Customer Rating:  
Summary: good fun horror
Comment: My advice: Don't see the 1979 version first, don't think about it too hard, pretend it's not based on the "true story", and just enjoy this great horror film. It may not be a timeless classic, but its fun. The thing I liked best about this one is that everything makes sense. There's no cliffhangers or overly complicated mystery that never gets explained. It's just 89 minutes of very frightening ghosts popping up and some surprisingly appropriate acting. In fact, I would say this movie has one of the most petrifying ghost scenes ever.(The boy in the bathroom!)The costumes/makeup were really good too. Also, I loved Ryan Reynolds in a scary movie. I thought his quirky style was a perfect complement to the cast. He makes a smooth transition from Van Wilder to Blade 3 to Amityville because he seems to just be himself.
Customer Rating:
Summary: MGM's Poor Attempt to Make Millions From a Debunked Myth
Comment: First off, if you don't already know, the supernatural myth surrounding the Amityville House is a hoax! There's plenty of information out there which goes into the details about what happened and what was fiction. I just found it hillarious that MGM is still trying to push this as a "based on a true story" thriller. If I'm not mistaken, there's some sort of litigation that took place between the Lutz family and the producers of this remake.
Nonetheless, the film is way too short and appears to have been pieced together. The story lacks any real development and the acting is two-dimensional. It's difficult to feel any empathy for the characters, and the special effects don't really showcase the amazing technology present in modern day film making.
Customer Rating:
Summary: PIECE OF CRAP!!!
Comment: My first objection is that they didn't use the original house, instead opting for a house which lacks the sinister charachteristics of the original. But sadly, after viewing the movie, I realised this was only a minor flaw. What is the point of claiming the movie is based on a true story if you make up 98% of the movie? This so-called remake has little to do with the original, and even less to do with the book and the reported facts of what happened.
The first mistake was getting Andrew Douglas to direct. By his own admission he doesn't believe in ghosts. That's fine. You don't have to believe in ghosts to make an effective ghost story, but if you're making one that is based on a true story, you should at least hire a director who believes the story to be true. Douglas directs the movie with an utter lack of passion and interest. He just doesn't seem to care about the story nor the charachters.
I am huge fan of the original, but I do realise that even the original has it's share of flaws. But at least it sticks fairly close to the novel and the reports of what happened. The original also finds redemption in Lalo Schifrin's creepy and memorable score. However, Steve Jablonsky's score is anything but creepy and memorable. It's shamelessly weak, barely noticable, and utterly forgettable.
The only reason why this excuse for a horror movie even merrits one star is due to two nicely executed scenes: The babysitter in the closet, and the little girl on the roof. These scenes are brilliantly edited and handled with suspense and tension. But sadly, to suspenseful scenes in a pile of garbage does not a good movie make.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Seemed To Be Missing Something?
Comment: I wasn't sure what to expect with the latest remake to come out of Hollywood with Amityville, but I did hope for a little more than what we got. Ryan Reynolds does a really good job portraying a man being driven insane, and the film does have a few white knuckle scares mixed in, but I was really hoping for a great ghost story. If you ever get a chance, read the novel these films are based on. It is one of the scariest books this side of Steven King, and will truly raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Unfortunately, no one has ever done a really good job translating the scares found in the book to the big screen. I did like the movie, but I don't know if I would recommend dropping the dough to go and see this in the theater. I don't think there will be much lost waiting for the DVD release and watching it at home. I think the thing that bothered me most about the movie, was the weak ending. Don't worry no spoilers....while the movie moved along at a nice pace, with scares and action all along, the ending just sort of peters out....there was no final kick in the gut that you kept waiting for....it just sort of ends. Still I have seen worse ghost stories this year..."Ring 2" anyone?.....and for a rainy Saturday,Amityville Horror would do just fine.
Customer Rating:
Summary: how dare you!?
Comment: how dare anybody make a movie this awful?! at first, i was completely astounded that this movie could have even made it to theaters. but then, i sadly realized, that this is the exact kind of tripe that is selling; this is the stuff that has completely simple-minded, easily convinced and basically stupid people entertained. tell me- why the little girl with white face paint and black drawn-on veins? did the producers think that we were too ignorant to imagine our own ghost that they had to conveniently provide us with the most generic, trick-or-treater looking, non-scary, seen-it-a-million-times-before image? one thing that moviemakers should try to remember- NOT ALL OF US ARE COMPLETELY IGNORANT, SIMPLE-MINDED MORONS! yes, i know, usually films in the horror genre are total no-brainers. but still, anyone who isn't a part of the pretentious art film movement knows that even a genius can enjoy a good old fashioned scary movie.
you know, hollywood has completely run out of scary imagery. every monster has already been used in one way or another. sometimes the only way to really put a scare into the audience is to let them concoct the ghost/monster on their own. believe me, i will imagine something absolutely terrifying. when the creating of the ghost is left to the viewer, we usually base its image on our own worst fears. yet, for some reason, movies like this still try to give us the image, assuming that we are too idiotic and unimaginitive to do it on out own. i won't even go into the technical inconsistencies of this movie (score being louder than the dialogue, horribly flawed storyline, predictable "scares", etc.) and i'll just say that anybody with a brain would be offended by this ridiculously dumbed-down version of a movie that NEVER should have been remade. anybody with no brain at all will find it thoroughly entertaining and they will probably even jump out of their seats at the spots in the movie where the music gets real loud and the gongs smash and then... nothing happens. just some loud music and ANOTHER predictable false alarm. wow, scary, right?!
p.s. i did consider giving the movie 5 stars just because ryan reynolds' smoking body kept me glued to the screen at times, but then i figured i would just watch some porn. so, negative 5 stars, it is!
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On November 14th, 1974, police recieved a frantic phone call that led
them to the DeFeo residence, where they made a grisly discovery- 6
bodies, the entire DeFeo family, all slaughtered with a .35 caliber as
they slept calmly in their beds. Ronald DeFeo confessed to methodically
murdering his parents and four siblings, and claimed it was the
"voices" that told him to do it. One year later, on December 18, 1975,
George and Kathy Lutz along with their three children moved into the
house, thinking it was going to be their dream home. Especially if
their dreams were nightmares. The Lutz family only lasted twenty eight
days in their home after they were terrorized by a demonic force that
drove them away. Based on the true story of George and Kathy Lutz, The
Amityville Horror remains one of the most horrifying haunted house
stories ever told - because it actually happened.
