The Amityville Horror Reviews

Remake of the classic haunted house horror film of the same name is an awful mess of a film that is uninspired and poorly acted. This came out at the height of the remake craze and like every other remake; it failed to capture the essence of the original film. The story suffers from a poor script that offers nothing of note and it only boasts cheap scares that are only mildly entertaining. Overall this is a dreadful film that if you take those scares away, there's nothing here to enjoy and the film falls apart very rapidly due to its cast and poor plot. In the broader picture, this remake was unnecessary and it doesn't have anything to entertain the viewer. The choice of the actors playing the parts is horrible, and brings no on-screen presence to really make this film standout. Director Andrew Douglas can't seem to be able to direct a fluent, well paced film that really manages to terrify. This is one film that only relies on jump scares to scare you, and time and time again you find yourself more bored than enjoying yourself due to the fact that it is a poorly constructed horror film that doesn't offer anything remarkable for genre fans looking for something really interesting to watch. Avoid this film, you'll be glad you did, and in terms of remakes, this is among the worst that I've seen with no thought on truly effective material to really make it a fun and entertaining horror yarn. This is yet Hollywood trying to make a quick in order to attract a new audience that can't seem to understand what real horror is all about.

After watching every single Amityville horror film within a few days of each other I asked the question 'Did this franchise need a remake'? It was the trend in the mid-nineties to remake classic horror films and I believe there was always room for improvement here. So the next question was 'Was the film any good'? and I'm afraid the answer is I don't care, I'm just glad it's all over and I don't have to watch any more of these stupid films. Sometimes I really wish I wasn't such a completest!

Ryan Reynolds plays a great role in this and it never fails to scare me everytime I watch it.

I don't really think Ryan Reynolds was meant to be in a horror film. He doesn't strike me as that kind of actor.

However I did really enjoy this film. The images are disturbing and gruesome and kept me awake at night. I first watched this movie when I was 12 and it scared the hell out of me. But after watching it 5 years later, it didn't seem as scary as it did when I was younger. I had nightmares for a week when I first watched this movie, just because the scenes were really graphic and intense- the little boy in the bathroom, Jodie in the closet- it was all really well executed in my opinion. I'm still hesitant to watch the scene with the babysitter in the closet. That was a really creepy and frightening part of the movie.

This movie is definitely very scary because of the special effects, intense scenes, and disturbing images. It's a great movie.

This remake of 1979 horror classic is getting much shocker with tortured ghosts and paranormal oozing - is a sure-fire case of the creepy-crawlies. Believe it or not if this horror film is possibility based on a true story with the real-life characters? Ryan Reynolds makes an impressively menacing.
Horror remake of 1979's The Amityville Horror and based on the 1977 novel by Jay Anson.

As far as modern horror movies goes, the Amityville horror isn't that bad. There were a few times while I was watching it when I was genuinely spooked, and that's more than I was expecting.

Sure it has the creepy kids, spooky things in the mirror, and jump scares that are a near-requirement for 75% of horror flicks, but I was still pretty into it...up until the fairly lame and anti-climactic ending. Ryan Reynolds played his role pretty well, and he was believable as his character gradually changes over the course of the move. Melissa George was just gorgeous, as usual. Fans of hers will enjoy a one scene, in particular.

I haven't seen the original Amityville Horror, so I can't compare the two. But after the crappy horror movies I've seen lately (like Mirrors), watching it was a relief. It isn't fantastic, but it's much better than utter garbage like that.

I wouldn't deny that it wasn't scary at all. It was, a little bit.

I walked out on this one. One of the few times I've ever walked out on a movie.

Just like every horror remake, Poor! Always the same!

There are only two movies that have literally made me go edge of my seat. One is Phone Booth and the other is The Amityville Horror. All credits to the director Andrew Douglas for this movie. The way everything is revealed and falls into place is like a perfect jigsaw puzzle and is excellent too see on screen, slightly similar to The Ring but done much better. And excellent acting from Ryan Reynolds especially the way he changes from the beginning of the movie to the end.Certainly among the best horror films.

An extremely well done remake that captures the visual style of the original. It was a giant surprise to see that Ryan Reynolds actually has a range of acting ability. The story was done just as much justice this time around and the characters were even more believable.

Wow Ryan Reynolds played this part really good. Creeped me out. Gave me chills. I loved it. Best Amityville Horror movie I have seen, and I have seen a few. But this one has been the best yet. Really wish they would quit remaking so many movies over and over again, but in this case I am glad they made just one more. But thats enough.. Really..

"Katch 'em, kill 'em"

On December 18, 1975, George and Kathy Lutz along with their children moved into a house in the legendary Amityville, New York. It would have been their dream home...if their dreams were nightmares. Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George co-star in this update of the classic horror movie.

Review
This film is simply another nail in the coffin for the hopes of horror fans such as myself that an American cast and crew will deliver a genuinely frightful offering for our senses. 'The Amityville Horror' belongs to a growing collection of recent horror films from the USA which are seemingly designed only to make test audiences jump in the seats every so often. Only this can explain the barrage of loud noises and flashing images we seem to experience whenever a scary scene emerges from the otherwise mediocre dialogue and cinematography.

What happened to the skillful build-up of tension created by effective use of location seen in films like 'Don't Look Now'? Or the feelings of unease experienced during 'Rosemary's Baby'? Special effects is the villain from this reviewer's perspective. Time and time again, 'The Amityville Horror' presents us with shocking images of the evil in the house. However, with no tension, fear, or suspense in place, all these images can be appreciated for is the technical expertise which went into making them.

I only hope that audiences will begin to punish the Hollywood horror factory for this stream of limp attempts.

The original was horrendous, and this isn't much better. Sure, the effects look slicker than the first, though some are equally amusing, but the real problem is that this version focused far more on the father being possessed - which towards the end resulted in it being very like The Shining in terms of plot and motive. The original book by Jay Ansell I loved, and would recommend to anyone who finds both films somewhat lacklustre.

One of the many horror remakes of recent years, but one that actually turns out to be a pretty decent movie. While it uses quite a few stereotypes of horror flicks (someone in the mirror, exorcism, rain, library research) the directing is good enough to keep you interested and presents a few pretty good scares. The daylight roof scene is wonderfully dizzying and the overall atmosphere quite gloomy. What keeps this movie from getting a higher rating is that the showdown is rather rushed and the total runtime way too short. Still, worth a look for horror fans and actually one of the scarier movies of recent years.
Plus: Melissa George is one of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen, that helps too.

Due to the fact that the original was so god awful this redux is one of a very few films that deserved to be remade and as it turns out it is leaps and bounds better than that '79 turkey.

Scarey movie. It's a real place!

Awful, just really bad.

It wasn't horrible but it wasn't really scary and I'm a wimp sometimes when it comes to scary movies. We were even watching it on a stormy night, hehe.

Big-Budget reworking of the Amityville Horror tale, done with 2005 horror movie style. They failed to evoke a 1970's feeling; it was too new and glossy. Many of the scenes were over-the-top, with an Indian torture chamber in the basement, a ghost-girl in the bedroom closet, the little girl climbing precarious on the roof of the house, a senseless pet murder, and a scene intending to build tension with the crazed daddy making his boy hold firewood in place while he chopped it. The spooky theme music from the original film was nowhere to be heard! That was one of the major fear-points of the original. There weren't enough thunder and lightning storms to evoke any sort of atmosphere. It all felt very high-budget and controlled, reducing the scariness. The house looked too different to really associate any of the old photos with the terror. They tried, but it just wasn't scary.