Amityville II: The Possession
by Damiano Damiani
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Andrew Prine, Burt Young, Jack Magner, James Olson, Rutanya AldaDirector: Damiano Damiani
Brand: OLSON,JAMES
Producer: Bernard Williams
Producer: Dino De Laurentiis
Producer: Ira N. Smith
Producer: José López Rodero
Writer: Dardano Sacchetti
Writer: Hans Holzer
Writer: Tommy Lee Wallace
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-04-05
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Amityville II: The Possession
Movie Review: A Brutally Scary All-time classic based on a true story with a brilliant mixture of realism and pure evil.
Summary: 5 Stars
When I was about 12 years old, I caught "Amityville II: The Possession" on the television late one Saturday night when my parents were asleep. It was so scary, so disturbing and so horrifying that I literally could not finish it. Years later, I decided to watch it all, and it still packed a terrifying punch of horror.
As a horror movie lover and aficionado and/or connoisseur of the genre, it is rare to find a sequel that is better than the original. Such is the case with "Amityville II: The Possession". Sadly, this movie does not get the credit it deserves as a horror movie for some reason or other. Perhaps this is because it is a sequel or maybe because some people erroneously view this movie as a sort of rip off of "The Exorcist" because there is the element of possession in this movie that "Amityville 2" employs to implement cinematic horror. This horror is brought crashing home to the audience in a perfect blend of supernatural and realistic terror.
"Amityville II: The Possession" is not a pure sequel in the traditional sense, but is in reality, a prequel to the original "Amityville Horror". With that being said, it is quite significant to the audience that "Amityville 2" takes a true occurrence of cold blooded murder and mixes it with the evil and supernatural element so inherent with the Amityville house and the end result is a masterpiece of cinematic horror that will stay with the viewer forever.
The creators of "Amityville II: The Possession" brilliantly use a mixture of dark reality with incredible evil to bring the audience into a world of pure horror. Although clearly not to the level of "Psycho", the creators of "Amityville 2" deliver the audience a scene of unspeakable evil and horror that the audience is never quite prepared for, unless the viewer knows something of the history of Amityville murder case and even then, the murder of the family is simply shocking. "Amityville II: The Possession" starts out innocently enough as what appears to be a family moving into the Amityville house. Of course, the viewer knows that this is not a comedy or a drama because the Amityville house symbolizes evil and horror as is clearly illustrated by the original "Amityville Horror". It does not take very long for the viewer to see that nothing is right with this family. The father, played brilliantly by Burt Young (Pauly in "Rocky"), is a violent man with a terrible temper. The father abuses his kids for all intents and purposes, and this early fact sets the tone for a evil much worse that reveals itself later in the film.
Despite the family's obvious problems, the mother of this family is a Christian and is the glue that keeps the family together. There are two small children, a teenaged girl and then there is Sonny who becomes troubled early in the film as he seems to become ill, but in reality, something far worse is happening to dear Sonny. Indeed, Sonny becomes possessed by a most malignant force that begins to tell Sonny things, bad things. A tension between the father and Sonny becomes apparent from the beginning of the movie and only becomes worse as the movie progresses. However, it is ultimately Sonny that provides the unspeakable horror that is the signature of "Amityville 2". The only force that can stop this evil or make things right if you will is a reluctant or scared priest who must find the strength to do battle with an unspeakable evil before not only this family is lost forever but also Sonny's soul. After the brutal murder of Sonny's family, the priest must ultimately do battle with the demon that possesses Sonny at the Amityville house, and this is actually a horrifying prospect to the attentive viewer of this fine film. If a criticism can be made of "Amityville II: The Possession", it is the way in which the film goes over the top when the demon is actually exorcised from Sonny by the priest. Clearly, the shedding of the demon was quite unrealistic and unnecessary. Still, this movie is highly effective and creating an absolutely horrifying atmosphere that even the most seasoned horror movie fan will appreciate.
The reason that "Amityville II: The Possession" is such a great horror movie is that it mixes and captures the elements of realism, truth, darkness and pure evil to perfection in this brilliant horror movie which is (much the same way as "Damien: The Omen II" as far as underrated sequels go) deserving of more credit than it is actually assigned. The result is a perfect blend of cinematic horror. The makeup on the possessed Sonny is brilliantly done as the audience gets a terrific look at evil incarnate. The idea of possession is done quite well in this movie, and this is very hard to do given that "The Exorcist" set the standard for movies on possession. "Amityville 2" is clearly competent in this regard although by no means does it come close to the brilliance of "The Exorcist". That being said, the beauty of "Amityville 2" is that it does not need to be as good as "The Exorcist" on possession because "Amityville 2" implements these other ideas of realism and truth in the movie. "Amityville 2" is realistic because people murder their families all the time and for no apparent reason. Just take a look at Jeffery McDonald in the novel and made for T.V. movie "Fatal Vision". The same kind of irrational violence can be seen in "Amityville 2", same principle I mean.
"Amityville II: The Possession" is also very loosely based on a true story as well in that a man did murder his family one night for unclear reasons. The perpetrator claimed that the devil made him do it. Well, for those of us skeptics, we do not accept this as a logical explanation. However, "Amityville II: The Possession" poses the rhetorical question, "what if some kind of malevolent entity did possess this man to commit such a heinous and evil crime?" The creators of "Amityville II: The Possession" paint a horrifying picture of horror for the audience that clearly surpasses the original and remains to this day as a classic piece of cinematic horror that is also one of the best horror movies of all-time. "Amityville 2" is a dark and disturbing horror movie which illustrates pure evil at its worst. This movie is very scary, and will stay with you for a long time if not forever. The acting is very good in "Amityville 2" and I cannot recommend this movie highly enough for the horror movie lover. If you would like to learn more about the crime that actually occurred at the Amityville house, I recommend the "City Confidential" documentary on A&E which can also be purchased with the "Amityville Horror" collection of movies which I proudly own I might add.
Summary of Amityville II: The Possession
Taking place before the events of The Amityville horror, tells the story of the Montelli family whose son becomes possessed by a demon despite a cleansing of the house by a priest.Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Release Date: 5-APR-2005
Media Type: DVD
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