Terror en Amityville

"Houses don't kill people. People kill people."

The film debut of the then eight-year-old Chloë Grace Moretz is a remake of the 1979 film of the same name. This is an average "haunted house" horror, based on true events. Decently done and moderately entertaining, it stands out only with the performance of little Chloë, and especially the scene on the roof, which is the only thing that remains etched in my memory even after five years.

6/10

A year after the DeFeo family is slaughtered wholesale by a rifle-loving father, a new family -- the Lutzes -- move in. Soon, the family feels an eerie presence in the house and George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds) -- the new dad -- begins to change.

The movie overall is a respectable one. The mood is very nice, the New York Times rightfully called it "a modest improvement over the original", and I freely admit there were moments I was on edge thinking something nasty was going to come popping out, a feeling I very rarely have anymore after seeing so many "scary movies". So all in all they did something right. One scene in particular, where something is in the ceiling (I couldn't quite make it out) was creepy, and the dead girl in the window was unsettling. I also take a little pride knowing the film was shot in Wisconsin (in the towns of Salem and Silver Lake, near Kenosha).

Someone commented that this was very much a Ryan Reynolds fetish film, having him taking up almost all the scenes. More specifically, it's a Ryan Reynolds chopping wood fetish film. He is in 85% of the shots and in many of those he is chopping wood. And why is his shirt constantly off? Yes, I see those pecs and abs, Ryan... I know you were in that "Blade" movie... but come on, you were also in "Van Wilder"... you're not a threat.

Melissa George (Kathy Lutz) on the other hand did not take her shirt off enough, and when she did the camera was positioned in such convenient ways. Was this film PG-13? I don't believe it was, so why tease the audience like that? By the way, George's performance was the weakest of the entire cast, even the children. Some people have commented on how she is a TV actress, and I agree this might have something to do with it. (For a better Melissa George film, see "Triangle".)

Another reviewer complained that Kathy didn't remove her children fast enough when George began turning violent. I disagree. The family has been together a while, George has been nothing but loving and supportive (I mean, geez, he bought her a house). The whole film takes place in about a week, as far as I can tell. The man deserves a few days of blowing off steam.

What's the deal with the babysitter (Rachel Nichols)? She shows up looking like a prostitute and then talks seductively to a little boy. This was very confusing for me. I don't mind... and actually, I really liked her character, but it was still odd.

My friend warned me about the babysitter in the closet scene, which he said was the creepiest thing he saw since "In the Mouth of Madness". Well, I think ITMOM was John Carpenter's best film (even more than "The Thing", "They Live" and "Prince of Darkness") but it never scared me. The closet scene had me on edge -- but only because he had me convinced it was going to be awful. Really, the scene was nothing out of the ordinary. (You'll have to see for yourself what happens, maybe you'll be grossed out more than I was.)

There were many "Wicked Little Things" connections, which is a slam on WLT. If you read my review for that film, you'll see I complained about how unoriginal it was. After seeing "Amityville Horror", I can add so many more instances. Both films star Chloe Moretz (the Dakota Fanning of horror). Both have her with an "imaginary friend" that is a dead girl. Both inform their mothers they won't be hurt. Both carry disfigured dolls previously owned by the dead friend. So, um, for the guys who made "Wicked Little Things" -- if you were gonna rip off "Amityville Horror", why didn't you at least bother to get a new actress? The producers do say on the commentary that "she was amazing" and I appreciate that Chloe was singled out.

I didn't expect much from this one, hearing it was nothing special and many saying it was monotonous. Well, I liked it. I think it all went together very well, and they do a fine job of explaining the backstory, which is something many horror films fail miserably at. (I don't recall if the original explains it as well, but I'm willing to bet it doesn't). By remake standards, better than average. By movie standards, not bad. I stamp it with my seal of approval.

A family(Ryan Reynolds,Melissa George and sons)moves to Long Island where is purchased a Victorian home ,their house of dreams but they find only devilish horror.Longtime ago,there occurred a grisly mass killing based on an allegedly real life occurrence in Amityville. And now a possessed father is plunged by demonic forces into supernatural attitude driving him to mistreat and beat the kiddies.He is attempting to find out the bottom of events by ways of the cellar.Meanwhile a exorcist(Philip Baker Hall)tries praying to vanquish the malignant spirit.

The film contains restless terror and great loads of gore and blood and usual poltergeists phenomenon caused by the curse as pipes and wall ooze stuff,flies swarm,doors suddenly slam ;it is recreated with high grade special effects which are frightening and horrifying the spectator.It's actually halfway decent terror movie that will like to ghostly and eerie occur fonds. The original¨Exorcist¨film(Friedkin) spawned a wave of demonic possessions movies that continues unabated today ¨Changeling¨,¨Amytiville ¨(Stuart Rosemberg) are two further examples of this sub-genre ,following a great number of sequels directed by Damiano Damiani,Richard Fleischer,Sandor Stern(authentic film's screenwriter),Anthony Hitchcock... .Although this is a new version from previous film, it's one of the highest earning horror movie of the last years.The motion picture is well directed by Andrew Douglas

I never saw the original so cannot compare them. However, I thought this was a solid horror film with a few good jump scares and a few inspired original sequences. The haunted house could have been creepier for me and didn't feel very atmospheric. A pet peeve of mine present here is how relatively intelligent people in horror movies do what they're told by supernatural agencies just because they're told to do so. Regarding performances, the mother was quite warm and believable. Ryan Reynolds the lead did pretty good for one of his first dramatic roles but unfortunately his sculpted perfect shaved physique detracted from the performance. I don't expect a building contractor to look like a male model or olympic swimming athlete. The kids were OK except the youngest one who seemed a bit fake like in those TV commercials. It's worth a rental, probably not buying unless it's cheap.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

The Amityville Horror was much better than Boogeyman but still not the best this year. I enjoyed both The Ring Two and Cursed, among others, a little bit more. Don't get me wrong, Amityville had some genuinely creepy parts, along with some unintentionally funny ones.

George & Kathy Lutz (Ryan Reynolds & Melissa George) unexpectedly find their dream home at the deal-of-a-lifetime price. In fact, it seems to good to be true. George asks the realtor the catch. She exclaims that there were some murders in the house but that did not deter the Lutz's. Their reasoning being that it would be impossible for a house to cause people to kill.

Shortly after moving in, George experiences some strange developments in his health and attitude. Also, their daughter, Chelsea ( Chloë Grace Moretz), makes a new friend who her parents assume in imaginary. These are perhaps some of the creepiest parts of the movie, when the imaginary friend, Jodie (Isabel Conner), becomes visible to the audience and sometimes the cast. The scene with the insanely hot but pretty unlikeable babysitter, Lisa (Rachel Nichols), was pretty good.

The director, Andrew Douglas, did a good job by showing little differences in George's attitude and demeanor once he was out of the house. Ryan Reynolds also did a good job of portraying this to the audience. He has come a long way. Melissa George could also leave her mark in Hollywood if the right roles come along for her. I was pretty impressed by her performance almost as much as Ryan's.

While not the best of it's genre, The Amityville Horror has it's place amongst horror movies. It is worth seeing, as you can do much worse if you do not do your homework. 8/10