The Amityville Horror

Plot synopsis:
In 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murdered his family at their house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. He claimed that he was persuaded to kill them by voices he heard in the house.
One year later, married couple George and Kathy Lutz move into the house along with Kathy's three children from a previous marriage, Billy, Michael, and Chelsea. The family soon begins experiencing paranormal events in the house. Chelsea claims that she has befriended a girl named Jodie, a name belonging to one of the murdered DeFeo children.
One night the couple decide to go out, and they hire a babysitter to watch the three kids. When the babysitter, Lisa, arrives, they come to find out that she had previously been hired to babysit for the DeFeos. Lisa tells them about the murders that took place in their house. When she goes to Chelsea's room, Chelsea tells her that she is a bad babysitter, claiming that Jodie told her so. Lisa begins to scold Jodie for being the reason behind her getting fired. Then Billy dares Lisa to go inside the closet (the same closet where Jodie was murdered), and she gets locked inside. After a few seconds she encounters Jodie herself, and begs to be let out. She goes into shock and the paramedics arrive to take her away; on the way to the hospital, Lisa tells Kathy that she had seen Jodie.
George's behavior towards Kathy and her children becomes abusive and the paranormal activity continues. Kathy asks priest Father Callaway (Philip Baker Hall) to bless the house, as a protective measure to prevent any future paranormal incidents, but Father Callaway flees the house when he encounters such occurrences himself. Kathy discovers that the house once belonged to a cult preacher named Reverend Jeremiah Ketcham, whose evil actions towards Native Americans during his "mission" in 17th century Amityville are said to be the cause of the haunting at 112 Ocean Avenue. Meanwhile, George, as he is walking through the basement of the house, encounters the apparitions of the various Indians who were tortured and killed there by Ketcham centuries ago. Entering a dimly-lit room, George encounters Ketcham himself (though he is not aware of who he is), and the ghostly figure of the evil missionary turns around, picks up a knife, and slits his throat in an act of recreating his suicide, covering George with blood, and causing him to become nearly completely possessed.
Kathy becomes convinced that George's abusive behavior is owed to a spiritual possession. Following urgent advice from Father Callaway, Kathy tries to evacuate her children from the house and escort them to safety, but the possessed George attempts to kill her and the children; Kathy knocks him out to prevent him from doing so and transports him away from the residence. Subsequently, George is released from the spirit's control and the family permanently leaves the house. A title card states that the family left within 28 days of arriving and never returned. Jodie is shown standing in the now empty house and screaming in terror while the house rearranges itself. Subsequently, she is pulled beneath the floor by a pair of disembodied hands.

Tags: gothic, murder, cult, haunting, flashback, romantic

Review:
George (James Brolin) and Kathleen Lutz (Margot Kidder) buy a "dream house" in Amityville, New York for a "dream price".
I'm a fan of camp and "so bad it's good"; Amityville's performances often attain both.The commentary on the new DVD is amusing given the 1970s publicity that the book and film depicted a true haunting and the subsequent, thorough debunking by persons such as Stephen Kaplan.
He not only still talks about the story as true, he invents supernatural excuses for the DeFeo murders and then some, barely mentioning detractors such as Kaplan.If you haven't seen the film yet, you should base your viewing decision on whether you have a taste for deliberately paced horror as well as a tolerance for extremely over-the-top performances.
I was but a timid lad of 14 when taken to a drive-in theater to see this incredibly effective horror film.There is no better monster to create a film around than the Devil himself.When Rod Steiger's character,Father Delaney is in the process of blessing the house,and was greeted by a resounding shout of "Get Out!",I almost took it literally,it was that effective.The Devil is indeed one unwelcome houseguest that is very hard to kick out,as you will see when you watch this film.James Brolin and Margo Kidder head a young family who are the new inhabitants of a home where brutal murders had taken place years before.Soon,strange happenings begin to haunt the family,as the house has trouble letting go of what had happened there.This movie is definitely in my top 10 horror films that I have seen,and if you enjoy being scared out of your wits,this film will do it for you.Give it a look!.
Although a great horror classic Amityville's finale is somewhat anti climactic and after a long and impressively scary build-up it fails to deliver the end goods.
Semi-classic thriller of the 70's, requires some patience from the audience but ultimately becomes a nicely moody film about America's most infamous haunted house.Couple moves their family into a Long Island house, where the previous owners where murdered, and begins to believe that there are evil forces at work in the new home.Based upon Jay Anson's novel, which itself is supposedly a true story, The Amityville Horror is a film that largely relies upon it's eerie, unsettling atmosphere to induce chills and it often works well.
Now, here's my opinion: fiction or non-fiction, Stuart Rosenberg managed to make a fun, campy, and all around creepy horror film that resonates as one of the most famous haunted house movies ever created.Everyone knows the legend about that house in Amityville, New York, the Dutch Colonial on 112 Ocean Avenue.
If you can appreciate a good build-up without much special effects(until the dynamite ending), then you will probably like the movie.James Brolin and Margot Kidder are a joy to watch as George and Kathy Lutz.
In fact, he makes the role larger, and we're not just scared for the Lutz family, but for him also.Obviously, some events in "The Amityville Horror" are slightly exaggerated when you compare them with the book's events or the perspectives of others who have experienced the haunting.
The story starts with a grisly mass murder ; years later , a family moves to Long Island where is purchased a Victorian home , their house of dreams but they find only devilish horror and full of nightmares .
And soon the poltergeists make their nasty appearance originating a lot of unusual rattles and creaks before deciding to utilize its powers to possess the father and attack the family .The film contains restless terror and great loads of gore and blood and usual poltergeists phenomenon caused by the curse and the usual ghastly shenanigans result to be the cracking pipelines , wall ooze icky stuff, flies swarm manifest as attackers, and doors suddenly slam , among others .
However , recently is made a good new adaptation by Andrew Douglas with Ryan Reynolds (James Brolin role ) , Melissa George ( Margot Kidder character) and Philip Baker Hall (Rod Steiger), though this is a new take on from previous film, it's one of the highest earning horror movie of the last years and like the¨ Amityville ¨ original became a box office biggie .
Elsewhere, other scenes here that come of nicely are all in the finale, from the howling voices and demented workload trying to get out of the basement as the growing pit and spackled wall coming down are off-set with the realization of the creepy back-story and the action to get away which is pretty much all that works here, along with the overall look and appearance of the house for the film's positives.
Nothing in their so-called "haunted house' seems to match the documented accounts of true haunted houses.The movie proves it,the story is fiction.On the other hand,this neat little movie does set up a convincing psychological basis as James Brolin is slowly and methodically being driven mad by:a new marriage, obnoxious kids, a failing business, lack of money and then, just to push him over, a strange house and weird events.Great movie,great score [that nah-nah,nah-nah score would creep me out alone] and great build-up to a fevered ending.
However, after a while it becomes obvious that it's actually better seen as a character study as opposed to horror: George's menacing change of nature can be seen as a reaction to the stressful life situation he's going through: raising a family, running a business, moving into a new house and getting the bills paid.
Eleven months later, The George and Kathy Lutz moved into the house (which they bought as a suspiciously low low price) and 21 weeks later fled in terror leaving their belongings behind claiming that an unseen evil force drove them from their home For years, the Lutz family stuck to their story and it was only a few years ago that they went public again to say "Ya know, we gotta be honest here .
It is pretty faithful to the book except that, ya know, reading scenes in which characters walk around the house and scenes of chopping wood and scenes of sitting in front of the fireplace and scenes of aerobic exercise do not really translate well when you're making a HORROR MOVIE!!
It's a sad state of affairs when the scariest thing in a haunted house movie is hard rain.George and Kathy are played by James Brolin (the only straight man in the world who can freely admit a love for Barbara Streisand without getting quizzical stares) and Margot Kidder (trying to star in at least one movie that doesn't contain the word "Kryptonite").
And, then, of course, there was the year 2005 when the dreaded remake of TAH inevitably happened, which, naturally, wasn't a hell of a lot better than the original.(Why-Oh-Why do they continually persist with junk such as this?) For anyone who isn't hip - This film's story is based on the alleged "real-life" experiences of the Lutz family who (under full knowledge) bought the home on 112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island, where a mass murder had been committed a year earlier, in 1974.Shortly after the Lutz family moved into this place, they were reportedly subjected to a series of frightening paranormal occurrences, which eventually caused them to flee for their lives from the house only 28 days after checking in.As one can well-imagine - The validity of these so-called paranormal occurrences have been subject to much controversy, and several vicious lawsuits concerning truthfulness, as well.Actor James Brolin, who played the movie-role of George Lutz (the father of the family), had actually met the real Mr. Lutz while the filming of TAH was still in progress.
Based on the semi-true story of the Lutz family, "The Amityville Horror" tells the tale of a newlywed couple who move their nuclear family into a spacious and gorgeous house they purchased on the cheap.
What follows is either a shared hallucination by the Lutz family, a clever scam, or an unexplainable phenomenon.While "The Amityville Horror" isn't quite on par with other classics of its era such as "The Omen" or "The Exorcist," it's still good for a few quality late-night scares.
They seek the help of the church and their family priest, Father Delaney (Robert Steiger), but this only creates more problems as the horror grows into a creepy and exciting horror flick.Now the overhanging question on the mind of anyone who watches this film will surely be...
The Amityville Horror is a supernatural film with ties to real life events based on the murderer Ronald DeFeo, who confessed to killing his entire family(6 members in all)while they slept with a high-powered rifle.
So the stage was set for a haunted house movie that was hailed as being "Based on True Events." As a movie, The Amityville Horror is one of the better and well known haunted house films of all time.
While it is your typical haunted house movie, its ties with the real-life murders by Ronald DeFeo and the claims by the Lutz family is intriguing enough to keep your interest throughout.
I found the Amityville Horror to be a great movie although the film does look dated theses days.
Based on the engrossing best-selling novel by Jay Anson, this haunted house tale is set in the Long Island area of Amityville, 112 Ocean Avenue to be precise, where George & Kathy Lutz(played by James Brolin & Margot Kidder) come to reside with their children.
The Lutz family will flee from the house in terror 28 days after moving in...A prime example of a book being better than the film, as this picture is just too hokey and over-the-top to succeed, though it does have a good score and remains watchable in a crazy sort of way!
You decide...The Amityville Horror, based on Jay Anson's best-selling account of the Lutz's ordeal, was one of the biggest horror hits of the 70s and has since spawned loads of sequels and a remake; it's an effectively creepy, well acted, and competently directed effort that succeeds in delivering a few scares and quite a bit of atmosphere, but it is also a rather frustrating affair, one that builds the tension to breaking point only to round things off with an anti-climactic ending that sees the Lutz family simply clearing out of the house, presumably in a hurry to get to the publishers and sign a deal for a sensational bestseller based on their experiences.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 purely for the scene where Margot Kidder does stretches..
This film is shot in that grainy, dark 1970's color we are all too familiar with, almost ruining any attempt to create a creepy atmosphere (saved only by the incredible, eerie score by Lalo Schifrin) and the late, great Rod Steiger takes it a bit far as the priest although the other actors do a reasonable job.
The movie isn't really that much based on the DeFeo killings but on the George Lutz, James Brolin, family who moved into the Defeo home a year later.
George and his wife Kathy, Margot Kidder, and their three children lived in the Amityville "Horror" house for just three weeks and then left, taking their pet dog Larry with them, leaving everything behind but the clothes on their back and the van that they drove out of there with and, in the movie at least, were never seen or heard from again.
The fact that the movie is said to be based on a "True Story" makes you begin to wonder if these scenes, and many others in the film, really happened.
Still up until the DeFeo murders, some 300 years later, nothing worthwhile or newsworthy seemed to have happened there?Besides what the Lutz's went through in the movie regarding the "Amityville Horror" poor Father Delaney, Rod Steiger, went through a lot more and he didn't even live there.
Even though it is filmed in such a straight forward, documentary-esque style (with little artistic appeal beyond those glowing windows and the repetitive shot of the house with some flowers), there were so many different story lines that were not pursued that one is left to ponder a great deal of the film, that apparently happened for no reason, after its over (whether you wanted to or not).I can understand how some of the effects may have frightened viewers at the time, but what surprises me is how this could even be seen as shocking when it is released 6 years after The Exorcist (and two years after The Exorcist II, which...yeah we'll focus on the first one).
Now with their and their souls in danger, the Lutzes must leave their supposed dream house or stay victim to it's terrifying power This film starred James Brolin, Margot Kidder & Rod Steiger.In my opinion this was a very good film it makes you think if there were supernatural occurrences happening at 112 ocean avenue i have read the book and seen all of The Amityville films some of them are a bit stupid but I like them overall.****/***** very good.
George and Kathy Lutz (James Brolin, Margot Kidder) move their family into a creepy-looking Long Island house.
This is a film for people who cant be bothered reading any other the books, it sums up pretty much what happened and with the help of special effects and music, its the perfect horror movie that'll make you jump..
My Take: A slow-moving haunted house film that ain't the classic other say it is, but has its moments.It wasn't long before people realize that it was The Amityville Hoax, not The Amityville Horror, that has 'terrorized' audiences and readers of the story of the Lutzes flee from their seemingly harmless and perfect home at the coast of Long Island.
There's the story, but we got a little lost on the telling.Considered a classic, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR has severely dated, maybe because it wasn't exactly high-quality film-making when it was made back during the 70's.
for a few really good scares,this movie works pretty good.it's not fast paced,but it slowly builds tension,while throwing in some real scary sequences.the acting by James Brolin and Margot Kidder is really credible here.They play George and Kathy Luts,who with their children,move into their nightmare,i mean--dream house.the movie is supposedly based on a true story,though depending on who you believe,the whole thing was fabricated and has been debunked as a hoax.either way,it makes for riveting,disturbing entertainment.i know i got chills down my spine more than a few times.Rod Steiger is also in the movie and is very strong as a concerned and then involved priest.the children are also portrayed very well.there are no cheap scare here.the movie earns every shiver and gasp.for me,The Amityville Horror is an 8/10.
Adapted from a book that is claimed to be based on true events, AMITYVILLE HORROR is the movie that tells us the story of Lutz family, which supposedly experienced paranormal phenomena in an old house on Amityville.As far as I learned, the film just follows what was described by the Lutz family, as it was a report of the events.
Mentioning some of the reasons to this appreciation I can refer the acting, which could have been a little better in my point of view, or even the lack of great suspense scenes!I will score this film with some extra score because of its accuracy to the supposed "true events", because as a movie itself I found it nothing special.
Now, however, I find it pretty good, but I'm not liking it quite as much compared to some of the more modern haunted-house flicks, and I'm an old-fashioned person, so that's saying something.The acting isn't perfect, and it does take some time to actually move along, and on top of that, it isn't very exciting when you get right down into it unless you've never seen a haunted-house film or at least very few.I suppose what's really nice about it is the idea of how the Amityville horror became what it is, or is believed by many to be.
Soon after they move in there are many strange occurrences and George (James Brolin) starts to lose it.The Amityville Horror, although not spectacular film-making, is a fairly good horror movie.
There are a few genuinely creepy scenes but the movie does lack a few things to make it a truly great 70's horror film.3/5..
James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger star in director Stuart Rosenberg's 1979 thriller "The Amityville Horror", based on the alleged true story of the famed Amityville haunted house and the events that surrounded it.
It's a good haunted house film, sure but it didn't seem all that special to me.It follows George and Kathy Lutz, a young couple raising Kathy's young children from a previous relationship, as they move into a large, cozy home in Amityville, Long Island in New York.
Within 21 days, paranormal, possibly supernatural events took place in & around the 'home' which made the family flee from the house in horror to another state.This film is based on the book by Jay Anson which is based on the supposingly true events above.
But there is something quite out of the ordinary about the old Amityville home, something evil that lurks within the walls of the house.The Amityville Horror is a classic "haunted house" movie that has stood the test of time and is still rated as one of the best "ghost stories" ever filmed.
Regardless of whether the story is true or not, the premise of living in an evil haunted house after 6 murders took place could have made a great movie.
The Amityville Horror is a decent horror film.It has some effective scares and a great score by Lalo Schifrin.The performances were good,especially James Brolin and Margot Kidder as George and Kathy Lutz,Rod Steiger as Father Delaney,Don Stroud as his younger priest friend Father Bolen and Val Avery as Sgt. Gionfriddo.A decent way to spend 2 hours..