Review of The Amityville Horror (2005) by Filipeneto — 24 Apr 2018

This movie is a remake of a 1979 horror classic, which most people no longer know. Despite this, almost all lovers of supernatural stories have heard of the crimes of Amityville and the death of the DeFeo family. The crime was true, as was the Lutz family's stay in that house for about a month. But the so-called "true story" on which this film is based ends here. The idea that the Lutz were also plagued by the supposed ghosts of this infamous house is apparently a complete invention, that the cinema has merely exploited and inflamed.

Comparing this movie with its 1979 predecessor is inglorious. If the original has long been forgotten, the new film deserves to be forgotten. It's a bad movie, it never really fears the public, it fails by being absolutely predictable. It brings nothing new, interesting or appealing, limiting itself to making use of a famous story of presumed haunting to make some money. It has an uninteresting script and the special, visual and sound effects are not remarkable, using the most rehearsed recipes of horror movies. Actors' interpretation is boring, with the praiseworthy exception of Ryan Reynolds, who plays George Lutz. This actor wasn't brilliant, but managed to meet the minimums that were required of him.