Now just whose brilliant idea was it to remake a classic 70’s horror film? I can’t understand why this has to happen time and time again. It simply does not work, at least not for me.
The original Amityville was eerie, full of menace and with heaps of atmosphere. There were very few scenes of blood and gore, well just one in fact and even that was in a blink of an eye.
Unfortunately this remake has the non essential gore that seems to be a requisite of today’s modern horror film. Torture scenes, close ups of the original murders, axes in places you wouldn’t want them to be and a few other bits I won’t bother to go into. What it lacks more then anything is atmosphere. Yes it has its scary moments, the ghostly faces in the mirrors and the figures at the windows are quite good, but there are no cold draughts, no moments when the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. During the original film I was genuinely spooked, the music alone was enough to have you hiding behind the sofa, but this version omitted everything that was good about it. The character of the priest was central to the Amityville story, but not in this film, he had a couple of scenes and that was it. The same with George’s business partner, he (and his girlfriend) were omitted completely.
I can’t complain about the acting as the adults and the kids were very good, but I was frankly disappointed. I didn’t expect much and I didn’t get much. It is what it is, a mediocre special effects remake of a genuinely scary film.
Score Board: Not a patch on the original. Avoid 4/10
The original Amityville was eerie, full of menace and with heaps of atmosphere. There were very few scenes of blood and gore, well just one in fact and even that was in a blink of an eye.
Unfortunately this remake has the non essential gore that seems to be a requisite of today’s modern horror film. Torture scenes, close ups of the original murders, axes in places you wouldn’t want them to be and a few other bits I won’t bother to go into. What it lacks more then anything is atmosphere. Yes it has its scary moments, the ghostly faces in the mirrors and the figures at the windows are quite good, but there are no cold draughts, no moments when the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. During the original film I was genuinely spooked, the music alone was enough to have you hiding behind the sofa, but this version omitted everything that was good about it. The character of the priest was central to the Amityville story, but not in this film, he had a couple of scenes and that was it. The same with George’s business partner, he (and his girlfriend) were omitted completely.
I can’t complain about the acting as the adults and the kids were very good, but I was frankly disappointed. I didn’t expect much and I didn’t get much. It is what it is, a mediocre special effects remake of a genuinely scary film.
Score Board: Not a patch on the original. Avoid 4/10
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