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| Sony Pictures (Australia). Region 2 & 4 PAL. 2.35:1 (16:9 enhanced). English DD 5.1, French DD 5.1. English (FHI), English, French, Arabic, Hindi Subtitles. 86 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Andrew Douglas
Starring: Ryan Reynolds,
Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett, Chloe
Moretz
Screenplay:Scott Kosar
Music: Steve Jablonsky
Country: USA
Year: 2005 |
The Hollywood gears turn, and the remakes are
pumped out. It appears that no movie, no matter
how sacred to the horror fan's mind, like Dawn of the Dead or Texas
Chainsaw Massacre, can avoid being remade.
In the horror genre, ghost stories are hard to do,
and remaking a classic ghost story must be even
harder, but director Andrew Douglas and writer Scott
Kosar (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2005, The Machinist) from Jay Anson's
novel of the same name, seem to do a pretty good
job of it. Some of the elements of the first film
make appearances here, sometime a little forced,
like George's fascination with wood chopping,
but lead to much more suspenseful results. Other
elements, such as Kathy's religious beliefs,
are present, but not as apparent. This film is in
no way superior to the original, but it is almost
on par, with amazing subtle special and CG Effects
that were not available when the original was made
in 1979. Clearly this film was aimed at a younger
audience than the original, considering it was nominated
3 times at the 2005 Teen Choice award for Choice
Movie Thriller, Choice Movie Scream Scene for Rachael
Nichols (who plays Lisa, the babysitter) and Choice
Movie Scary Scene for Ryan Reynolds (George Lutz
in the Bathtub). It also received best Horror Trailer
(for the 'Get Out" Trailer) at the Golden
Trailer awards.
Set in the early seventies, the film starts with
young ne'er do well, Ronald DeFeo (Brendan
Donaldson), systematically going through his house
and executing his entire family, including his
little sister, Jodie (Isabel Conner). A year later,
George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds) and his new wife Kathy
(Melissa George) and her three children (Jesse
James, Jimmy Bennett and Chloe Grace Moretz) from
her previous marriage, are surprised to find the
same house on Ocean Avenue in Amityville at such
a bargain price, not knowing its horrible history.
Little do they know of the secret that lies beneath
the house, waiting to consume the occupants! Within
twenty eight days, they will endure terror and
madness that will force them from the house, never
to return. Not even the assistance of local priest,
Father Calloway (Philip Baker Hall) can save them
from the terrifying horror that they will endure.
With influences from the recent fascination with
j-horror movies like Dark Water and the Ring series, the remake
of The Amityville Horror actually
works. Reynolds and George are likable and really
become the characters of George and Kathy Lutz,
even though the dialogue at times can be a little
clunky. A special comment goes to the four actors
who play the children, who at no point suffer
from the dreaded child actor annoyance syndrome
(or Annakin-itis as I like to call it). Some of
the more ridiculous ideas of the original have
been dumped, like the glowing eyed pig ghost,
replaced with some chilling imagery. The subject
of alienation is really explored well in this
film, and makes it quite chilling at times. The
ultimate revelation to the source of the houses
ghost problem is a little silly, but it leads
to some great horror-rock styled MTV quick cuts. |
| Video |
| This film is presented in a fantastic 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen that is as clear as a bell all the way
through. |
| Audio |
| The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is great. Full
of deep murmurings and hums, the sub-woofer really
adds to the feeling of discomfort and alienation
that the characters are going through. |
| Extra Features |
| The audio commentary on this disc is with star
Ryan Reynolds and producers Brad Fuller and Andrew
Form. This commentary is informative and quite
amusing, as Reynolds is quite funny (considering
his previous movie and TV history it is understandable),
and acts like a mediator to Form and Fuller's
facts.
Supernatural Homicide is a 17 minute 33 second
documentary/debate about the actual facts of the
original DeFeo case. Was it a supernatural occurrence
or cold blooded mass murder? The original investigating
police and a psychic investigator recall their
impressions of the house.
The Source of Evil is a 26 minute 28 second documentary
about the origins and making of the film. It contains
interviews with Michael Bay, Andrew Douglas, Scott
Kosar and members of the cast.
On Set Peeks is a really interesting concept
where as you watch the movie, just before an effects
laden scene begins, you get to see a small bit
of 'making of' footage of the scene.
There are nine of these points on the movie.
The Photo Gallery has three sub-headings: Crime
Scene, which shows the props used for the DeFeo
crime scene part of the film, House interiors,
which is self explanatory and Ghosts and Torture,
a series of drawings showing some of the terrifying
members of the paranormal.
There are 8 deleted scenes with optional commentary
by Reynolds, Fuller and Form. They are not necessary
scenes, with a fairly pedestrian commentary over
them.
There is a sneak preview trailer for Deuce
Bigalow: European Gigolo. |
| The Verdict |
The Amityville Horror (2005)
is a different film to the original. Unlike other
Hollywood 're-imaginings' this had a
grounding in fact and therefore could not really
be changed to much from the original, but because
of the excellent performances by the cast, and direction
that strikes all the emotional chords correctly,
it works really well. When it comes down to it,
it is a haunted house movie, and if you enjoy that
type of move, there is no reason why you would not
enjoy this.
Got something else to say? Spill your guts on the
Digital Retribution Message Forum! |
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