The Amityville Horror

The film The Amityville Horror managed to present the story in such a way that it's truly possible to believe it happened, and in the manner it happened. This ultimately leads to the film having a strong impact on the viewer. It's not because there are so many jump scares, but simply because the horror is so well constructed. The casting was excellent as well, with James Brolin truly looking like he could kill in certain moments. Additionally, there's a great scene with an axe, and this was even before Kubrick. (12/18/2014)

A family moves into a haunted house… Stuart Rosenberg did a workmanlike job of directing the formulaic and hollow screenplay with all of the typical elements: the transformation of the perceptive father into an axe-wielding psychopath (a la The Shining), a priest and a struggle with the devil (The Exorcist). However, both of these storylines run at half-throttle and the film is listless and terribly drawn-out. Of the actors, only Rod Steiger is above average in the role of the priest. (01/09/2005)

A beautiful example that haunted-house horror can also be made in a way that won’t put you to sleep. The brutal atmosphere permeates the entire film and gets quite intense by the end. The story never gets boring, which is something truly unprecedented for me in the subgenre. The Amityvile Horror was a very pleasant surprise and on a completely different level when compared with the remake. 9/10 (08/16/2008)