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The Amityville Horror
DVD/APPROX. 119 MINS/1979/USA MA15+
DVD/APPROX. 119 MINS/1979/USA MA15+
8
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Opening with thunder, lightning and the sound of gunshots, “The Amityville Horror” sets the viewer up for a predictable horror experience in the
guise of a true story. The film certainly has all the cliches you could ask for, priest, babysitter, barman, kooky friend, incessantly barking dog and a
family just starting out. Despite its cliches or perhaps because of them, the film is incredibly satisfying. It’s a classic with good reason and its base
in fact is part of the reason. In November 1974 Ronald DeFeo did indeed shoot and kill his entire family. He was later arrested and jailed for the
crime all the while claiming that ‘voices’ in the house told him to do it. One year later George and Kathy Lutz and their 3 children, hot on the heels
of their wedding, moved into the under-priced ‘murder house’ and stayed only 28 days. This is where fact ends and conjecture begins. The Lutz’s
claim that while they were in the house a series of mysterious and increasingly disturbing events occurred ranging from windows opening or
closing by themselves to black and red ooze dripping down the walls in the basement and the discovery of a ‘secret room’ there. The book, written
by Jay Anson after extensive interviews with the Lutz family details these events and is still the best account of the Lutz family journey.
The family toured the talk show circuit and sold their story to magazines in the 1970’s and many of their claims were refuted during this process.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the story forms the base for this film and the ‘true story’ tag has lent much credence to the film. It also lends the
film an interesting pace, unlike a conventional horror in many ways. Some creepy occurrences go unexplained, the tension falters at times and the
last third of the film is a little slower than we’ve come to expect.
When George and Kathy come to look at the property George utters the ominous phrase “Houses don’t have memories”. Saying this in a house
where an entire family had been murdered is asking for trouble and we feel the storm brewing form here onward. The house seems particularly to
affect George and the story is as much about the tension between husband and wife as it is about possession or haunting. George’s descent is
the key to the film. As he gets paler and angrier, the house seems to gain power and the other mysterious occurrences intensify. James Brolin and
Margot Kidder as our leads are at times unconvincing (even by Brolin’s admission) but Kidders grating voice works in her favour as her hysteria
gains momentum. Rod Steiger is under utilized but still turns in a fantastic performance as the priest who experiences first hand the horrors of 112
Ocean Avenue.
Kathy’s children do their bit to add to the creepiness of the film, especially the daughter Amy who was allegedly befriended by ‘Jodie’ an invisible
demon pig – a creepy idea in anyone’s book!
The house itself is the real star of the film and we are treated to lingering shots of its facade while the (now obligatory) children’s choir sing a very
creepy musical score. The setting continually adds depth to the simple situational scares which are the meat of the film and make it easy to engage
with the effects shots, though these are few and far between. If you are after serious gore this is not your film. It is light on effects and there is
barely any blood. There are a few gushers and minor injuries but the real scares of the film come from everyday occurrences given a twist, such as
Amy’s imaginary friend and George’s obsession with his axe.
The documentaries from The History Channel which come on a companion disc are fantastic and will pique the interest of all who enjoy the film.
They offer a variety of contradictory evidence about the truth of the case and should encourage you to seek out the original novel and perhaps the
others written in the years following the case. Debate rages as to what really occurred at 112 Ocean Avenue and theories even go so far as to
consider the possibility that DeFeo’s sister had a hand in the original murders.
Many believe that the Lutz family saw the house as an opportunity to hatch a scam and make a tidy profit, others see it as an exaggeration of
events and there are still many true believers out there who swallow the story whole. Whatever you believe the ‘true story’ tag on the film makes
it all the more intriguing, gives the storytellers license to leave things unexplained and makes digging into the history all the more rewarding. It is
not a faithful rendering of Jay Anson’s book but it is far more accurate (and far superior in my opinion) than the woeful 2005 re-imagining. The story
is fascinating and the 1979 film works very well as a stand-alone experience, digging up the history just gives horror-nerds something else to do
on the ‘net! See, read, research and flame up those Amityville message boards! It will make every future screening of the film so much more
entertaining for your friends!
guise of a true story. The film certainly has all the cliches you could ask for, priest, babysitter, barman, kooky friend, incessantly barking dog and a
family just starting out. Despite its cliches or perhaps because of them, the film is incredibly satisfying. It’s a classic with good reason and its base
in fact is part of the reason. In November 1974 Ronald DeFeo did indeed shoot and kill his entire family. He was later arrested and jailed for the
crime all the while claiming that ‘voices’ in the house told him to do it. One year later George and Kathy Lutz and their 3 children, hot on the heels
of their wedding, moved into the under-priced ‘murder house’ and stayed only 28 days. This is where fact ends and conjecture begins. The Lutz’s
claim that while they were in the house a series of mysterious and increasingly disturbing events occurred ranging from windows opening or
closing by themselves to black and red ooze dripping down the walls in the basement and the discovery of a ‘secret room’ there. The book, written
by Jay Anson after extensive interviews with the Lutz family details these events and is still the best account of the Lutz family journey.
The family toured the talk show circuit and sold their story to magazines in the 1970’s and many of their claims were refuted during this process.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the story forms the base for this film and the ‘true story’ tag has lent much credence to the film. It also lends the
film an interesting pace, unlike a conventional horror in many ways. Some creepy occurrences go unexplained, the tension falters at times and the
last third of the film is a little slower than we’ve come to expect.
When George and Kathy come to look at the property George utters the ominous phrase “Houses don’t have memories”. Saying this in a house
where an entire family had been murdered is asking for trouble and we feel the storm brewing form here onward. The house seems particularly to
affect George and the story is as much about the tension between husband and wife as it is about possession or haunting. George’s descent is
the key to the film. As he gets paler and angrier, the house seems to gain power and the other mysterious occurrences intensify. James Brolin and
Margot Kidder as our leads are at times unconvincing (even by Brolin’s admission) but Kidders grating voice works in her favour as her hysteria
gains momentum. Rod Steiger is under utilized but still turns in a fantastic performance as the priest who experiences first hand the horrors of 112
Ocean Avenue.
Kathy’s children do their bit to add to the creepiness of the film, especially the daughter Amy who was allegedly befriended by ‘Jodie’ an invisible
demon pig – a creepy idea in anyone’s book!
The house itself is the real star of the film and we are treated to lingering shots of its facade while the (now obligatory) children’s choir sing a very
creepy musical score. The setting continually adds depth to the simple situational scares which are the meat of the film and make it easy to engage
with the effects shots, though these are few and far between. If you are after serious gore this is not your film. It is light on effects and there is
barely any blood. There are a few gushers and minor injuries but the real scares of the film come from everyday occurrences given a twist, such as
Amy’s imaginary friend and George’s obsession with his axe.
The documentaries from The History Channel which come on a companion disc are fantastic and will pique the interest of all who enjoy the film.
They offer a variety of contradictory evidence about the truth of the case and should encourage you to seek out the original novel and perhaps the
others written in the years following the case. Debate rages as to what really occurred at 112 Ocean Avenue and theories even go so far as to
consider the possibility that DeFeo’s sister had a hand in the original murders.
Many believe that the Lutz family saw the house as an opportunity to hatch a scam and make a tidy profit, others see it as an exaggeration of
events and there are still many true believers out there who swallow the story whole. Whatever you believe the ‘true story’ tag on the film makes
it all the more intriguing, gives the storytellers license to leave things unexplained and makes digging into the history all the more rewarding. It is
not a faithful rendering of Jay Anson’s book but it is far more accurate (and far superior in my opinion) than the woeful 2005 re-imagining. The story
is fascinating and the 1979 film works very well as a stand-alone experience, digging up the history just gives horror-nerds something else to do
on the ‘net! See, read, research and flame up those Amityville message boards! It will make every future screening of the film so much more
entertaining for your friends!
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