Film Reviews

The Amityville Horror

• Rating:
• Director: Andrew Douglas.
• Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennet, Chloe Morentz, Rachel Nichols, Philip Baker Hall.
• Details: US/ 90 mins/ (15A)

The fact that the anti-Christ of intelligent filmmaking, Michael Bay, produced this remake of The Amityville Horror should tell you all you need know. Really. Set in a rather glossy 1979, The Amityville Horror sees George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds), Kathy Lutz (Melissa George) and her kids move into a spacious home in Amityville, Long Island. Although the family are aware that a heinous crime was committed within the home (murder, no less), the Lutzs believe that their wholesome ways will ensure that all the bad vibes left with the previous occupants. Have a guess as to what happens next... Much like Bay's recent production (rough translation: hatchet job) of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror is all surface and no depth. Content to use the likes of The Exorcist, Poltergeist, and The Shining as the basic conceptual templates without utilising any of their atmosphere or air of menace, The Amityville Horror neglects to do anything remotely unpredictable with its shaggy premise. When it runs out of ideas on the standardised scares front, there's an ill-judged attempt to place the material in a social context, but this - like virtually everything else in this unsatisfying affair - feels unconvincing.

Review by Garreth Murphy