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The Amityville Horror (2005)
4/15/05 - PG-13 - 137m
Ryan Reynolds - George Lutz
Melissa George - Kathy Lutz
Philip Baker Hall - Father Callaway
Director: Andrew Douglas
Novel by: Jay Anderson
Screenplay: Scott Kosar
Studio: MGM
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JEF
Thanks to Lyn for wanting to see this one. When he told me he wanted it on his “hit list” I was rather surprised. It’s an old horror movie remake, how good could this thing be? I remember liking the original movie (I think I did anyway, it was made so long ago, and I’m sure I didn’t see it in the theatre, so chances are I probably saw a TV version of it). But, there was not much else to choose from this week, and the trailer actually looked a little spooky, so sure why not.
And, to top it off, as I was entering the theatre, I even told Lyn, this may be the last horror movie I see in a long time. I think I mentioned this in my last review of “The Ring 2”, where I wondered if it were possible to have seen too many horror movies. I like the genre, and I’ve seen my share of B-movie Slasher style movies, but at some point, they all start to be the same. (especially when a title is on it’s 14th remake!) So, it was sort of final judgement for horror movies, if it was bad, I was going to refrain from seeing any more horror movies for a long time. Boy, did I pick the right movie to hold up for judgement. It was a great horror movie!
Storyline: You probably know this by now, but just incase, It’s about a haunted house. It supposedly has it’s roots in a real life tradgedy (which is always awkward for me – And I won’t get into the controversy as to what is real, what was fake, and what some of the original family members claim never happened. Google it if you’re interested in that. I don't know the Warren's personally, but I am familiar with some of their work, and they had a hand in this story) Quickly… A man goes on a horrific killing spree, and murders his family. He’s caught, arrested all that. Then, the house goes up for sale, and a new family moves in… and strange things start happening to that family. Brings up some good paranormal questions regarding hauntings and demonology.
One of the big selling points for seeing this movie was Ryan Reynolds. I’ve always liked his acting, and again, I think he is quite a good comedic actor. As much as I am a big fan of the TV show “Alias” I did not realize that Melissa George was in this movie. In fact, I almost wish she was not, as I found this distracting, because I kept seeing her as “Lauren” and not “Kathy Lutz”.
I won’t go further into the story, as the less you know, the “scarier” it will be. I am glad that I barely remember the original movie. I couldn’t for the life of me remember how that movie ended, and I am thankful for that. But this movie did a terrific job of keeping true to the story (with some liberties taken), and yet, adding a nice amount of story, and effects, twists to bring it up to a 2005 movie. Actually, inspite of it feeling like a 2005 movie, I was glad to see that they kept the early 70’s time frame, and very much enjoyed all the props from that era. It brought back some cool memories, of when I was a kid. (example, I had an alarm clock, almost identical to the one in the movie.)
All in all, don’t go into this movie with expectations (in spite of my praise). But, know that some things have changed, and some things will give you the creeps from this movie. Oh, and it’s not really a slasher style movie, though there are some graphic scenes mixed in, but, overall I’d say it’s more of a suspenseful style horror movie.
I really enjoyed this movie, and have a whole renewed outlook for horror films.
Jef
