THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) In terms of showy special effects, The Amityville Horror may not be the best haunted house movie ever made. But its effectiveness lies within the filmmakers’ subtle interpretation of the source material—the book by Jay Anson. After purchasing property on the shores of a Long Island community, the Lutz family believes they’ve found the deal of the century in a three-story colonial house—the sight of a grisly mass murder the year prior. The American Dream soon turns into a nightmare when strange things begin to plague their happy existence. Windows open on their own, the toilets back up with a mysterious black ooze, and one of the upstairs bedrooms has a fly infestation that comes and goes. None of this seems like a prime indicator for a haunting, but the psychological implications outweigh the physical, especially for dad George Lutz (James Brolin), whose mental capacity collapses. This plays into one of the questions the book raised during its popularity: is the house really inherently evil, or was it just a figment of the family’s imagination? No matter what you believe, The Amityville Horror is an undeniably well-made yarn that uses suggestion more than jump scares to unnerve you. Brolin gives an intense performance, but it’s Margot Kidder, in a sympathetic turn as Kathy Lutz, who holds the movie together. B+ (Currently streaming on Max.)
AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION (1982) Instead of picking up where The Amityville Horror left off, Amityville II goes back to the murders that happened the year before the Lutz family moved into the house. Based on Hans Holzer’s speculative book, Murder in Amityville, the film chronicles the lives of the fictional Montelli family—and their demise—in the wake of moving into 112 Ocean Avenue. Once inside the dwelling, the evil of the house—emitting from a secret doorway in the basement—immediately takes hold of the Montellis by exploiting their dysfunctional relationships. But it’s the eldest child, Sonny (Jack Magner), who becomes the puppet for the demonic force to do its bidding, and who ultimately takes a shotgun to the entire Montelli clan. After a good first hour, the film looses its footing and turns into a half-baked courtroom melodrama by way of The Exorcist. Fortunately Amityville II saves face when we return to the house, where a priest (James Olson) performs an exorcism on Sonny, culminating in the demon literally bursting out of the young man in a gory special effects showdown. Subtlety is not the tone of this well-made but overwrought prequel, which features child abuse, incestuous rape, demonic possession, and the lustful thoughts of priest Olson towards the teenage Montelli daughter (Diane Franklin). In fact, Amityville II is so successful at pushing boundaries that it often feels evil, especially during the first act, which is impressively creepy. A tighter script could have made this a semi-classic. As it is, The Possession is a decent follow-up worthy of a rewatch. B (Currently streaming on Starz.)
AMITYVILLE 3-D (1983) (AKA: Amityville III) Once again the old Amityville digs are for sale, and once again its new owner gets up to their neck in ghostly goings-on, and this time in 3-D! In the opening scene, two reporters for Reveal Magazine—a tabloid-type rag that specializes in debunking the supernatural—catch a couple of charlatans in the act of using the Long Island house of horrors for monetary gain. Having successfully defrauded the infamous house, lead investigator Tony Roberts thinks the home is too good a deal to pass up and—despite the nay-saying of his photographer (Candy Clark), and his ex-wife (Tess Harper)—purchases the place. Predictably, soon after moving into 112 Ocean Avenue, sinister happenings plague Roberts and his family, ultimately disproving his scientific theory that all seemingly supernatural occurrences can be explained. After a full-scale parapsychological study of the dwelling, which includes numerous demons and other ghastly manifestations, the house decides it’s had enough and blows itself up in a fairly spectacular climax. The ominous buzzing of a fly in the last shot of the film suggests the evil is still with us, and soon enough Amityville 4 was unleashed onto an (un)suspecting populace. Perhaps influenced more by Poltergeist than the previous Amityville twosome, Amityville 3-D is a gimmicky showcase of flashy special effects the first two movies didn’t really bother with. The 3-D elements take center stage and, for the most part, are impressive. And despite its overt silliness, Amityville 3-D is an enjoyable and harmless bit of schlocky entertainment. B– (Currently streaming on Freevee, Starz.)
AMITYVILLE HORROR: THE EVIL ESCAPES (1989) (AKA: Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes) Acting as a direct sequel to The Amityville Horror, The Evil Escapes begins with a squad of crucifix-armed priests storming the haunted Long Island dwelling and successfully exorcising the place of its evil. The county sells off the furniture left behind by the Lutzes, unaware that the demonic entity is now inhabiting a large standing lamp that was situated in one of the bedrooms. When said possessed lamp is sent to Jane Wyatt in California, it causes havoc in her cliffside manor, which is coincidentally being occupied by her daughter (Patty Duke) and grandchildren. The supernatural activity embeds itself within the place’s electrical circuits, where it promptly cooks the pet parakeet in a toaster oven and slices off a teen’s hand in the garbage disposal. The demonic force even manipulates the youngest grandchild into believing her recently deceased father has returned from the grave—a subplot reused in Amityville: Dollhouse—by turning the kid into a psychopathic brat. As with the original movie, the filmmakers here are focusing on the dysfunctional nuclear family unit, but it’s hard to keep a straight face when the film descends into utter ridiculousness, such as the lamp driving a truck off into the night like a remote controlled toy. Despite its idiotic demeanor, Evil Escapes features good acting and a few suspenseful moments—the “hand-down-the-garbage-disposal” bit is a highlight. Expect anything more from this made-for-cable movie-of-the-week and you’ll be sorely disappointed. C+ (Currently streaming on Shudder, Freevee.)
To be continued…
Please listen to The Video Verdict, a podcast I co-host with Frank Pittarese. Our episode about The Amityville Horror is available on Spotify!