Wampyrii doesn't live here any more. Play nice y'all. :)
Wampyrii doesn't live here any more. Play nice y'all. :)
Member since:15.09.2000
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No not that...but this...
The Amityville Horror is based upon a book written by Jay Anson by the same name. Apparently(so they say) it was based upon a true story, although after watching the movie you'll wonder just what they mean by 'based' - perhaps the fact that Amityville and a house was involved is about as close as it gets.
The story is based around the unfortunate Lutz family who have just moved into their new house in Amityville. The perfect nuclear family, parents George(James Brolin) and Kathleen(Margot Kidder) picked up the house for a unbelievable price and are eager to start their new lives with their teenage children. However, bad smells, banging doors, and something nasty in basement begins to allude to the fact that perhaps their estate agent wsn't telling them everything about the house and indeed they had got more than they bargained for along with the purchase. Their oldest son becomes increasingly introverted as the problems within the house escalates and George becomes increasingly violent as the house starts to exude pure evil...Cue the catholic priest to come and sort things out...
Post Exorcist cliches fly around like leaves in the breeze in this movie. Possessed children, flying crosses, a priest who doubts his faith, you name it, they pinched it. This was a smash hit movie when it was released way back in 1979 and to be honest, if you forget all the cliches then its still watchable today. Te problem is that it is very difficult to forget the cliches when they are so damn obvious and plentiful. The plot is also riddled with holes, the worst being the whole basement thing, which a lot of the horrible events revolve around. If you are buying a house, you check it out - basement and all. If there is a massive hole in the wall, filled with flies, smelling of rotting flesh etc. then you think twice, but we are supposed to believe that they didn't even notice. But again, put your brain on hold and you can ignore this.
What is difficult to ignore though is the abysmal acting. The Amityville Horror turns into a comedy the moment Rod Steiger turns up as the hammy priest, completely wrecking any sense supense and tension which had built up. He is amazingly bad, almost on the same level as Leslie Nielson in Repossessed in his over-acting portrayal of a priest in a crisis of faith. James Brolin is pretty good however, although its a role which he is more than used to playing so he has had plenty of practice to get it right. The rest are mediocre, looking more confused than scared half the time.
One area in which this movie does excel though is the musical score, for which Lalo Scifrin won an Oscar. This really sets the mood and does help build some tension in the earliy parts of the movie. Its a shame that the plot then descends into stupidity before Steiger turns up and wrecks everything, as it couldhave been so much better.
In respect of its box office success, The Amityville Horror spawned 6 sequels(and still counting!), one in 3D and an abysmal television series which was pretty short lived thankfully - all of which are to be avoided, especially the second sequel which is has one of the dumbest plots ever seen in movie history. If you are into horror movies, then this isn't too bad, until the last 40 minutes when it goes crashing downhill. Its worth a watch if it turns up on television again(which it frequently does) but don't waste your time and money hunting out the video.
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Production Year: 2000 - Horror - Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Carmen Electra, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, James Van Der Beek, Keenen Ivory Wayans
![Amityville - A New Generation [DVD] [1993]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78527780.jpg "Amityville - A New Generation [DVD] [1993]")
May 8th, 2001
(May 7th, 2001)
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