Amazon.co.uk Review
Most horror movies establish an atmosphere of normality, 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 normality 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, the movie also features Philip Baker Hall and Melissa George. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
Customer Reviews:
'Same old' - a review from a discerning horror fan.......2007-10-30
I don't know where all these excellent reviews came from! I saw this film on Sky a few months back and was hoping to get a decent horror - I didn't! The acting isn't great and the whole film is SO predicatable. There is little atmosphere and not much to keep the viewer's attention. Maybe I just need to watch it a couple more times but where's the fun in that! It doesn't do the original film any justice. (Though I have to admit the orig is looking very dated now).
The Amityville Horror (2005).......2007-10-15
Starring Ryan Reynolds (Just Friends) and Melissa George (TV's Alias, Paradise Lost), this is a worthy remake of the "cult classic" original ,which starred James Brolin and Margot Kidder.
Basically using the same story as the original (as most remakes do obviously!), it's made even more scarier with remarkably eerie visuals and a devilishly wicked performance by Reynolds himself. The direction's full of hair-raising moments, sharp soundtracks and low lighting which adds more to the suspense but sadly it slows down towards the end while the ending feels rushed and uncalled for.
This is a brilliant remake all the same along with countless others but don't be expecting anything more than that!
FAB.......2007-09-23
The Amityville Horror remains one of the most terrifying stories ever because of one small fact - it actually happened. 28 days after moving in, the Lutz family abandoned the residence, lucky to escape with their lives.
Amazing film, a must see!
:):):)
A DECENT ENTRY, IF NOT SPECTACULAR.......2007-08-06
One year after a series of vicious murders, George, (Ryan Renolds) and Kathy Lutz, (Melissa George) move their children Billy, (Jesse James) Michael, (Jimmy Bennett) and Chelsea, (Chloe Moretz) into an inexpensive luxury home. Almost immediately, the family begins to experience weird visions around them. The longer they stay in the house, the more they experience these visions, and they get more intensive and it eventually begins to change their behaviors and attitudes. As there at each other's throats over whether the house is haunted or not, the decision is made to get out as fast as possible.
The Good News: I was actually surprised at this one. It was decent enough, and is mostly based around how suspenseful it actually is. There is a lot of scares and jump attempts in here, and it really makes the film a lot better than what it should. From the very simple little scenes, such as demonic, distorted faces appearing every and ghostly apparitions running by in the background when our attention is focused elsewhere, to the more bigger and grander ones, such as the first bathroom attack, where one of the characters becomes more and more terrified as they hear strange noises, sees faces appear on the walls and windows and finally blood drips from the bathroom tap. The unquestioned highlight, though, clearly belongs to the trapped-in-the-closet sequence, which is so calm and relaxing and then becomes a terrifying ordeal that sets up one of the best scares of the year, it's that good. The tension throughout is relentless. The design of the house, carried over quite realistically from the first one, is still as creepy and disturbing now as it was then, and it adds to the creepiness level. The rapid pace is quite nice to see, not really getting bogged down in needless subplots or tons of exposition that the original suffered from. It's one of the few areas this improved upon.
The Bad News: There is still some fundamental problems with this one, and most of it is centered around the same thing that made the original so overrated. The amount of abuse hurled at the family over such a long period of time is really hard to fathom. All of the events transpired together make it hard to believe that anyone would want to stay there more than a day or so, much less almost a month. All that basically happens is an excuse to get more and more extreme scare set-ups with no real rationale for wanting to stay there. It's the same major problem with the original, and this one isn't corrected. The other main problem is that the ending is really ridiculous and stands completely against what had come before it. This just feels rushed, not thought out and very disappointing. Another big beef is the overall story that it was based on. None of the details are accurate, it wreaks havoc on the original events claimed to have happened in the house, and it seems everything has been changed for the sake of sensationalism. It's hardly recognizable as anything remotely related to the original source material, which doesn't make any sense when wanting to be touted as a faithful version of the story.
The Final Verdict: Better than the original, but not by much. It's suspenseful enough to get the scares, but the tricks aren't that spectacular and spotted quite easily. If you weren't a fan of the original or scare easily, give this one a chance, but if you liked the original or are pretty hard to gross out, exercise caution first.
Pointless remake.......2007-07-31
A rather pointless remake of a film. Doesn't add or take away anything from the original so what was the point of this??
UK DVD:
- The Blair Witch Project [1999]
- The Cell [2000]
- The Company Of Wolves [1984]
- The Devil's Rejects - Special Edition [2005]
- The Evil Dead [1982]
- The Exorcist [1974]
- The Fog [1979]
- The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
- The Hills Have Eyes 2 [2007]
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Two Disc Theatrical Edition) [2003]
UK DVD List
UK DVD
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