Title: Amityville Horror, 2005
Genre: Horror, suspense
Rated: R
Length: 1 hr 40 min.


Synopsis: This is a remake of the 1970s film by the same name. It's based on a true story of a family that was murdered in their home by the eldest son. While sleeping, Ronald Defeo shot each member of his family with a shot gun, leaving them face down in their own blood. One year later, the Lutz family moves in and find themselves facing a downward spiral of freak occurences that appear to be linked to the Defeo family who lived in the same house just 1 year prior. Shortly after settling in, George Lutz (the stepfather) begins to act strangely toward his family. Bizarre events begin to transpire which cause Mrs. Lutz to ponder if they had made a grave mistake moving into Amityville. 28 days later (no relation to the film), the Lutz family abandons their home, barely escaping with their lives.


On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best

Scare/horror factor: 6
Acting: 7
Storyline: 7
Acting: 7
Directing/Cinematography: 7
Total Score: 34/50


Final word: I saw the original Amityville Horror some years ago. I liked the original because of the creepiness of knowing it was a true story. The remake did not deviate much from the original film. However, it added some unnecessary scenes and deleted ones from the original I felt would have added more eeriness to this 2005 version. Also, I am tired of writers/directors relying upon special effects and cheap thrills to push scares upon the audience. There's no substitute for good old fashioned writing and directing. With that said, Amityville was middle-line in this regard. Though it didn't stray far from the original's dark tone, there were a couple scenes of this new generation of fast-twitch camera work, fake blood, and whispers. When is Hollywood going to realize we aren't afraid of whispers? All in all, Amityville is an enjoyable film. But, with a heavy reliance upon blood/gore factor, it falls short of being truly scary. It is merely, creepy.


Nuff Said!


Stars: 2 out of 4
Is it worth a look? Yes, but wait for the DVD if you can.