Directed by:
Andrew DouglasCinematography:
Peter Lyons CollisterComposer:
Steve JablonskyCast:
Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett, Philip Baker Hall, Rachel Nichols, Chloë Grace Moretz, Marie Joelyn, Rich Komenich, Annabel Armour (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
In November 1974, a family of six was brutally murdered. Now, a year later, an unsuspecting young couple, George (Ryan Reynolds) and Kathy Lutz (Melissa George), 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. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (7)
A solid haunted-house horror movie that surpasses the original version from 1979 not only in technical terms, but also with several screenwriting ideas, at least where the initial psychological build-up of unease is concerned. On the other hand, the ending looks like it was borrowed from a mediocre brainless slasher flick.
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A nice little horror flick. In tingles unpleasantly on the nerves, there is no shortage of nastiness and the less than 80 minutes pass like water. But there is a but. I didn't mind the inspiration from other horror films, but the director's attempt to cram a jump-scare and a horrible vision into every other scene seemed increasingly ridiculous as time went on; and that stupid ending? I'd like to cut it out completely as it takes away all the solid atmosphere and those few good ideas. The filmmakers should have ended it in a science-fiction style instead of pushing something about real events down our throats. 60%
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Stupidity to the nth degree, where the only likeable character starts gradually turning to the dark side, at which point all empathy for the family comes to an end. Fortunately, with The Amityville Horror the viewer doesn't even really have a chance to get properly warmed up before the finale comes, which also brings liberation. The result is worse than the poor Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The horror roots occasionally shine through even despite the B-movie production.
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I don't like remakes, that's just how it is. I think they're mostly unnecessary films. Of course, there are exceptions that I like, but The Amityville Horror is not one of them. Douglas tried to at least scare, for which he deserves credit, because there are some truly terrifying scenes. He added dynamism to the story, but it doesn't quite fit into the 70s.
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I didn't expect anything special, but the result exceeded even my worst expectations. The filmmakers seem to have taken it into their heads that the phrase "Based on a true story" is an amazing alibi, and so they can stuff this haunted house from basement to attic with a hundred plus clichés. A horror? No, it's not. More like a rehash of any ghost story about a cursed shack, The Ring, The Shining, The Exorcist... And it’s so stupidly written and directed without a drop of suspense! We find out what happened in the house right at the beginning, and from then on we just watch as a new family settles in Amityville, as it slowly and uninterestingly reveals what we already know, as some unfortunate person peeks out from every corner (with the necessary rumblings of Jablonsky's non-music), as the father starts to freak out, as a bad performance is replaced by an even worse one... It wasn't scary, but it was definitely terrible.
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