Review: The Amityville Horror (2005).

I went to see The Amityville Horror movie alone the other night. I had seen that the running time was only eighty-nine minutes, so I wasn't sure if it would even be worth the price of a ticket for something seemingly so short-- I usually feel two hours at least is necessary to tell a good story. Let me say this: less than an hour into, I was so scared that I wasn't really sure I even wanted to stay for the rest of it.

This movie is probably the creepiest and most disturbing film I've ever seen-- and I was a kid who feasted on the most grotesque thrillers I could set my eyes on. I had seen the original Amityville film when I was much younger, and I don't recall being so frightened. Maybe it was the big-screen effect, I don't know, but I definitely would not let a teenager under eighteen go see this.

The movie opens up with a young adult named Ronnie hearing voices inside the house, then taking a shotgun and killing his parents and siblings. His little sister hid in a closet while he slaughtered the rest of the family, but he found her too. She looks up sadly at him saying "What's wrong, Ronnie?", right before he coldly blows her brains out. Not imagery I'd want a teen of mine seeing.

Years later another family moves into the house with the knowledge of the crimes that had been committed there, as they couldn't resist its bargain price. Before long the house has a major effect on them and infighting begins. The (step)father turns into an abusive monster of a man, issuing his own brand of discipline especially on the kids. The mother wants to leave, but he tells her emphatically that they are staying, that it was her idea to move in.

The movie starts to get really scary when the family begins seeing things and the young daughter is found in a series of extremely dangerous predicaments. As things start getting more and more out of hand, the mother brings in a Catholic priest who soon ends up running out of the house and driving away as fast as humanly possible. She does some research and learns the house has a horrid history, while her husband finds out the same in a much worse way. The mother's struggle to get her family out alive and intact is the driving force behind the end of the movie.

I thought this movie was done really well. There were comical moments, not overdone, at just the right moments, the scary stuff was really scary, and the acting was actually quite good. Part of me wishes the near-ending when the man and his wife were finding out more about the secrets of the house's history would have been drawn out further, but I'm honestly not sure how much longer I could've taken it. There was one silly thing that kept irritating me throughout, and that's why the mother kept going into town and leaving the kids there alone with her ill husband-- why didn't she take them with her?

Recommended?: YES, but only for courageous 18+ fans of the genre

Score: 8 Oxes.

-Ox.