The Amityville Horror (Widescreen Special Edition)
by Andrew Douglas
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chloe Moretz, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett, Melissa George, Ryan ReynoldsDirector: Andrew Douglas
Producer: Andrew Form
Producer: Bradley Fuller
Writer: George Lutz
Writer: Jay Anson
Writer: Kathy Lutz
Writer: Sandor Stern
Writer: Scott Kosar
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-10-04
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of The Amityville Horror (Widescreen Special Edition)
Movie Review: An ok remake to an ok horror classic.
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm going to use the first few lines from my review of the original. In 1974, Ronald DeFeo brutally massacred his entire family via shotgun blasts while they were sleeping in their beds. One year later, the Lutz family moves into the same house. With 3 kids, it was too sweet a deal to pass up and was exactly what George and Kathy were looking for. And then just after a few days of moving in, strange things begin to occur. Most notably with George and also with their only daughter Amy. While George is beginning to go insane, Amy has made a new ghostly friend.
I think the remake did an ok job in the story, but way overboard with the typical scares. While the original had a sort of drawn out story, it had the subtle scares. The remake though has a bit of better story at first, but uses the typical Hollywood scares that most of us are used to by now. The best thing I liked about the movie was them showing George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds) going crazy. It was more in depth and Ryan played the part really well. It was actually funny in a dark way listening to Ryan talk crap to the family sometimes, because to him it seemed like he was ok, while they were the ones being idiots or badly behaving. I really think Ryan gets a lot less credit than he deserves as an actor. Sure he gets put into comedy roles such as Van Wilder and Waiting, but I think he can act. When he told one of the boys to hold the wood while he chopped and then grabbed his face and got all evil looking, I looked at my buddy and said "Dude, that would be really scary to see as a 12 year old if not now". I also like how the story leaves out a lot of the priest parts that I didn't like from the original. I also thought the children's scenes were a lot better than the original and made me feel for them a bit more.
What I didn't like though was the typical jump scares that felt unnecessary, but somehow I understand why they are there. If they weren't there, I could see people getting bored with the movie. Not everyone, but a lot. There were a few good ones though like when we see Jody sitting with Amy during one scene and the mom doesn't see her. But man they used way too much of her to try and scare us. Sure, little dead kids are scary, but come on. I liked how it was left to our imagination (sort of) in the original if she was there or not. The remake gives us no doubt. At least they didn't use some bad effects as her eyes outside a window this time...heh. And the ending was horrible... the way they wrapped it up was just bad. I almost thought I was watching 13 Ghosts in the end while George Lutz was walking past cages. Then he sees the main killer ghost... ridiculous.
In the end, I'd give it a rent. I liked it just enough to buy it, mainly because of the character development of George Lutz and also some of the scenes. It can be a good movie for some though, and probably a fun date movie if you like horror.
P.S. - They ruined the `Get Out' scene (my favorite scene) in this one in my opinion. It was so fake compared to the original.
Summary of The Amityville Horror (Widescreen Special Edition)
From Michael Bay, the producer of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," comes the true story of Amityville. In November 1974, a family of six was brutally murdered. Now, a year later, an unsuspecting young couple, George (Ryan Reynolds, "Blade: Trinity," "The In-Laws") and Kathy Lutz (Melissa George, TV's "Alias"), and their children move into the house that was the site of the horrific event and is now haunted by a murderous presence. What follows is 28 days of unimaginable terror. With demonic visions of the dead and relentless screams of terror, this is the haunted house story that isn't just a movie - it's real.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
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