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Printer-Friendly ModeReynolds lone bright spot during Amityville Horror
April 25, 2005 —
The Amityville Horror, supposedly based on a true tale, begins and ends on the same note; that is, no note.
This is a movie that leaves the viewer with nothing after it is over. There is nothing to think about, no mysteries to ponder, and no recollections of good scenes or even of bad ones.
The Amityville Horror is the most recent of the seemingly endless tide of horror remakes. The horror genre, more so than most others, seems to find itself stuck in a bog when it comes to innovation.
This is likely due to the very obviously formulaic nature of the majority of these films. It becomes even more obvious when we are fed remake after remake of not only the same ideas, but also now the same movies themselves. We have a remade and inferior Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a remade Amityville Horror, and even Dawn of the Dead. Let's just hope that we don't get a remake of Troll 2 next.
Certainly at some point the genre will rise above the current trend and give us something truly new and frightening, but we are not going to find such groundbreaking work in a remake like The Amityville Horror.
The movie revolves around a massive house.
In the opening segments we are given background on the house, which looks like a house with a barn stacked on top of it. We are shown that a terrible act occurred here - a family occupying the house was killed by their own son, supposedly driven mad by spirits or demons inhabiting it.
Then we receive the mandatory "one year later" subtitle.
Enter the Lutz family, consisting of two daughters, a son, and a husband and wife. The husband is a second husband - the father of the children is dead.
We are led to believe that there is going to be a subplot here involving the children and their acceptance or lack of acceptance of their stepfather, but it recedes into the murk of the rest of the film in short order and is never resolved.
They buy the house at a fantastic price, knowing that murders took place but ignorant to the details.
Here is where the movie attempts to become a horror movie, with nightly visits to members of the family by visions and ghosts. The only problem is it fails miserably on every level.
I am sitting alone in the dark at three in the morning typing out a review of a horror movie, recollecting every detail and scare possible, and I don't feel the least bit uneasy. This is a sign that the movie has failed to deliver what it promised.
It is at this time that the viewer should begin to feel that urge to turn the light back on and distract themselves from the fear they were forced to endure at the hands of the film. This is not happening. There is not a single moment in this movie that is frightening. No member of the audience in view yelped, or even jumped a bit. There are one or two gross out moments, and one scene that is genuinely suspenseful, but never did I feel afraid while watching.
The only good thing about this movie is the stepfather, George, played by Ryan Reynolds.
He brings honesty and charisma to his role, and when he is onscreen in moments unsullied by vain attempts at horror, the movie is at least enjoyable on some level. He is sometimes nice, sometimes humorous, sometimes mean (as the hauntings begin to take its toll on his mind), and always interesting.
If the movie had simply been about him and his struggle to find acceptance by the children of his new wife, it would likely have been an acceptable or even good movie.
When it comes down to it, The Amityville Horror simply fails to deliver anything of note.
It is a bland and forgettable movie, with nothing to separate it from other recent shoddy horror movies.
Ryan Reynolds' performance and the family drama hold initial potential, but it is quickly swept away by the rest of the film, which is a shame.
Having never seen the original, I am nevertheless sure that it is preferable to this.