Ryan Reynolds fairs well in his dramatic turn. After completing several substandard comedies (Van Wilder, The In-Laws, and Blade: Trinity), here Reynolds takes on the body of a wrestler and the beard of Ryan Gosling from The Notebook. Aside from Reynolds, all of Amityville’s other acting is entirely forgettable.
With The Amityville Horror, there is a lot to complain about. For starters, the move-in montage is tasteless, and the characters’ clothes rarely fit the 1974 timeframe. Also, the story itself is anti-climactic and borders on annoying when it depicts Kathy and George each giving the children cheap advice while the other listens from outside the doorway. What’s more, the inclusion of the sexy, over-confident babysitter (Rachel Nichols) who smokes pot, is damaging to the film; it only represents a reason to further excite the film’s core audience of teenage boys. Also, why is the phrase, “Catch ‘em,” spelled with a “K?” Finally, if mainstream Hollywood incorporates one more frantic search through a local library’s archived newspapers, I will personally pen a complaint letter.
For those of you who enjoy the horror genre, Amityville will most likely do the trick. However, for the moviegoers who enjoy more substance than scares, The Amityville Horror will be yet another second-rate choice on horror rental shelves come late October. While this revamped version is an improvement on the original, it basically just provides a deeper means to fear the two quarter-circle windows that have burned themselves into everyone’s brain. (** out of ****)
Article comments
1 - Missy
I liked this movie. It gave you a suspense to were you wanted to watch it to see what would happen. It scares you to make you jump and cover your eyes with your pillow. But then again if your one of those people who criticizes movie by saying things like "thats soo fake" then this movie isnt for you because you could find a lot of faults in this movie from the actors to the scenes.
2 - Dakota
just so you know catch is spelled with a k because it was the guy who totured the peoples last name
3 - Amber
It's only a movie. People shouldn't care for this type of thing. Some may be based on the REAL story but some of it may not be. If it's based on the real story, it might have some bits and peices of the true story. Yet I fell in love with this movie. It caught my attention right from the start. I've always loved scary movies. This is my number one favorite.