Review of The Amityville Horror (2005) by David K — 06 Oct 2009

I can't say this film was particularly good. However, it did provide some solid and actually terrifying scares for the first half of its duration. I guess that makes it worthwhile.

"The Amityville Horror" is about a family that moves into a haunted house which was previously owned by a crazed father that murdered his family. Well, it seem history might be repeating itself as Ryan Reynolds' character starts to lose his sanity.

Like I said, the first half is pretty haunting. The film uses the American "jump scare" pretty well and I must admit, I was terrified. However, as the film progressed and focused more on the story, it became sort of a convoluted mess.

The main problem is that there are too many "clues" or allusions that one apparition of the house might offer an explanation down the line. Unfortunately, the audience is left sort of hanging by the end without a complete story. But overall, I found the film scary, even though it was really lacking in a strong narrative.