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DVD : The Amityville Horror (Widescreen Special Edition) |
- Scary House....Not.THE AMITYVILLE HORROR is a scary-house movie. It's one of those films about a house being haunted. The film is very loosely based upon a real-story about the Lutz family and the DeFeo family. The DeFeos were the original owners of the Amityville house and 28 days after moving in the father of the family went insane and killed his entire family. Years later the Lutz family purchases the house and moves in. Soon afterwards some really bizarre things start to happen: they start seeing ghosts, the wallpaper peels really funny, and the father, George (Ryan Reynolds) starts acting really strange. As the 28th day of their move in draws near the coincidences between what happens with the Lutzs and the DeFeos becomes too much to ignore.
THE AMITVILLE HORROR has some good acting from the entire cast. The story builds up nicely and does a fairly decent job of characterization. However, I really didn't like the movie that much. It really isn't all that frightening and the things that are supposed to be frightening come off looking like expensive special effects gags. There's also the whole bit about the house supposedly being built on an old Indian burial ground (I know the original came out before, but POLTERGEIST handles that much better) and the basement having been used as a sacrificial temple by a colonial-aged witch named J. Katchum--that made no sense at all to me in the movie. I realize that this is either a remake or re-imagining of the original film, so the filmmakers were trying to walk the line between staying true to the spirit of the original, but make it fresh. That would have been alright, but THE AMITYVILLE HORROR wasn't a movie worth remaking in the first place.
When's all said and done the thing this version of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR will probably be best remembered for is that it was the last film that MGM released as an independent company (it was bought out by Sony and other studios during the promotion of the movie). What a sad way for a great studio of the past to die out. That is a true horror.
Rating:
- What Happened To Dignity?I love suspense amd horror films. I have seen so many of those movies, and I have set standards for good horror films.
This movie was really stupid. It had terrible acting, a predictable storyline. It had meaningless blood and gore, so really, all it is is DISGUSTING. It is basically a bad hybrid of "The Ring" and horror masterpiece "The Shining". Hey, it had a creepy little girl AND a couple crazed mudurers that happen to try to kill their own families.
If you are looking for good horror films, try "The Shining" or "Darkness".
Rating:
- Some may balk but this remake is no joke...From the opening scenes we're assured this is going to be a horrific remake, brutal in delivery and high on the scare factor. With almost every horror film being remade these days it would only make sense that someone would eventually tackle `The Amityville Horror' and much to my amazement this is a valiant effort. The choppy filming adds to the air of claustrophobia and panic and keeps you paranoid over what's to happen next. Another A+ was the cast, Reynolds blowing me away with his complex performance. He was able to go from caring and concerned to the ultimate evil within blinks of an eye and none of it seemed forced. He was truly terrifying.
The film is of course based on true events. My family actually knows a family that once lived in that house, of course years after these events, and they too experienced problems, nothing like what happened to the Lutz family, but problems none the less. George (Ryan Reynolds) and his new bride Kathy (Melissa George) have bought and moved into the house once own by the DiFeo's just about a year after their eldest son Ronald murdered his entire family in their sleep laying claim that voices within the house told him to kill. It's because of this very event that the Lutz's can afford the home, for no one else will take it.
Upon moving in with their three children (all from Kathy's previous marriage) things start to turn ugly, almost immediately. George is seeing things, their youngest daughter Chelsea (Chloe Moretz) is talking to a young girl named Jodie and Kathy is seeing a dark and disturbing change in her husband. George is also starting to scare the kids, especially the eldest son Billy (Jesse James, the little brat from `Butterfly Effect'). As the days count down to day 28 (Ronald killed his family on the 28th day after he moved into the basement, which is where George has been working) things start to drastically get worse and the Lutz family is becoming more and more fearful of what the outcome may be.
As everyone knows, the Lutz family flees the house on that 28th night, never to return, not even for their belongings, and upon hearing that one may think this can't be all that scary for we already know that no one dies...but it's not the prospect of death that makes this film so terrifying, it's watching what happened to the minds of those involved, watching George change right before your eyes into a monster, watching him stalk his family and try to butcher them is downright horrifying, and although it may end on a somewhat relaxed note (in that they all get away) it's not in the slightest bit a happy note, for what they went through in that house is enough to scar even the strongest of individuals.
Rating:
- Good In Its Own Right. 59 out of 100.So many reviews of re-makes rip the film apart because it was not the original. The new Amityville Horrow is not the original, but it is a darn good film in its own right.
I found the film sexy, scary, well-acted, and very entertaining. Ryan Reynolds as George Lutz, and Melissa George as Kathy Lutz, put in very believable performances. Their surrounding cast of children add to the film's immersion and intangibles as well.
I know I have seen the first Amityville Horror, and to be honest I don't recall much other than a lot of flies (I am nearly 40, and was 12 when it came out), but I can't imagine how it could be much better than the remake. Don't get me wrong, I am sure it is a great film, but this version is pretty darn good for a horror film.
If you haven't seen it because of the critics who say "It isn't the original", you're missing out.
Total Score (out of 100) = 59
31 (out of 50). Enjoyment. A rating based on my overall enjoyment of the film.
9 (out of 10). Acting. How good was the acting?
5 (out of 10). Immersion. Did the movie suck me into the story?
8 (out of 10). Intangibles. Special effects. Movie pace. Is the movie forgettable, or something you will talk about and remember for weeks? Years?
5 (out of 10). Must see. Is this movie worth seeing/renting?
1 (out of 10). Must buy. Is this movie a must buy/purchase?
Rating:
- SUPERIOR HORROR REMAKE!!IT'S NOT THE ORIGINAL, BUT IT'S NOT BAD. THIS ONE DOESN'T LEAVE YOU HANGING LIKE THE ORIGINAL AMITYVILLE HORROR...SO IN MANY WAYS IT'S ACTUALLY BETTER!
AS FAR AS CAST GOES...THE ORIGINAL CAST WAS MUCH BETTER!!
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