The problem with The Amityville Horror is that, in a very real sense, there's nothing there.
The Amityville Horror (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:6
Rotten:26
Average Rating:3.9/10
Consensus: A so-so remake of a so-so original.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence and terror, sexuality, language and brief drug use.
Runtime: 89 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:Apr 15, 2005 Wide
Box Office: $64,255,243
Synopsis: This frightening remake of the 1979 horror classic from producer Michael Bay (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) delves deeper into the supposedly true story of supernatural events that occurred in a... This frightening remake of the 1979 horror classic from producer Michael Bay (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) delves deeper into the supposedly true story of supernatural events that occurred in a Long Island, New York home in the '70s. When George and Kathy Lutz (Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George) come across a beautiful river-front colonial home being sold for a steal, they suspect a catch. Once informed that the home was the site of a grisly mass murder, they decide to buy the house anyway and eagerly move in, bringing with them Kathy's three children from a previous marriage. While no one can deny that the house is rife with spooky sounds, the family members try to put their fears at bay. But over time, strange occurrences start happening, becoming more and more frequent, and these events start to have a transformative effect on several family members. Kathy's daughter starts to act bizarrely, ending up in a variety of life-threatening situations, led by her new, not-so-imaginary friend Jody (one of the children slaughtered in the house years before by her older brother). Likewise, something strange seems to be happening to George. His usually sweet demeanor is replaced with a hostile one, and he starts cruelly taking out his aggression on Kathy's children. Kathy's original assumption that a house cannot be evil is challenged as she watches her husband transform into the sort of man that just might be capable of murdering his family. Faster-paced than the original, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR keeps viewers on the edge of their seats with quick editing, suspenseful music, and moderately graphic violence. The two leads give quality performances, and seem to inhabit the decade in which the story is set despite the film's slick, contemporary production. [More]
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jimmy Bennett, Jesse James
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jimmy Bennett, Jesse James, Chloe Grace Moretz, Philip Baker Hall
Director: Michael Bay
Director: Michael Bay
Screenwriter: Sandor Stern, Scott Kosar
Producer: Andrew Form, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller
Studio: MGM/UA
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Reviews for The Amityville Horror
A few lines get laughs, but the horror is standard fare, without a shred of innovation.
Nothing gets in the way of the rote staging, the ham-handed predictability, the feeling that you've been to this house, and yawned at these ghosts, once too often.
The Amityville Horror is a Xerox so tattered and faded that it's impossible to determine who's to blame for the overproduced mediocrity before our eyes.
I wasn't shocked by The Amityville Horror, or outraged by it: I felt nothing but disdain.
It retains the cheesy look of the 1979 original, pure schlock not gussied up to appear to be anything else.
This house springs so many FX shocks it plays like a theme-park ride. Result? It's not scary, just busy.
In a ghost story, the narrative doesn't have to be a model of originality or coherence, but it needs to support the scares. In The Amityville Horror, the writing is so bad that it detracts from the 'boo!' moments and creepy interludes.
The startling thing about the remake is that it's one of the better horror films to hit screens in recent months, thanks to its refusal to take itself too seriously.
Shoddily made, boring and, most shockingly, without a single decent scare.
A cut-to-order MTV hack attack. Audiences will be stunned not because they have been frightened but by how obvious and safe the whole thing is.
A sustained if wildly unco-ordinated assault on our senses (our emotions are clearly not on his battle map), complementing those feverish jump cuts with a cliché of equally stunning proportions.
The latest in a long line of cheap horror film remakes that combine familiar names and stories with slash-cut editing and computer-generated effects.
The filmmakers have managed to take a mediocre movie and make it worse.
Since Scream poured irony into the mix, it has become mighty hard to write a line of dialogue that doesn't elicit winks and nods. We all know where the mayhem's leading.
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