the facial expressions of the actor connotes insanity. This furthermore helps the viewer to understand the extent to which the house has destroyed this family, and how bad their situation actually is.






Facial expressions are essential to films and trailers to help the audience to connect with the characters. In this case, camera shots add to these. The close-up shot of the mum talking to the priest allows us to understand her situation and sympathise with her more than any of the other characters. This emphasises her fear about the house and therefore emphasises the audience’s fear.


Another way that camera work has contributed to the trailer is when using a shot-reverse-shot of the man of the house and the ghost man. This highlights the contrast between the two in terms of what they are and what their intentions are. However, it could be argued that this shot shows how similar the two have become due to the male protagonist’s insanity because of the happenings in his house.






The editing in terms of text creates a certain mood for the trailer. The text is white which connotes innocence and peace. The peace could represent the family before they moved into the Amityville house, or the children’s innocence. However, the white writing is placed upon a black background which could symbolise the supernatural and evil looming over the family. It could also symbolise the corruption of the children’s innocence.


In terms of editing, the fades used throughout the trailer help the audience to understand the trailer. They are constantly building up tension throughout, and put the audience on edge and make them uneasy. The audience almost expect something to make them jump, but nothing ever does. This ultimately makes the audience want to watch the film to find out whether the tension ever climaxes to anything.






Lastly, diegetic sound also plays on the idea of change throughout the trailer. For example, at the beginning of the trailer, sound such as laughter and speech are used effectively to create positive emotions in the audience. The woman exclaims ‘This is the deal of a lifetime’. This challenges the conventions of a supernatural horror film and is not what the audience would expect whilst watching one. However, that soon changes; as soon as the move happens, things are much quieter and not very much speech is used from then on. This adds to the tension already created by the fades.





Another example of diegetic sound that helps to create tension is a rapid knocking/ticking noise towards the end of the trailer. This presents the idea that time is running out, and emphasises the desperation of the family trying to escape from the supernatural. Home is the place that you are supposed to feel safe in and this family lack that; they have nowhere to run to, and this is made very apparent in the trailer. This ultimately means that the audience sympathise more with the characters and become more involved in the trailer/film.