The snore-inducing lack of real thrills and a storyline that seriously strains believability make Amityville harder to watch than it is to pronounce.
The Amityville Horror (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:155
Fresh:37
Rotten:118
Average Rating:4.2/10
Consensus: A so-so remake of a so-so original.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for violence and terror, sexuality, language and brief drug use.
Runtime: 89 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:15-04-2005
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
Reviews for The Amityville Horror
It has the right idea to remake a movie that was bad and try to make it better. It succeeds quite a bit in that respect, but that's not saying much.
The babysitter whose fashion sense seems aimed at exorcising the pants off her hips. If ghosts like to suck Tequila out of belly-buttons, she has come to the right place.
Michael Bay should have been strung up by his Buster Browns for getting the Big Idea of exploiting the DeFeo tragedy for a new generation. Let this family rest in peace.
Staunchly avoids all the things that make a horror movie scary in favor of all the things that make a horror movie obvious and expedient.
Hovering between amusing and entirely unnecessary, the remake of The Amityville Horror is not the flat-out disaster it could have been.
'The shocks are many and well delivered. I dare you not to jump at least once.'
As a horror movie, it may be barely adequate, but as an Amityville movie, it takes all comers.
A smorgasbord of strobe lights, screeching soundtrack noises, and silly specters.
I wasn't shocked by The Amityville Horror, or outraged by it: I felt nothing but disdain.
The movie's not that good, but if Rachel Nichols wants to babysit me, I'm ready to be 10 years old again.
In theory, this should all be scary, but it just isn't. You giggle at the B-movie cheesiness of it.
It retains the cheesy look of the 1979 original, pure schlock not gussied up to appear to be anything else.
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