MOVIE POSTER COLLECTION- THE AMITYVILLE HORROR

AMITYVILLE 3-D

     John Baxter (Tony Roberts), is a skeptic who works for Reveal Magazine.  His job is to debunk ghost stories and claims of haunted houses.  In a questionable case of real estate, recently divorced Baxter decides to buy the infamous house in Amityville, Long Island.  Why not?  Well, to solve the mystery of 112 Ocean Avenue and see it it's legit, or a bunch of bunk.

     Turns out his daughter Susan is none other than 80's icon Lori Loughlin, who would go on to a different house in a few years. The wonderful Candy Clark plays Melanie- John's faithful photographer assistant and who does not think any of this is a good idea.  Baxter's grumpy ex-wife, played by Tess Harper, is also vehemently against this arrangement.  And surprise- spunky Meg Ryan shows up as Susan's best friend. Don't you just love the 80's.

     This was the second sequel to the hit classic THE AMITYVILLE HORROR.  Cashing in on the hot but very brief 3-D craze of the time, AMITYVILLE 3-D, along with FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 in 3-D and JAWS 3-D, all made a memorable 3-D horror trilogy of the early 80's. Is it any good?  No... yet I find it irresistible all the same. This was the first sequel in the series not to continue the existing storyline, and it plays with the idea that maybe the house itself is infamous, but could still be seen as a hoax. This is a curious entry in the AMITYVILLE series. It was the last movie before the series turned to utter shit, for one.

      I'm reviewing it because it's included in the fabulous box set with the first two films, and anyway it's not terrible. There are lots of things I actually like about AMITYVILLE 3-D. It's damn weird, for one, and oddly entertaining.

     This sequel really does kinda veer off into Crazytown, and that's part of its charm. We're treated to Meg Ryan wanting to hump a ghost, flying swordfish, ouija boards, purple floating mists, more flies, and a freaky demon that comes out of the well right at the end and burns a guy's face off (Jim from DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN)!  It builds to a rousing climax that literally brings down the house, and ends on an ominous and mysterious note. While nothing memorable, it's still a totally enjoyable slice of 80's b-movie camp heaven and part of a pretty strong haunted house trilogy. And don't go any farther than this installment. Trust me.

        I think it's kind of cool that for whatever reason, AMITYVILLE 3-D, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 in 3-D, and JAWS 3 IN 3-D were all third sequels, and all in 3-D.  These movies were a huge fucking deal deal back in 1982 and 1983, and a lot of memories are attached to them. That alone give this movie cool points. Another golden HBO staple right here.

      It's definitely the odd man out of the original trilogy, but that makes it sort of endearing to me. The first two AMITYVILLE films were serious attempts at scary movies. I think they were going for that with the third, but it somehow came out rather campy and curious instead.  It should have truly ended here though.  It would have been a respectable horror trilogy and that would have been that. But no.

   

SCARY SOUNDS- The Amityville Horror

     "The Amityville Horror" has one of the scariest music scores of all time! It's a score that, to me personally, rivals that of "Psycho" or "Halloween" for sheer iconic creepiness.  The infamous theme has been creeping audiences out since 1979, and it's easy to see why.  Any score with children chanting "la la la's" is disturbing anyway- no doubt about it.  And this film scared the bejesus out of many kids my age back in the hoary old 70's. 'Tis the season for anything creepy, so turn off the lights and enjoy, kiddos!

Amityville 2: The Possession

"If these walls could talk... they would SHRIEK!"

        The inevitable sequel to the mega-hit THE AMITYVILLE HORROR is actually just as entertaining as the original, in my opinion. A prequel to the original that's based on the book "Murder In Amityville" by famed parapsychologist Hans Holzer, AMITYVILLE 2: THE POSSESSION is really nowhere near as bad as it's made out to be, which is usually pretty often. Or at least it used to be.  Seems the movie is seen in a different light today, and I never understood why it was so frowned upon in the first place- it's got some incredible scenes in it. I loved it just as much as the first film, and felt the underrated Rutanya Alda was just as good a leading lady as our Margot.

     Maybe it's just me, but this film almost has a seedy and sleazy feel to it, which only adds to the horror, I think. It opens with a great and sweeping shot of the Amityville house surrounded by fog, (or the studio's interpretation of the actual house, that is...), and that shot immediately sets the tone for the rest of the film. What it lacks in some production areas here and there, it more than makes up for it all with a downright evil, menacing atmosphere and some first rate special effects.

     This movie oozes evil from every frame, and is widely considered to be the darkest and most frightening of the series. On top of all the supernatural shenanigans going on, there is a sinister, underlying tension present within the family. Sure, the demonic presence in 112 Ocean Avenue is spooky, but the real-life horrors presented here are just as unsettling- physical abuse, incest, rape, family quarrels. It's all very disconcerting. You can feel all the problems within the family bubbling under the surface, ready to erupt at any moment. This is a somewhat stressful movie to sit through.

       Loosely based on the actual DeFeo case, AMITYVILLE 2: THE POSSESSION offers up some slick, spooky camera work and that awesomely scary Lalo Schifrin score help the film tremendously. The music is truly frightening and why this particular score has never officially been released on cd is a shame, I tell ya.

     To be fair, you could say that the climax of AMITYVILLE 2 basically degenerates into a low-rent EXORCIST. It pretty much does. You could even venture to say that it's a shamelessly exploitative and sensationalistic movie ripping off the tragedy of the DeFeo family. It is. However.....I still love this movie. This was supremely scary stuff back in the 80's, and besides some dated 80's trappings, it's by far the scariest Amityville movie ever made. It's a great and underrated B-movie that makes a great double-feature with the original.

     Throwing in a rather shocking incest plotline, the always entertaining Rutanya Alda, 80's icon Diane Franklin, and you have by far the best sequel out of the entire series. This is really the most sinister and scary of all the AMITYVILLE films!

The Amityville Horror

     

     I love Margot Kidder.  I really do.  She alway seems like she'd be that cool aunt who would sneak up to the attic with you and pull out a joint at Thanksgiving.  Always saucy, Margot starred in the awesome BLACK CHRISTMAS, and of course will always be Lois Lane.Which brings us to that hoary classic we all know and love- THE AMITYVILLE HORROR starring Margot Kidder and James Brolin. Supposedly based on the "true" story of the Lutz family, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR successfully started a franchise of books and films, and made funny, triangular windows and barn-shaped homes instant icons of horror around the world.

     The movie is loads of fun and borders on high camp 90% of the time- gobs of flies, puking nuns, black goo oozing out of toilets, red eyes in windows, demonic voices, Rod Steiger scarfing up every bit of scenery along the way, and James Brolin packing some serious heat under those skivvies of his. Regardless of your opinion on whether all of this really happened, the movie itself has attained almost cult status and is one of the most famous horror films to come out of the 1970's. I'm sure by now you know the story. George and Kathy Lutz buy an unbelievably cheap house in Amityville, Long Island. The home was the sight of the infamous DeFeo murders the previous year. George and Kathy Lutz and their children move into the house on 112 Ocean Avenue and are instantly plagued by strange and frightening experiences until 28 days later when they leave all their belongings behind and flee for their very lives.

    THE AMITYVILLE HORROR has all the classic elements of a great ghost story- respected actors and director, an eerie back story, and a super-creepy score by Lalo Schifrin. This was one of my favorites growing up, and of course I own the box set (The DVD boxset contains some great special features if your'e a geek like me and find documentaries and the making of certain movies fascinating- it includes not one, but two History Channel documentaries on the actual Amityville murder case and the paranormal investigations that followed, plus a trip down memory lane with our favorite Margot in a featurette about making the movie.  Good stuff.) The cinematography on THE AMITYVILLE HORROR is top notch, and the use of colors work to great effect here-different tinted shots of the house, combined with some great exterior shots of fall foliage help the overall look. And the set design. Can you name a single more famous or well-known design of a "haunted house" in a film? It instantly struck a chord in movie-goers and became a pop culture phenomenon by the time the 80's rolled around.

      This was huge stuff back in the late 70's, with the original murders and the whole Lutz debacle. Regardless of how good or bad the movie actually is, its infamy will live on. On an interesting note, if it weren't for the true story of the DeFeo massacre that actually happened there, would the movie itself be so memorable and well-loved? For me personally, it's impossible not to think of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR when the 1970's are brought up, it's that ingrained into my psyche, I guess. So I would say yes, it would.