The Amityville Horror (2005)

The greatest movie ever!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I was expecting far worse but it was way better than I first thought the acting was OK but not great but it is horror so can be forgiven, the effects were good the build up also I did like the fact that it was a period piece that is always a good move for these types of movies, the ending was a little quick for me but still OK but worth a watch.

Yet another remake of a classic horror film has uprooted from the Hollywood assembly line, and like most remakes of this genre (or genre for that matter); it falls short of the freshness that made the original a cinematic hit. Based on the 1979 original that was inspired by the infamous true events of the 1974 murder of DeFeo family, the film boasts a re-imagining of the fateful events that took place following the notorious murder, but find itself plagued in a tedious wasteland of abortive scares and cheap thrills that never quite land, at least until the final fifteen minutes. In the end, it more than likely brings you the conclusion that the 1979 horror classic would have been better left alone. Directed by Andrew Douglas, the film follows George (played by Ryan Reynolds) and Kathy Lutz (played by Melissa George), a couple three children including the eldest Billy (played by Jesse James), the middle child Michael (played by Jimmy Bennett), and the youngest Chelsea (played by Chloe Grace Moretz). The New York family moves into an old house marked for sale, despite being warned the grisly murders of a family that took place the following year. While adjusting to the new home life, the family experiences some demonic forces that put their lives in danger, Chelsea begins communicating with Jodie, one of the murder victims, and George gradually descends into cruel, abusive demeanor. Before they know it, the family finds themselves plagued by the evil forces of the dead family.It is in my sad duty is say this movie fails to deliver what is expected, nor does it bring anything new to the table. While Ryan Reynolds manages to come up with an appropriately eerie performance, the fine actor feels a bit miscast as the husband and father who becomes robbed of his mental health. Considering the other roles of his career, you would expect the filmmakers would have went with a better casting choice. Though his performance doesn't quite flounder, it's not enough to save the movie from the underwhelming horror fare that defines it. During these 90 minutes, viewers are forced to spend the majority of the time through tiresome jump scares and images of ghostly figures we've seen more than enough times. And this occurs so many times through the film, it grows stale pretty quick. The ghost of Jodie the younger child begins communicating with is scary-looking, but does very little to add to the scare factor. The supposedly most scary element in the film centers on George Lutz's descent into hostility as he develops a more cruel and abusive attitude towards his wife and children, and for awhile his wife somehow manages to put up with his mean-spirited attitude. Literally, it's not until the final fifteen minutes when she finally responds his transformation. This all leads to a climatic axe chase that is quite tense and surprisingly scary, but feels awfully derivative to the final scene in Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining'. Other than this, the rest of the movie feels soullessly wasted.The Amityville Horror is just another addition to the collection of dull horror remakes Hollywood has provided, and makes for a shamefully forgettable experience. While it may succeed in the acting department, the overall scare factor remains shallow and little to be desired. For those who decide to watch this, don't expect anything impressive.

**Warning! Spoiler Info Inside**Having been steered away form this movie from the beginning , the movie found itself head to head with color bars and a third hour repeat of Sports center , and won.This was actually the only Amityville I had not seen. At the time it was buried under the "lame remake" opinion. Having reviewed it now I agree with remake , but find it not so lame.What was right in this movie. The writing. Scott Kosar's Re-Adaptation is very loyal to it's 1979 predecessor. Only a few well thought out twists are added and with the intent obviously of forming up the looser ends of the previous script.The acting. With a direct nod to Ryan Reynolds who I am certain spent considerable time and anguish reviewing James Brolin's 1979 take of George Lutz. Phillip Baker Hall is deserving of a nod for carefully reprising the nature of The priest Father Callaway , from the former Character Father Delaney by Rod Steiger. This being the film debut of Chloe Grace Moretz is another series parallel , as Amityville 3-d was the debut of Meg Ryan.What was wrong. The story is cold in reception , it is unable to generate either strong empathy for any character , and at the same time unable to completely engross you in fear. Ryan Reynolds fantastic mental break down even fueled by better visual material and story arc just can't make it over the top. As the operative character rabbiting the plot this makes for weak flow.When deciding on a movie truly being bad , less than three stars, as I firmly believe in the five star system. Movies like this one are easily reduced to a simple question. Did you waste your time? I was entertained by this film , and do not feel so.Three Stars(of 5)

Moving into a new house in New York, a family comes to believe that his new-found behavior is the cause of a haunted curse plaguing the house and try to stop it from influencing the rest of the family.Overall this one was quite an improved remake over the original. What makes this one so good is this goes far more openly for the idea of something being wrong here in the house, which is fairly liberally spread throughout here. It makes great use of several great factors for this, giving the impression of something evil at work here with the force moving through the vents, the numerous times along the first half of him being oblivious to something around him, the flashes of the ghost girl around the room and the different antics of the family being tormented by the demonic forces at work still here which is what gives this one some really fun at building the idea of a supernatural presence in the house. As well, there's so much at play here regarding how he is targeted and tormented with the ghostly voices, flashing demon faces and the incessant worrying over nothing that festers his slow-building rage into possession that something is clearly not right with him that continues to build the ghostly presences here, and comes off as a far more improved version of the same antics in the original. Furthering that, the action here is much more pronounced with some really great ideas with this, starting with the assault on the babysitter which is chilling enough with the locked door and flickering lights but throwing in the actions of the girl and her messed up features makes for a creepiness factor in the scene that really works here, the children coming into play in the different rooms of the house and the later half chasing through the house as the now-possessed stalker goes after the rest of the family through the house with both shotguns and axes from the kitchen up through the attic, out onto the roof and down into the boathouse for a series of dark, chilling scenes that make this so much fun and end this one a high-note. There's enough here with these elements to hold off several rather minor flaws in here. The main element is that there's such a big sense of building the supernatural to the extent here that it doesn't seem logical for the family to stay there at all, especially some of the obscure behavior committed by the kids even before getting to the actions of the parents. That alone really sells this as something being wrong, for the blatant personality change coupled with the other kids' problems all make this part somewhat problematic. The only other factor here against this one is that it feel way too much like a remake of the original without giving it a different identity. These issues hold it down while the bigger positives make it enjoyable.Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, children-in-jeopardy, drug use and violence-against-animals.