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Title: The Amityville Horror (2005)
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Ryan Reynolds | ... | George Lutz | |
| Melissa George | ... | Kathy Lutz | |
| Jesse James | ... | Billy Lutz | |
| Jimmy Bennett | ... | Michael Lutz | |
| Chloë Grace Moretz | ... | Chelsea Lutz | |
| Rachel Nichols | ... | Lisa | |
| Philip Baker Hall | ... | Father Callaway | |
| Isabel Conner | ... | Jodie Defeo | |
 |
Brendan Donaldson | ... | Ronald Defeo |
| Annabel Armour | ... | Realtor | |
|
|
Rich Komenich | ... | Chief of Police |
|
|
David Gee | ... | ER Doctor |
| Danny McCarthy | ... | Officer Greguski | |
|
|
Nancy Lollar | ... | Librarian |
| José Taitano | ... | Stitch | |
In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz along with their three children move into an elegant Long Island house. What they don't know is that the house was the site of a horrific mass murder a year before. They decide to keep the house and attempt to keep the horror in the past, but are now haunted by a murderous presence. This is until, George starts to behave weirdly and their daughter, Chelsea starts to see people. What follows is 28 days of sheer, unbridled terror for the family with demonic visions of the dead. Based on the true story of George and Kathy Lutz, The Amityville Horror remains one of the most horrifying haunted house stories ever told - because it actually happened. Written by Film_Fan
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Forget, for a moment, that you ever saw the original. Forget the 'based on true events' tag-line - inevitably there to sell extra tickets. After all, a horror film based on true events is Hotel Rwanda, far scarier than this - though for different reasons.
Now that those little tidbits are out of your system, sit back and prepare for the best damn horror film of the year! The suspense is there, with the right blend of sharp cutting, solid pacing, slick cinematography and a musical accompaniment by someone who has obviously done his horror film homework (Clay Duncan's work on the Ring films' scores surely helped...). The editors did work on films like Face/Off, True Romance and MI:II, which certainly helped a novice director (Andrew Douglas), whose only other film was a Southern-Christian documentary entitled 'Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus'.
The film is not perfect - there are a few moments of tedium - namely when the characters - particularly Ryan Reynold's ever-darkening George - get repetitive, especially with the dialogue. And the end drags a little as the family desperately try to escape the horror - no, I won't spoil it, but think to yourself when watching the film: why not just break the bloody window? And why run further UP the roof, instead of just jumping off the edge of the lower eave?
Still, great editing and a fantastic atmospheric setting move this film easily through any minor difficulties, and as a longtime horror fan, I did find myself startled on occasion - though that may have been due to the two *shrieking* girls directly behind me (and here I thought the film was 13 and over...? They may have looked older, but they could have fooled me...their behaviour certainly didn't)
All in all, I give this one high marks for excitement, pacing, and eeriness. It mixes the right amount of horror with dramatic flavour and tension. Not the best horror film ever, but a helluva lot of fun! 7.5/10.