The Amityville Horror film, which is reviewed in this article, is a popular horror film. It was released in 2005, becoming a remake of the 1979 thriller of the same name. It is noteworthy that the basis of these works are the real testimony of the Lats family. They tell what happened to them when they moved to the city of Amityville to the house in which Ronald Defeo Jr. had shot his entire family before.
The plot of the picture
The Amityville Horrors, reviews of which at the box office were mostly positive, talk about the terrible crime that occurred on November 14, 1974. Then a bell rang at the police station. Six people were found dead in their own beds in the Defoe family home. Ronald Defeo Jr. admitted to the murder of his parents and his brothers. He claimed that he was ordered to commit certain voices in the killings.
The Amityville Horror movie, which is featured in this article, talks about the Luts family, who, together with three children, moves to the same house. They are happy, their old dream has come true.
True, young parents are not yet aware that their marital happiness is at stake. They have to face a terrible demonic force that can destroy everything in its path. The city of Amityville is again plunged into horror and fear.
Movie Reviews
The American director Andrew Douglas made the movie The Amityville Horror. In the reviews, viewers and film critics noted that this is the rare case when they managed to make a truly scary horror movie. This tape really scared many. Most did not even dare to watch him alone at home.
Despite the rather banal beginning (the family moves to a new house) in the future, everything was built very exciting. Many attributed the merit of the director to the fact that he managed to reveal in detail the images of the main characters, in particular the head of the George family.
They constantly come across frightening images that seem to mock them in the reflections of the mirror. At the same time, the film does not depart from the classical canons. An additional advantage of this picture is that the plot is based on real events.
True, note the shortcomings of the picture. The minuses include episodes that do not inspire confidence in the viewer. For example, Lisa is too depraved for her profession, and Billy's eldest son causes rejection.
It is believed that the creators managed to remove the exemplary horror about the cursed house. In it, horror is built not only on the suddenness of what is happening, but also on the psychological component.
The second part of a horror movie
In 2017, Frank Halfun shot The Amityville Horror: Awakening. In the reviews, viewers and film critics advise paying attention to this tape.
In the story, the main character Belle (played by Bella Thorne) moves to a new house. Members of her family are her mother Joan (actress Jennifer Jason Lee), who was left alone without a husband. And also the younger sister Juliet (performed by Mackenna Grace) and twin brother James (actor Cameron Monaghan), who has long been in a coma.
Soon, suspicious and even strange events begin to occur in the house. For example, the brother of the main character is miraculously healed. And Belle herself begins to suffer terrible nightmares. Belle begins to suspect that her mother knows more about this house than she tells her and everyone else. She is trying to get to the truth. Soon she finds out that she moved to the very infamous house of the town of Amityville. And then the most terrible episodes begin on the screen.
Ronald defeo
What is especially scary for most viewers of this picture is the real basis of what is happening on the screen. After all, these killings took place in reality. It had a documentary background "Amityville Horror." Reviews of the film often mention the story of the main culprit in the tragedy of Ronald Defeo.
In 1974, he brutally cracked down on his parents, as well as two brothers and two sisters. Defeo was immediately detained. During the investigation, he could not spell out his actions. At the same time, a forensic medical examination recognized him sane and sentenced him to six sentences of 25 years each (such sentences are common practice in the United States). Thus, he had to spend a total of 150 years behind bars.
Investigation and trial
The lawyer of the defendant insisted on the insanity of the defendant. He claimed that Defeo acted under the influence of drugs. It was because of the prohibited substances, according to the lawyer, that Defoe began to hear voices a month before the crime that called him to go on the kill. A psychiatrist hired by a lawyer confirmed the madness of the suspect, but the forensic doctor did not support this view. He found that at the time of the attack on his family, Defeo was suffering only from antisocial personality disorder. Therefore, he could fully realize and control his actions.
In November 1975 he was convicted on all counts. The culprit is still alive. He is 65 years old. He is being held at Greenhaven Prison in New York State. Regularly sends early release requests to the authorities. They are rejected.
Movie promotion
Many were pleasantly surprised by the painting "The Amityville Horror: Awakening." Reviews about the film, however, did not allow her to gain a high enough mark on IMDB. The tape received only five points.
The film was actively advertised around the world. It was expected that his success would be comparable to the success of the first part of the horror. The first trailer was released back in August 2014. In the winter of 2016, the poster of the picture and the second final trailer appeared.
An interesting campaign was conducted. For example, the posters depicted a page on a social network that looked very much like a page on Instagram. Allegedly, she belonged to the main character. On it, she uploads a picture of the infamous house in Amityville, under which there is a caption: "Today we are moving. A new beginning."
Reviews about the picture
Viewers praised the Amityville Horror 2. In the reviews of the film, they noted that, although many doubted whether to go to the next classic horror, but most of them did not regret it. A house with paranormal phenomena, inhabited by monsters, they were very pleased.
The main thing that the creators managed to do was surprise even in such a classic storyline. The plot is well thought out, it is practically not divorced from reality, although there are many details in it that are designed to fill the vacuum in the script.
Critics praised the plot being built around a boy who fell into a coma. It is he who becomes the victim of the most terrible demon. A good selection of actors is visible. Almost every one of them organically joined their image. Especially successful was the work of the main character - Bella Thorne.
Negative reviews
At the same time, there were many who did not like the film "The Amityville Horror 2". In reviews, it was often noted that this tape is another proof that the horror movie genre is in crisis.
All the ways to frighten the viewer have long been familiar to everyone; surprisingly, new modern directors and scriptwriters are very rarely surprised. Amityville Horror: Awakening was no exception. After all, especially all of the above applies to remakes. And according to the story that happened in the middle of the 70s in a house in Amityville, more than one full-length film was already shot.
Perhaps, the main advantage of many considered only the game of Bella Thorne. So this film is exclusively for her fans. The rest is unlikely to find anything interesting in it.