For Hollywood it seems that new material is hard to come by, making the remake their new best friend. But the big question that's raised when making a remake is how does it stack up to the original? Well with the recent remake of The Amityville Horror, they made something that nowadays would be considered scarier than the original, but in no way better than the original.
For this 2005 remake, Michael Bay's production company Platinum Dunes, responsible for the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, was brought in to try and revive this horror classic.
As for the story it follows a very similar path as the original when George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds) and his new wife Kathy (Melissa George) go to look at an incredible "once in a lifetime" house deal on Long Island. The house is way below market value raising some red flags for George. When they ask the Realtor why the price is so low, she seems very perturbed, but finally tells the couple that the previous family was murdered in the house by one of their own family members. Reluctant to make the purchase George is convinced by his wife that this is the house for them and they will make new happier memories upon moving in.
George and Kathy move in along with Kathy's 3 children Billy, Michael, and Chelsea; not long after, the house's past starts to shine through. Chelsea begins to see the ghost of the little girl who was murdered there, both boys start to see supernatural events taking place and worst of all George begins to go mad. He starts to become sick, can't stay warm, starts to sleep in the basement next to the furnace and develops a very short temper. Not long after Kathy realizes that things are going terribly wrong in her once thought to be dream house, leaving the audience wondering if she has realizes this too late.
Supposedly this story is based on a true story, but it seems in Hollywood this term is used lightly. In all actuality I was surprised to find out when reading about the true story that it was actually proved to be a hoax to cover up the fact that the family couldn't pay their mortgage. The Lutz family used this story to gain publicity and with that publicity money and fame.
The whole movie just screams cliche to me. After watching the loads of horror movies produced in the last 3 years you can label each effect used in The Amityville Horror with that of a movie produced over that time period. Everything is very typical and predictable to some point. For the most part it has a lot of spots that make you jump back and surprise you, but nothing novel. Director Andrew Douglas does a decent job with the film, but that's about all. He did what he had to do, took his money and called it a day it seems.
In terms of acting Reynolds delivers a solid performance portraying the crazed home owner which was a surprise to me given his background in almost all comedic roles. Melissa George also does a decent job with her role however the script she had to work with made her character a little unbelievable at times. I find it hard to believe that her character Kathy would have just sat back and let a lot of the things that happened go on. It seems she caught on to things way too late.
So what does The Amityville Horror bring to the table when it all comes down to it? I think at best it worth a rental and stacks up somewhere in the middle of the pack when compared to the other horror films of the past few years. If you don't mind a bit of cliche horror and don't over think everything you should be fine and have a somewhat enjoyable time. Overall you could definitely find a worse remake, but also a better one. This one is middle of the pack all the way.
"The Amityville Horror" opens April 15, 2005 and is rated R. Horror. Directed by Andrew Douglas. Written by Scott Kosar. Starring Chloe Moretz, Jimmy Bennett, Melissa George, Philip Baker Hall, Ryan Reynolds.
