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Movies / On DVD / The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror

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The Amityville Horror (2005)

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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

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Reviews for The Amityville Horror

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141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Watching The Amityville Horror is about as enjoyable as attending a Halloween party hosted by people you can barely tolerate.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
04/14/05
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News

A gory lark, a cheap-thrill-packed love poem to the history of the contemporary horror film.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
04/14/05
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post

If they scare up enough business to perpetuate this sort of retread, that will be the real horror.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
04/14/05
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Despite Andrew Douglas' tightly focused direction, this is a cheap, calculated scare.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
04/14/05
David Hiltbrand
David Hiltbrand
Philadelphia Inquirer

Why bother ratcheting up suspense with unseen forces and horrors of the psyche when you can just show actors in makeup instructed to look spooooooky?

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
04/14/05
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

The movie is a procession of unregenerate B-level goosing. But there's definitely a smirk beneath the muck.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
04/14/05
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

It's also the first utterly, jaw-clenchingly scary movie of the year.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
04/14/05
Phoebe Flowers
Phoebe Flowers
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

You might think The Amityville Horror is just a copy of the 1979 original, but there's much more to it than that. It's also a knockoff of at least four other movies and one music video.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
04/14/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

There's nothing this Amityville won't beg, borrow, steal from or fabricate in trying to make your neck hairs sit up and quiver.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
04/14/05
Bob Longino
Bob Longino
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

OK, I admit it: movies about demonic houses scare me a little. I mean, we've all, at one time or another, stared long and hard at the attic and/or basement door, haven't we?

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
04/14/05
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

...if nothing else, The Amityville Horror deserves kudos for eschewing teenagers and self-referential bits of comedy in favor of ambiance and flat-out horror...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
04/14/05
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Shorter and sillier than the original, but easily more entertaining, this version feels like less like a documentary of supernatural events than a piece of nasty pulp horror.

Full Review Source: State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) | comment Comment
04/14/05
Nick Rogers
Nick Rogers
State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

'There are no bad houses, only bad movies.' And this is one of them.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
04/14/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

When filmmakers leave nothing to the imagination, you're left with the product of their imaginations.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
04/14/05
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Things don't go bump in the night in this movie; they wake you up, introduce themselves and pull up a chair for a cup of coffee.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
04/13/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Why take an old. ugly lump of cheese and make it into a bigger, uglier, and smellier lump of cheese?

Full Review Source: Denton Record Chronicle (TX) | comment Comment
04/13/05
Boo Allen
Boo Allen
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

Better than the original and scarier than The Grudge or The Ring 2.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment 1 Comment
04/13/05
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

They really put the 'horror' back into The Amityville Horror!

Full Review Source: Horror.com | comment Comment
04/13/05
Staci Layne Wilson
Staci Layne Wilson
Horror.com

You’d think that in 86 minutes of screen time that the makers of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR’s 2005 incarnation could come up with at least one genuinely scary moment

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/13/05
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

Go see it -- the perfect antidote to the overly-intellectual horror films we've suffered lately: a scream-a-minute, lighthearted thriller.

Full Review Source: EDGE Boston | comment Comment
04/13/05
David Foucher
David Foucher
EDGE Boston
 
 
141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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