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DVD The Amityville Horror (Widescreen Special Edition)
Most horror movies establish an atmosphere of normalcy, which they gradually rupture with spooky or creepy or stomach-churning images. The Amityville Horror--a remake of the 1979 movie about a possessed house that torments the family that moves into it--tosses normalcy out the window in the first five minutes, unleashing a nonstop barrage of unsettling camera angles, decaying wood and stained wallpaper, half-glimpsed shadows in motion, fast edits of grotesque ghosts, and dozens of other horror-movie devices. Whether you like the movie will depend on whether you like feeling slightly nauseated and cut off from any semblance of reality--for many people, that's why they go to horror movies. Others won't be able to suspend disbelief that anyone but an actor would spend the time necessary to develop Ryan Reynold's insanely buff physique, prominently displayed as he runs around wearing nothing but a pair of loose-fitting pajama bottoms. In addition to Reynolds (Van Wilder, Blade: Trinity), the movie also features Philip Baker Hall (Magnolia) and Melissa George (Down With Love). --Bret Fetzer
Review(s): DVD The Amityville Horror (Widescreen Special Edition)
Presenting...a demo video for Ryan Reynolds' abs!
I'm torn on this one. I first watched this new incarnation of Amityville last month, and thought it was pretty good. Upon second viewing, I started seeing its flaws. It's still a good movie, but not great like many would lead you to believe. Also, it's been a few years since I've seen the original, so I went into this remake with as little angst over "remakes need to end" as possible. The thing is, The Amityville Horror is a nice movie and all, but there's just too much thrown in as far as imagery goes, that it almost seems like two different directors made the movie at the same time, and combined what they had. In fact, all of the drama that we get: the tension between the family, things they hear in the house, etc....that's all good. But when it comes to showing us what they're up against, it's there that the movie fails. Add to that some scenes that bring absolutely nothing to the movie, and you've got a standard 3 star picture.
In case you've been out of the loop for the past 30 years, Ronald DeFeo killed his family in a house located in Amityville. According to him, it was under the influence of demons that instructed him to kill them in their sleep. The strangest thing was, he killed them with a shotgun- you'd think the sound from it would wake up at least one other family member, but they were all in their beds when they were killed. Weird, eh? That's the into to the movie, and we're then introduced to George and Kathy, a nice young couple looking for a new place to live. Kathy has three children, whom George loves as well, and everything's great. Aside from the little angsty pre-teen, this is a good family. When they're out house shopping, they find a huge place for a ridiculously low price. Guess which house it is? Bingo. After learning about the house's past, they still move in, and their sanity flies out the window. Over the next 28 days, a lot happens. George starts to hear things, Kathy's daughter, Chelsea, starts to go a little too far with her "imaginary friend", who just so happens to be the little girl who was killed in that house. Things get worse when a baby sitter (who's hardly dressed for the part. Where was this girl when I was younger?) comes over to watch the kids, and ends up getting locked in a closet, freaking out over something she thought she wouldn't see again. Even worse is when George swears he locked the boat house, and swears he sees Chelsea in there. The insanity progresses over the period of 28 days, and while it is creepy, I don't think anyone in their right mind would stick around more than a week if this happened to them. Especially when you start to see undead native Americans in your bathroom.
Like I already mentioned, they just show too much, and there's very little to be scared of once we see what's in the same room as the family. The only thing about the movie that surprised me was the baby sitter/closet scene. Honestly, I'm surprised the director even got away with this. And after watching it a second time, it's almost like he was forced to go there, giving the audience a spook that could've been done some other way. While there is a good blend of drama and terror here, there just isn't enough separation between the scenes. The movie almost goes drama, horror, drama, horror, horror, drama, horror, drama, horror, horror, horror, end. Speaking of the ending, that was one of the few things I remember from the original. How it ended with the family driving off, and then the text closing. Here, we get a very cheap immediate ending. In fact, this bugged me more than anything else in the movie somehow. Well, that and Ryan Reynolds. Don't get me wrong- I'm not dissing on the guy, he's a great actor/comedian. But how many times does he take off his shirt here? The whole movies seems like a demo for his abs. While I have my complaints, The Amityville Horror is better than the majority of remakes and "psychological thrillers"/horror movies out there lately. Even if it does rely on the current trend of having a creepy little girl for most of the scares.
Visually, the transfer is great. Everything is crisp, there's hardly any grain to be found, and night scenes look fantastic. You want clarity? Check out the outdoor scenes when George is cutting wood. You can practically count all the leaves on the shrubs. The audio's just as good, but there's something wrong at the same time. While voices and sounds are heard very clearly, the movie focuses too much on ambient sounds for some of the scares. And when they do this, the ambiance greatly overpowers any other sound present.
First up is a surprisingly good commentary track with Ryan Reynolds and the producers. They're all very laid back (which was amazing considering how Ryan's acted in previous movies) , and reveal some good information. Ryan talks about how he trained for some of the scenes, and even jokes about how they wanted to try going through the whole track without mentioning his abs. I would've liked a little more info on why they wanted to remake the movie though. We also get a 25 minute making of featurette that shows some cool behind the scenes footage. There are some interviews with the actors who talk about what they liked about making the movie while not kissing up, which is a first for these kinds of extras. The deleted scenes have optional commentary, and might've made the movie a little better. Some involve Kathy and George having even more problems with their marriage and current living situation, while others take place in the nearby town. The movie could've benefitted greatly from that alone. Supernatural Homicide is a pretty silly featurette, though it's supposed to be serious. It has people who were involved with the DeFeo family's murder, including an officer that investigated the situation, and a psychic who explored the house with her husband at the time. There are some pictures from the investiagtion that they show as well. While it's good that we get some type of historical extra, the interviews here are nothing but fluff. Most of the photos are reenacted as well. In fact, do a search for the original Warren report on the house, and you'll get somewhat better info, though the site has very little to begin with. Finally is an On Set Sneak Peek, which is identical to New Line's InfiniFilm feature. You can now watch the movie while getting behind the scenes looks at everything. Kind of cool, but not cool enough to sit through the movie yet again. And sadly, there isn't an alternate camera angle for George and Kathy's love scene.
You could do a heck of a lot worse than Amityville, but there are also better ones out there...like High Tension. It's a decent horror romp for young people, especially for Ryan Reynolds fans (and even more for Melissa George who plays Kathy. She's god damn stunning). But you won't get too scared. Especially given some of the ridiculous undead that are shown. Blah, I'm still torn between liking and disliking the movie even now. And I've watched it 4 times now.
It's Not Dull
I've never seen the original and know little about the story of the house in Amityville, New York and the only reason I wanted to see it was because it's a horror flick and I like seeing new age horror flicks to see if it's the same as the last one. Most horror films that come out nowadays are all the same, so it's nice to see something different (or a remake). This film is written by
Scott Kosar, the writer of the remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
and "The Machinist". I don't think this film is as good as the two other films mentioned but it's better than movies such as "The Grudge" or "Hide and Seek." As I pretty much mentioned earlier, I'm not sure how true this story is but I'll begin. The movie is about George and Kathy Lutz (Ryan Reynolds
& Melissa George) newlyweds who along with Kathy's kids move into a beautiful house in Amityville. Turns out that a man named Ronald Defeo killed his entire family in the house (the opening scene depicting the murders is a glorious scene. Very well shot.) Well, eventually George slowly begins to go crazy; At least, crazier than the rest of the family. While George slips into madness, the kids and Kathy keep running into the ghost of the youngest murdered member of the Defeo family, Jodie. I know from watching the behind the scenes featurette that Jodie is replacing a demonic pig from the first movie. Anyway, just so I don't give away anything, I'll throw in a couple opinions. This movie isn't scary; I jumped a little bit twice. The horrifying scenes, with makeup and such, are very well done. The scenes with George seeing the indians in the basement is very well done. There's a lot of blood in the movie, and I liked it better than the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" so, yeah I recommend it. But don't place it very high on the list. B-
The original was so much better...
First, I'd like to claim that I've been a fan of the original 1979, "The Amityville Horror". It is truly one of the most terrifying [and scariest] ghost stories you will ever see! Despite the obvious limitations to low budget filming, it does surprisingly deliver that nightmarish atmosphere that keeps you scared all the way to the unforgettable climatic ending! Hoax or not, it proved to be quite popular with the public upon release, considering the fact that it's actually based off the bestselling novel by Jay Anson. Additionally, a fair amount of it even stays true to Anson's version of the Lutz family and the shocking 28 days, which they experienced in the old Long Island estate.
If you asked me, I'd tell you that I must've watched it more than five times by now and it still never fails to scare the absolute crap out of me! What's more, I WAS truly looking forward to the remake like many and my hopes were set high! After all, I enjoyed "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake and I love it just as much as the original. Unfortunately, this wasn't the same for 'Amityville'! Directed by Andrew Douglas and produced by Michael Bay (who also took part in the TCM remake), this is one of those remakes that leave you wondering, "Why did they have to do that? It was fine just the way it was!"
The storyline has been changed drastically (aside from the Lutz family moving into the house and experiencing strange events taking place) and the acting is nothing more but cardboard. Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George simply cannot replace James Brolin and Margot Kidder as Kathy and George Lutz. In the 1979 version, we were given powerful and dramatic performances that actually had us feel sympathy for the characters. Sadly, this isn't so the second time through and you really couldn't care either way whether the characters live or die. Also, why spoil all the fun by revealing Jodie's character? In the original, we never get to see what Jodie looks like, but this method proves to be A LOT more effective and suspenseful than the ghost of some dead little girl.
Furthermore, we hardly even get to know THIS Lutz family due to the fact that the 28 days shift by so quick through the VERY short 90 minutes! For example, we only get to see maybe one or two days that they go through until the film skips all the way to Day 28! So where's the character development? Not quite there. Again, you can't really feel much sympathy for the characters here. Finally, the, usage of CGI effects were just terrible! Personally, I believe that CGI should NOT belong in a horror movie because it takes away the scary atmosphere and ruins the realism! (Can anybody say, "White Noise" or "Ring Two"?) It may not be as overdone, but it is still noticeable and it shouldn't be there PERIOD!
Luckily, I didn't have to pay a dime when I went to go see the premiere of this in Seattle, considering the fact that a fellow classmate of mine had offered a bunch of us free spare tickets that she'd gotten in order for everyone to go. I'm most thankful and I know for a fact now that I'm sticking with the original 1979 version, which is the BEST and ONLY version that you should look into! Hollywood has been known to take other great classics (e.g. George A. Romero's, "Dawn of the Dead") and hack 'em up to shreds! They'd better stay away from Tobe Hooper's and Steven Spielberg's, "Poltergeist" because it's one of those genuine horror masterpieces that do NOT need a remake! If they want to restore, some deleted scenes fine. Otherwise, LEAVE IT ALONE! Bottom line: go rent the original, "The Amityville Horror", but avoid the horror-ible 2005 remake!
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