The Amityville Horror (2005)

The 1970's was the era of disaster , sci fi & horror movies, and we ended up with some great classics, The Towering inferno, Jaws, The Exorcist, The Omen, Superman, Alien & star wars to name but a few. The Amityville Horror 1979, was also such a classic, it stuck to the book, now famous for the story of Lutz family , whether it was a hoax or not , anything associated with Amityville made money & Hollywood wanted in. For it's time the 1979 movie did everything right, whereas this retake on the story does everything wrong. My advise look on the internet for the original 1979 movie before watching this or read the book, it's only then you'll understand just how bad this movie is.

**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.

The Amityville Horror (2005): Dir: Andrew Douglas / Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Phillip Baker Hall, Jesse James, Chloe Grace Moretz: Remake of the 1979 horror classic about tragedy or event. Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George move into a huge house where a family was murdered. Premise is rushed so to move the family in and send them through a series of gruesome encounters where they question their sanity. It contains none of the life like reality of the original and director Andrew Douglas proves to be interested in nothing more than the technical elements. Visually the film is stunning with its horrific images but screenplay and acting are pitiful. Reynolds goes through a quick personality change as voices tell him to "kill them!" Too bad the voice didn't tell him to walk off set. George fares little better as his wife. Phillip Baker Hall plays a Priest who enters their home and is attacked by flies. Perhaps a little insect repellent will do the trick. The children present are there to hear things go bump in the night and scream for mercy. This is a kind reminder that Chloe Grace Moretz goes on to bigger and thankfully better things. It serves as a reminder that Hollywood is only interested in a quick buck and with this pointless junk they succeed in delivering a film that is about as enjoyable as having your stomach pumped. At least give us the opportunity to upchuck on the film. Score: 2 / 10