Film: The Amityville Horror

Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Genre: Horror
Source: USA (1979)
Rating: R
Location/Format: DVR
Grade: C

I've got a pretty solid track record in terms of going for 70s horror. Rosemary's Baby and The Shining (at the outer edges of that era with '68 and '80 respectively) are two of my favorite horror movies. And Stuart Roseberg's Cool Hand Luke is in my top 50 films. So I was primed and excited to really love The Amityville Horror. 

The problem was, it just didn't really compel me.

The film had elements that I really liked, Josh Brolin being number one on that list. His George Lutz (though I admit every time someone called him Lutz I thought of 30 Rock) becomes increasingly unhinged, and Brolin's beard, his hair, his red-rimmed eyes--all combine to make him look genuinely insane and unkempt. (I have to wonder if this is the type of transformation from good-natured family man to possible psychopath that Stephen King was hoping for in his novel's adaptation, since he always criticizes Jack Nicholson's casting in The Shining). He did have an electric performance on screen.

I also like the way the film doesn't actually show evil spirits or anything like that. There are physical signs (the blood in the stairs remains a really great effect, and though the flies didn't work for me I like the idea behind them) and sounds ("Get out") but the demons/ghosts/monsters remain hidden, which makes them a little more frightening. Instead they seem to manifest through people's increasingly wild behavior. I like that.

So why didn't the film pull me in? Is it because the Catholic priest story line with Rod Steiger seemed dead on arrival? Is it because some of the effects look a little dated and silly now? Is it because I was watching it on a Sunday afternoon rather than a Friday night?

I don't know, but this one just doesn't crack my horror pantheon. I'd not be opposed to watching it again, but I probably won't seek it out or try and share it with others the way I do with the two horror classics mentioned above. 

I wonder if the remake or the sequels are any good.