ok, so i checked out The Amityville Horror this weekend. The movie is a remake of an old horror movie from about the 70's. I did not check this out prior to seeing the movie, so don't worry i'm not going to spend this review comparing and contrasting every single thing that is different in the two. i'm sure there are some things, but just let them go as i did. what i am going to talk about is the movies mix of blood, decent acting, and generic jump scares that makes it one to probably rent. though not spend your hard earned eight dollars on.

the story centers around the Lutz family. George Lutz (played by a still bearded ryan reynolds) has married Melissa (that girl that used to be on alias), and adopted her three children. obviously the children aren't to happy with their new dad, especially the 12 year old that wants nothing more than to have him go away. george tries his best, being that charming van wilder guy that we've all grown to love. reynolds strikes as a dad figure, one that you could talk to over a meal and then go out and see a movie with. he's just a fun guy.

so the Lutz's decide to go a house shoppin' one day and find that this fantastic house is for sale in a extremely good neighborhood. they buy it, then ask what the catch is (wouldn't it have been smarter to ask before?) only to find out that the reason for the houses recent price drop is the fact that there were a series of grisly murders that took place in the house involving a demonic voices, a gun, and some rather unhappy residence. despite this (and the fact that it would have cut about an hour off the movies time) the Lutz decide to move in anyway.

now the rest of the movie is broken up into three days. on Day 1 things already start to go a little spooky. the youngest lutz child makes an imaginary friend that resembles the little girl that was murdered in the house before. george begins seeing things around the house. hearing things here and there. and the worst is seeing a little girl hanging from a bed post while he and his wife are...uumm...doing things married people do......it's creepy. from there we jump to day 18 (i could be wrong about the exact day, but somewhere in the middle). george has moved to the basement and is hearing things all the time now. he constantly complains that the house is to cold. and is snapping at the kids frequently. that part is particularly unsettling, given the cheery state of the family before they moved. it was handled very well. also this part marks the best part of the film involving a babysitter with a pot habit and a dark closet. for god sake do not go to the bathroom during this part. it's one of the saving graces of the movie.

from there we jump one more time to Day 28. see it's on day 28 that the original family was murdered. and the house has gone completely to hell. george has cracked and is now almost completely insane. a priest has come and gone and told the mother that the house is evil (duh) and you can tell it's about to hit the fan. then it does. not gonna give away the ending for you, but it's probably worth it to see the pay off after all of that.

after the credits start to roll what is the final verdict? ehhh. i liked ryan reynolds. he impresses me for his ability to take not so great movies and add something to them. it was true of Blade: Trinity, and it's true of this. the priest is a good touch too. i almost thought he should have been in the movie earlier though. give the sort of omen that you should "GET THE HELL OUT OF THE HOUSE!" and overall most of the acting is well done.

the movie is shot pretty well. although my girlfriend and i were laughing at the over abundance of sound effects. a teddy bear falling to the ground really doesn't need a "BOOM!" sound to go along with it. it's just one of those things that we found funny, but it's more of a nitpick than a complaint. there was one sequence that was shot with quick cuts that looked almost like a trailer. that's a no no. i want to see a movie when i go to one, not a trailer. although admittedly there are some films that should stay trailers.

Amityville Horror is an above average remake that probably deserves your time if you're into scary movies. it brings nothing really new to the table, but what it offers it serves up as best it can. ryan reynolds holds your attention and the ending will creep out anyone watching it alone in a dark room. oh and if you see a house for sale that's really cheap and you find out that murders have taken place there. yet still end up moving in, good. you deserve everything that's about to happen to you. i give it a B-

view trailer at apple.com

1 Comments:

Very well done review, gives me a great idea of the movie without giving away any major details.

posted by Lover Boy on 4/25/2005 9:06 PM 

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