The remake of the haunted house classic is a mediocre attempt at a remake. The film fails to capture the elements that made the original Amityville Horror such a classic. I felt that the film had too many cheap scares, scares that weren't effective, and that the pacing of the film was poor, thus the scary atmosphere
was cheap. Add to that an awful cast, and you have a remake that simply doesn't cut it. I'm not a big fan of Ryan Reynolds and his performance was pretty bad here. Despite the fact that this is an unnecessary remake, compared to many, it's not too bad, but it's still pretty mediocre. The original added a sense of genuine fear, and dread; this is replaced with cheap jump scares that half the time doesn't work. The cast here are easily forgettable, and really don't bring anything effective to the screen. The original counted on atmosphere to create tension and horror, an element that is absent in this remake. This remake is plagued with a bad script, and it copies too many elements from the original. The only difference is, is that the original is a classic. This film isn't. The cast seem bored, and they overact their parts. The film doesn't feel real, the horror is cheaply delivered and in the end, it's just a waste of time. The Amityville Horror fails to deliver any genuine chills or good horror for that matter. The cast is forgettable, and they really don't cut it in this film. A forgettable horror remake.
October 4, 2011
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