The Amityville Murders

It's 1974, three weeks before the infamous murders. Ronnie DeFeo (Paul Ben-Victor) and Louise DeFeo (Diane Franklin) have five children; college-age Butch (John Robinson), Dawn (Chelsea Ricketts), Allison, Marc, and Jody. Butch and Dawn are calling upon the spirits in the red room. Ronnie has nefarious dealings and brutally beats his family. Butch has nightmarish visions and continues to deteriorate. Butch is sick and alone at home on Halloween. The house is ransacked and Ronnie's money is stolen from his safe.

This is based on true events. As always, one has to take it with a good helping of salt. It comes with the supernatural anyways so the pretense is pretty thin. At least, it's trying to fit the true story in and around the spirit world. The most compelling part may be the return of Diane Franklin. This really should be the story of Dawn. She's the 'normal' character and the story could be seen through her eyes. The supernatural part should be in question for the majority of the movie. The drama isn't there. As a horror, it could be much better. There is potential but it's concentrating on the wrong character.

"The Amityville Murders" is one of those movies that gives the sensation of dejavu to the viewer. The story is well-known by fans of horror movies and does not show anything new and does not surprise. The acting is not bad but watching this film is waste of time. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

I was expecting little to nothing from this entry. Am not a huge fan of the series. Thought the original and the Ryan Reynolds reboot had their respective merits. Figured I could passively watch this while multi-tasking. To my surprise it was very good. By no means on any of my "all times" list but far better than I could have reasonably expected. Don't know how accurate it is--and the people that would know are not talking--but, assuming it is, it's a good account of the events that led up to the original film. If you are interested in a slow-burn thriller--ostensibly based on real events--check this one out.

This film essentially begins a couple of weeks before a young man named "Ronald 'Butch' DeFeo Jr." (played by John Robinson) kills his parents and all four siblings with a rifle he claims was given to him by an evil entity within the house in Amityville, New York. Just prior to the killings, the film incorporates a number of scenes in which Butch DeFeo's father "Ronnie DeFeo Sr." (Paul Ben-Victor) physically abuses his son on a number of occasions. And it's primarily for this reason that Butch becomes heavily involved in drugs--which further hastens his mental and emotional decline into complete insanity. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film is basically a remake of the prequel known as "Amityville II-The Possession" produced back in 1982. Unlike that movie, however, this film doesn't quite have the same creepy atmosphere due to the primary focus being on drug abuse over that of an evil presence within the house. Having said that, while this film is definitely better than a number of others in this series, I don't consider it to be on the same level as the 1982 film, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

The Amityville Murders: An accurate representation of what it was like growing up in the 70s. Abusive parents bullying & beating their children, and finally one of them snapped. I'm surprised this kind of thing wasn't more common back then. No demons, devils or haunted house or other supernatural entities necessary.

This isn't a bad addition to the series, but it's not "award winning" great either. The acting is good to mediocre, and the grandmother is by far the worst actor. The movie fills in a blank that's been left hanging for years bringing the series full circle. All in all, I'd say it's worth at least one viewing.