The Amityville Horror sequels

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by Zombie Dude

I don't remember it that well. Do they even mention the old house?

I honestly can't even remember now, but I don't think so. It takes place in an older multi-story house, but that's pretty much where the similarity ends.

It definitely has the least to do with the Amityville mythos than any other sequel in the franchise.

[Zombie Dude]

Originally Posted by Katatonia

I honestly can't even remember now, but I don't think so. It takes place in an older multi-story house, but that's pretty much where the similarity ends.

It definitely has the least to do with the Amityville mythos than any other sequel in the franchise.

Well other then being set in the town of Amityville I think that's the only similarity at all. It's rather misleading which is what put me off.

Now why in the hell are the rest of the sequels not on BR?

[Zombie Dude]

Originally Posted by Vlachio

Now why in the hell are the rest of the sequels not on BR?

Most likely because they think they're not worth the money. I think that they should at least release Part 2 on blu.

[rhett]

I've been ripping through the sequels lately and here are a few thoughts:

II: Nasty, sleazy little movie that's better put together than the original and in almost all respects better in every way. I think the story of the prequel, the son who shot up the place originally, is a lot more interesting than a yuupie couple seeing flies and pigs in their windows as they do in the original. Uber depressing though, which kind of takes the fun out of it (the incest doesn't really help, either!).

3D: I like the stable of actors in this one, especially the before-they-were-famous Lori Loughlin and Meg Ryan, but the movie really does seem uber-tame with the PG rating. Some of the deaths and scares are moderately inventive and could have been pushed further with an R rating. The 3D effects ad some kitsch but the film isn't particularly well-shot and it's all a pretty muddy affair.

The Evil Escapes: The ridiculous lamp they use to transfer the curse is hokey as all hell, but this one is actually pretty enjoyable with a plucky cast and decently setup death sequences. It has a lot of fun absurdities too, like the whole scene of that homely teenage son pretty much shitting his pants as he accidentally chainsaws through the entire basement. How bad was his hair, too? Directed by the writer of the original, Sandor Stern (who wrote/directed the excellent PIN a year later) it has some quality in production and a decent amount of character development. I still want to know how the family rationalized the bird escaping from the cage, getting inside the toaster and cooking itself, though! No nudity or gore, but it isn't nearly as tame as 3D and the blood is quite copious in that garburator scene. Okay and this has to be said (SPOILER) how amazingly ludicrous is that ending where the film freeze frame's on an innocent looking cat and gives it drawn in orange eyes as a means to suggest it too has been possessed? Had to watch that a few times to get over the hilarity of it all. Pretty ridiculous movie, but somehow it all works out. I like this one quite a bit.

Curse: This one is Canadian so I was hoping to be able to give it a little love, but other than Saskatoon's own Kim Coates going Brando-esque in his aloofness there's not much positive to say here. I like to call this one the Amityville for my grandparents, with every actor pretty old or past expiry date it really seems like the movie completely forgot about the teens and twentysomethings that made up horror audiences of the time. Not even a teenager in sight, it's a movie about a bunch of old people hanging out in a house and having bad dreams or imagining things. The end attack with the nail gun was pretty cool, but I'm sad to say this one was homegrown.

1992: It's About Time: There are effects by KNB, boobs and a lot of visual style, so at the very least this one tries to return to the edge that characterized the second film, and it does a pretty good job. Funny that this one and The Evil Escapes are based on the same book, since other than the evil being transferred from the original house via some artifact (in this one it's a clock) they really are not alike in the least bit. This one has kind of a Waxwork vibe, especially at the end with the characters jumping in and out of time paradoxes. The story is inventive and ambitious, which really is a first for this series, and the wild camera and effects support the story quite well. I like the directions the film goes in once Megan Ward gets possessed and turns all slutty, but the whole story is built on a pretty shoddy foundation - it's not all because he bought a clock, but because the main dude got bit by a dog (but not really, since the dog appeared to be home all day) and is now going crazy. Get through the first act and it's quite the ride. Also cool to see the main actor from Ghoulies II as the son, was interesting to read on IMDb how he went on to produce the Night of the Demons remake and one of Asia Argento's directorial efforts. One other gripe I have with the film is its over-reliance on that black sludge that seems to ooze out of everything. They had KNB doing the effects and yet they pretty much default to this visual through most of the film. The Evil Escapes also used the black goo a lot too - must be from the book, I don't know. Fun movie though.

A New Generation: If you thought a possessed clock or lamp was bad, buying a haunted mirror from a homeless guy you took a picture of has to take the cake. Like Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: The Initiation, this is another of those early-90s urban horror movies aimed at exposing the dark underbelly of the big city. Yawwwwwwwn. Before going on to make Christopher Nolan's movies look completely ordinary, Wally Pfister was also the DP of this movie, and the movie is similarly bland looking. Might be the most overrated DP in the last while, for sure.

Still not quite done A New Generation but it's not looking up, and I've got Dollhouse to go before I make it on to that new found footage sequel that's on Netflix. Overall I've had a fun time going through all these old flicks, and if not quality there's at least a lot of variety in the sequels. I'll report back here when I've seen the others but would be interested in seeing all your takes on the sequels.

[ronnie21]

II BY FAR.. most effective.. and really creepy...

[dave13]

i had ambitions to watch all the amityville sequels. as a kid, the Amityville 1992: It's About Time vhs cover seemed really creepy to me. so i was especially looking forward to that one. I made it through the first 3, and generally felt the same way you did. But then I couldn't locate a copy of part 4. I tried for a few months, having copies of the others all lined up. But I just never got around to seeing part 4, so gave up on that particular quest. I was able to complete a similar goal with the children of the corn sequels, though...

[chancetx]

"Amityville Curse" is based on a book by occult investigator Hans Holzer, who wrote several books about the haunting and murders (as wikipedia notes, both non-fiction and fiction.) His book "Murder In Amityville" was actually the basis for the second Amityville movie.

[rhett]

I remember they interviewed Hans in that MGM DVD set. Was an eccentric fellow, to say the least.

Between chancetx and UFAlien we'd definitely have an interesting book thread on the franchise. I'm guessing there are a lot more books on Amityville than there are even movies. Bring it!

[UFAlien]

Since my posts were apparently stolen by Jody the evil demon pig, I shall reiterate!

I voted for the original because, despite some overacting and poor effects, it still creeps me out to a great extent - a feeling that lingers after watching the film.

Amityville II: The Possession is easily the scariest, but the tacked-on Exorcist epilogue really tarnishes it quite a bit. It's a shame because the first hour or so is really quite disturbing and effective.

Amityville 3D has a couple of decent scenes and is pretty fun if you can get a decent 3D copy (I had one and lost it) - but it doesn't work as a horror film, neutered by its PG rating. I also miss the excellent Lalo Schifrin score from the first two.

Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes is awful, but in an entertaining, hilarious way. As a side note, the housekeeper is easily the best damn housekeeper in the world. She saved her employers from a little be-mulleted idiot wielding a demonically possessed chainsaw! Now that's dedication!

The Amityville Curse has some neat ideas and decent atmosphere in places, but ultimately it's just really, really boring. The series doesn't really have any continuity (a practical necessity since the Lutzes actually owned the sequel rights and a copyright to their story), but this one has absolutely no connection to the others.

Amityville 1992 is really weird. It's part goofy craziness (killer diaper truck, anyone?), part surprisingly effective chiller - and the lead actress does a pretty good job. It's also notable for its crew - director Tony Randel also did Hellbound: Hellraiser II, was the vice-president of production for New World Pictures, and also directed two episodes of Power Rangers in Space (no, really). Composer Daniel Licht also did Children of the Corn II and III, Hellraiser: Bloodline, the TV series Dexter, and the game Silent Hill: Downpour.

Amityville: A New Generation is from the same screenwriters as the previous film and quite similar. There's some good and creepy stuff in it, as well as some unfortunate goofiness. My main issue is just how badly it retcons the real-life DeFeo shootings.

Amityville Dollhouse is my current pic for the #1 worst film I've ever seen, though with most of Uwe Boll's stuff and some other choice stinkers the list fluctuates from time to time. It's silly and unscary, the plot is disjointed and nonsensical, the acting is terrible, and it's just an unpleasant waste of time. It's no wonder it killed the series.

The 2005 remake isn't my cup of tea. Too focused on jump-scares, too far off from the true and allegedly true story (not to mention the book), too hyper-stylized (the design for the house really bugs me), and the expanded "evil warlock" backstory is really silly. The whole film seems like an attempt to cash-in on the then-recent success of The Grudge by redoing a classic hit largely in-name-only and adding a long-haired ghost girl.

The Amityville Haunting is the only one I haven't been able to sit through. It was too damn boring, and the found footage style meant I didn't even have any cool music or cinematography to distract me.

[spawningblue]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

Since my posts were apparently stolen by Jody the evil demon pig, I shall reiterate!

I voted for the original because, despite some overacting and poor effects, it still creeps me out to a great extent - a feeling that lingers after watching the film.

Amityville II: The Possession is easily the scariest, but the tacked-on Exorcist epilogue really tarnishes it quite a bit. It's a shame because the first hour or so is really quite disturbing and effective.

Amityville 3D has a couple of decent scenes and is pretty fun if you can get a decent 3D copy (I had one and lost it) - but it doesn't work as a horror film, neutered by its PG rating. I also miss the excellent Lalo Schifrin score from the first two.

Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes is awful, but in an entertaining, hilarious way. As a side note, the housekeeper is easily the best damn housekeeper in the world. She saved her employers from a little be-mulleted idiot wielding a demonically possessed chainsaw! Now that's dedication!

The Amityville Curse has some neat ideas and decent atmosphere in places, but ultimately it's just really, really boring. The series doesn't really have any continuity (a practical necessity since the Lutzes actually owned the sequel rights and a copyright to their story), but this one has absolutely no connection to the others.

Amityville 1992 is really weird. It's part goofy craziness (killer diaper truck, anyone?), part surprisingly effective chiller - and the lead actress does a pretty good job. It's also notable for its crew - director Tony Randel also did Hellbound: Hellraiser II, was the vice-president of production for New World Pictures, and also directed two episodes of Power Rangers in Space (no, really). Composer Daniel Licht also did Children of the Corn II and III, Hellraiser: Bloodline, the TV series Dexter, and the game Silent Hill: Downpour.

Amityville: A New Generation is from the same screenwriters as the previous film and quite similar. There's some good and creepy stuff in it, as well as some unfortunate goofiness. My main issue is just how badly it retcons the real-life DeFeo shootings.

Amityville Dollhouse is my current pic for the #1 worst film I've ever seen, though with most of Uwe Boll's stuff and some other choice stinkers the list fluctuates from time to time. It's silly and unscary, the plot is disjointed and nonsensical, the acting is terrible, and it's just an unpleasant waste of time. It's no wonder it killed the series.

The 2005 remake isn't my cup of tea. Too focused on jump-scares, too far off from the true and allegedly true story (not to mention the book), too hyper-stylized (the design for the house really bugs me), and the expanded "evil warlock" backstory is really silly. The whole film seems like an attempt to cash-in on the then-recent success of The Grudge by redoing a classic hit largely in-name-only and adding a long-haired ghost girl.

The Amityville Haunting is the only one I haven't been able to sit through. It was too damn boring, and the found footage style meant I didn't even have any cool music or cinematography to distract me.

Great read and welcome to the site!

[rhett]

So I made it through A New Generation, and you know what, it actually gets a lot better as it gets going. Yeah, the retconing of the original DeFeo shootings is a little problematic, I can forgive it because the flashback/dream sequences it does with those scenes are extremely effective. It gets quite brutal too, with shotgunning to the face in graphic detail and not much letup afterward. The ending, I thought, was quite clever, fusing fact, fiction and art in a way that the original Amityville story could only hope to achieve. Likeable lead, and David Naughton and Terry O'Quinn give some class to the supporting cast. Effects are pretty lame though, but at least they tried to do more than just turning on appliances randomly like in some of these later sequels. I liked the "We Swear." amendment to the "people and places in this story are fictitious" disclaimer during the end credits. Thumbs up overall.

Amityville: Dollhouse is kind of the opposite of A New Generation. It actually starts well and up until the final act actually sustains a good pace along with some elaborate scare sequences and even some sleaze. It flirts with some incestuous overtones, but doesn't go all the way, abandoning them for a more rote, cacophonous ending. The last act sort of feels like Miner's HOUSE, with an over-the-top zombie wisecracking and wrecking the now isolated acreage home. Still, I liked the conceit of things happening in the dollhouse happening in real life (mouse crawls inside and forms a proportionally huge mouse inside the room he enters). The aunt and uncle who conveniently show up and even more conveniently know everything about voodoo dolls and the like lessens the usual fun of seeing regular folks coping with irregular circumstances. And how annoying was that little hobbit boy from the mom's side? Just when you thought the ending couldn't get much worse, it goes all kinds of lazy, defaulting to pyrotechnics and deus ex magic. Laughable is the resolve, just using some ADR voice over to tie up some loose ends with the relationships in the film

Spoiler: (as the family drives away not even bothering to check on the uncle who was, when they last saw him, alive and standing pat in the attic for everyone's safety)

. Bad bad bad...even the credits are lazy, they don't even name any of the characters. When's the last time you've seen post-1980 credits like that? Shame this one went off the rails because honestly, after the first half, I was totally team dollhouse. Oh well, still a lot better than the worst entries in most other DTV franchises, and still better than The Amityville Curse.

Last up, The Amityville Haunting...

[UFAlien]

Rhett, the uncle was

Spoiler: in the attic of the dollhouse. Because the fireplace was a portal to the dollhouse... somehow. Which led to the attic instead of the other fireplace in the dollhouse that we'd also been shown was a portal because plot convenience.

The way they drop the incest bit with no resolution is one of my big problems with the movie, but there are plenty more in that jumble of a "plot"...

Spoiler: -Who the hell put a newspaper clipping conveniently detailing the previous house fire in the shed? -What the hell does said house fire have to do with... well, anything? It was building up like the father was gonna follow in those footsteps and kill everyone, but the plot was just dropped - so the backstory is useless. -Who the hell was the little kid in the dad's nightmare? For that matter, what was the point of the nightmare? It was set up like one of those "significant dreams" and it went nowhere. -Why is there a magical dollhouse shaped like the Amityville movie house in the middle of a dusty shed in the desert? Is the house they rebuilt supposed to be the Amityville house? -There's no internal logic for the haunting/phenomena. Some things that happen in the dollhouse happen in real life, but plenty of them don't. Then there's also a zombie/ghost dad, and other generic haunting things, and a possession in progress(?) that's just dropped, and it makes a toy spider real, and the incest...

Basically the movie felt like they had several different scripts in hand when a gust came along and mixed them all up, and they just picked up whatever pages were closest and stuck them together with no regard to where they came from or where they fit in the story.

I did like some of the references to the earlier films (the goo on the dollhouse stairs, the lights in the "eye windows" of the dollhouse, the way the giant rat's eyes look like Jody's from the first movie), but they just reminded me of how much I wanted to watch those instead.