The Amityville Horror (1979) - The Mini-Review

I had seem bits and pieces of The Amityville Horror was I was a kid and my recollection was that there were a few spooky scenes but it wasn't the best movie ever. It was, however, one of the more well known "house-with-an-attitude-movies" of it's time.

The Amityville Horror is the story of Goerge and Kathy Lutz. Based on real events, by the way. Just married, they are looking for a nice home for their new family unit. George is a new father to Kathy's 3 children from her now deceased husband and this home might be just what they need to bring them all together. This house has a bad history, though. One year before, there was a multiple homicide. The previous family was shot while they were sleeping by their 23 year old son, who later told police that voices from the house made him do it. The house is roomy with a nice boathouse, so who cares if 5 people were killed there? That's what George and Kathy feel, but things begin to go bad for them as well. The first sign of trouble is a very unsuccessful attempt by the family priest to bless the house. As he is setting up his things to begin the blessing, he finds out that the family has a bit of a fly problem in one of their bedrooms. After getting swarmed by, what looks like all the flies that have ever lived, he is rushed out of the house by a demonic voice, "Getttt Ooooout!" He does as told. What follows is an escalating string of events that trouble the family and nearly drives the head of the household, George, crazy.

You might think that this story might end up in the same place as The Shining, but it doesn't end with George attempting to kill his whole family. I did not read the book that chronicled the "real" events in Amityville, but I suspect the anti-climactic, and somewhat sudden, ending to the movie has a lot to do with the way the family's story ended in real life. I give the filmmaker credit for sticking to the actual events, but it made for a strange ending.

Even for 1979, this movie has a cheap look to it, and that is most likely due to the low budget and rushed nature. James Brolin (George) and Margot Kidder (Kathy) do pretty well with what they are given in the film, but there aren't too many Oscar opportunities here. Rod Stiger as the priest has some of the best acting moments as the faith-challenged-Father.

The Amityville Horror aspires to be great, and that is commendable. However, with it's low budget and less than top-notch approach, it results in a story with really interesting idea coming off as a horror-movie-of-the-week. Many people consider this film to be a "classic", I have a feeling that some movies are considered better than they actually were because of the nostalgia that we have for them. I agree that it is a "classic", but that is because it was simply one of the first "mean house" movies of it's time.