At first glance I thought there was no way this remake could be any good. I didn’t think a young couple could generate the same kind of onscreen intensity James Brolin and Margot Kidder brought to the first and it would simply decide to resort to traditional scare tactics that would in no way work… luckily I was way off.
The Amityville Horror reminds us all of what real horror should be; Rated R, bloody and full of moments that make you jump, all this coupled with Ryan Reynolds perfect delivery of well written lines and Melissa George as the tasty-dasty this film rocks.
There are questions of course that will pop into your head once people begin living in a house that scares the living shit out of them, not to mention when a pastor runs out of your house in complete fear it would be the obvious cue for me to get the hell out, but then again where would we be if logic played any role in horror films?
With a running time of only 85 minutes The Amityville Horror brings to life the story of the Lutz family as they move into the ill-fated Amity house, a place where six people were murdered in cold blood and hasn’t been occupied since the spattered blood dried.
Ryan Reynolds is usually cast as the sarcastic teen whose only objective is girls and beer, but after his growing pains in Blade: Trinity he seems to have hit his stride and manages to deliver whitty lines without them seeming overly comical all while providing the desired effect. Just wait until you hear him deliver lines such as, “What is wrong with you people?” while addressing his wife and her daughter, you will begin to see signs of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. His performance doesn’t exactly top Jack’s but he certainly leaves a lasting impression up until the final frame.
Thanks to clever direction and editing even the drop of a teddy bear on the ground will spur a jump in your seat, then there is the undeniable fact that Amityville remembers what horror fans want… blood, not so much that it is outright gore, but enough to remind you of what you came to see.
There have been talks of remaking the other Amity films and at first this may seem like a bad idea, but if the writers can manage to weave a clever tale in comparison to this one sequels will be met with open arms and there is no doubt that Michael Bay’s production company, Platinum Dunes, is ready and willing to give true horror fans what they are looking for.
