The Amityville Horror
It's good to be a horror fan these days. Despite all the seeming resentment from 'real' horror fans that slickly produced,
good looking and good sounding horror isn't 'real' horror, today's films continue to do well both creatively and
financially. Ok, saying that there's a 'creative' element to remade horror films such as The Amityville Horror is
perhaps giving the production more credit than it deserves - it's not an original concept to redo someone else's work. But
just like covers of classic songs, sometimes an update for today is well called for. And sometimes they just go so damned
wrong it's upsetting. The Amityville Horror however is another timely update on an old classic.
Using the 'based on a true story' angle that powered 2003's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to success, the Michael
Bay production isn't the best horror film of recent memory, but it sure has a little more style and substance than most
others of its genre. A random count of any given ten horror films of the last few years would net you 7 or 8 clunkers
Unfortunately the film does recycle more than just its idea. Many of the scare tricks that the film uses have admittedly
been done before. While there's something definately creepy about the concept, the recent trend of little girls with dark
wet hair running around and randomly appearing to deliver shocks, is no longer original. Saying that though, what The
Amityville Horror does use, be it recycled ideas to scare, or new ideas, iy uses them all with great effect.
The story follows the Lutz family, who eagerly purchase their new house with a clear hope that their fortunes and dreams
are all starting to come true. Despite being informed of some of the house's gruesome history by the estate agent, they
move in anyway. Soon after moving in the mother Kathy Lutz begins to see changes in her husband George and in his treatment
of her kids. When his behaviour begins to scare her she seeks help from the local Father Callaway and learns more about
the house's previous tenants. Scared that the events that led to the other family's murder seem to now be a mirror of what
she sees happening to her own family, she follows the Father's advice and makes a last ditch effort to get her family out
of the house.
The Amityville Horror creates a very nice level of atmosphere from the beginning thanks to a pretty creepy real
estate agent. It really kicks into gear when a babysitter comes over and starts reciting the tales of what happened to the
previous residents. With the kids suitably freaked out and various presences in the house out for some revenge, a great
sequence is capped by the now mentally destroyed sitter being wheeled out of the house on a stretcher. From there to Father
Callaway being chased out of the house and Reynolds' damn straight creepy portrayal of George Lutz's decent into possession,
The Amityville Horror works as intended.
The cast do a great job, with Reynolds the highlight. He brings in a small portion of his usual smart-ass charm, but
leaves most of it behind as we watch his character descend deeper into the mindset of a murderer as the house's true
occupants turn him against his family. He really does become quite creepy throughout the film, as his nastiness towards
the kids and his wife grows surprisingly swiftly at some points. Melissa George finally gets the chance to headline a
Hollywood film after more than 10 years trying, and does herself a great service in The Amityville Horror.
Again, not the scariest or most original film out there, but it leaves a far better taste in the mouth than recent films
that focus on subjects such as the boogeyman or the tooth fairy. It's well acted, has some good scares and more importantly
knows its audience. We should all be so lucky and hope that horror film remakes continue with the same level of good faith
that we have seen with The Amityville Horror.
out of ten
Reviewed by Paul Boschen
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