You all may have noticed recently that
the United States is in what you might call a rut. For any of us
blogger types we have to make decisions regarding whether we should
pipe up and, if so, how? Honestly I don't think the internet needs
another white guy discussing racial politics so I just support groups
and companies that back good causes through profit-sharing and the
like. Right now I can best serve as a comforting spot away from...
well... everything I guess. And so today I thought we might start a
new recurring feature.
Given the extra home-time in recent
months I've been viewing new flicks and revisiting old favorites at
an astounding pace. One thing I've noticed is that the current
climate lends an extra spice to haunted house stories, or at least a
familiar element as we watch people suffer indoors at the whims of
invisible enemies. This gave me the idea to take a new approach to my
film franchise features by tackling only two entries at a time, thus
ensuring it goes by quickly but still maintains some breathing room
to really dive in. And I figured we'd start with the very troubled,
and often weird, haunted house series known as The Amityville
Horror.
It seems as if the reputation of this
series comes down to the age of the viewer. As a kid Amityville was
one of those legendary stories that everyone knew about with the
first movie being a major title available on every seasonal VHS
shelf. It wouldn't surprise me if many young horror fans haven't even
watched the first film due to the negative reputation the story has
gained in recent years. The supposed true life events of the Lutz
family who moved out of their suspiciously inexpensive dream home
after a month of reported supernatural activity absolutely captivated
audiences during the late 1970s. Horror in general had grown
massively during this time as people needed a good escape from social
and economic issues. The money men at American International Pictures
saw the success of the original book and snatched up film rights in a
hurry which yielded a huge return on their part. As the franchise
moved away from theaters and took a couple of major breaks between
films is status began to loose much of that initial clout. Add to
that the new perspectives on the events from documentaries claiming
the events as a hoax meant to nab a quick buck and cover for George
being a lousy dude. Nowadays people are more likely to discuss the
controversy rather than relish the horror tale.
Compounding the franchises problems
even further are the plethora of knock-off films from the likes of
Asylum pictures. See there’s nothing preventing people from using
the Amityville name. So while there are only ten official entries in
the series many viewers mistakenly believe the count is closer to
twenty. We’re not gonna talk about those imitators though, no sir.
Over the next few months, likely leading into Halloween coverage,
we’re going to work our way through all ten flicks within the
proper series. Seeing as we've already gone over much of the
backstory, let's dive right in.
The Amityville Horror (1979).
Dir. Stuart Rosenberg
It only seems fair to clarify that
while The Amityville Horror, at least at one point, was
considered a classic horror flick that status has very little to do
with its overall quality. Some movies achieve that reputation merely
by doing just enough at the right point in history. Here it comes
down to how this movie practically distills the entire notion of a
haunted house tale into one easy to digest package. There's
atmosphere, a killer score, and more than a few moments of
unintentional comedy gold to hold it all together. It's that strange
brew of a movie that from an objective standpoint isn't all that
grand but feels comfortable and fun.
First off let's talk what works here.
As I mentioned already the musical score, in fact the original
rejected soundtrack for The Omen,
is sublime. I think a big part of the reason this gets turned on
nearly every October is to have that music as a mood piece. There's a
mix of soothing and sinister tones that pairs wonderfully with the
iconic visual of that house.
Next up is the daily counter that
appears throughout the film. It's such a simple touch that helps to
keep the pacing up by dividing the story into obvious chunks with the
promise of building to something big.
Of course very little of this matters
if the people on screen aren't interesting. Thankfully the pairing of
James Brolin and Margot Kidder are mostly up the the task at hand.
Always been a big fan of Margot and it shows how much talent she had
that she could add so much character to an otherwise flat role. She's
charming and down to Earth in a way that keeps the audience rooting
for her. For his part Brolin gets to chew on some scenery as he gets
more manic and sweaty under the evil influence of the home. Rod
Steiger gets to ham it up considerably as the local priest who is
repeatedly attacked by evil forces. I'd even say he gets most the
best unintentional funny moments, save for Brolin “coming apart”
and the nun that manages to simultaneously vomit and scream.
The most vital ingredient of them all
in the story itself which, from a modern perspective, is like the
greatest Unsolved Mysteries reenactment
ever made. George and his new bride, single mother Kathy, buy a grand
old house for an absolute steal due to its history as the sight of a
grisly murder. A year before, the oldest son of the DeFeo family
heard voices that convinced him to kill his family. Weirder still is
how George resembles the killer. Over their first month of living in
the home strange events escalate from small items going missing to
the discovery of a hole to hell in the basement. The body count is
low, the film is mostly clean, but dammit it just works.
Less effective are most of the scares,
for each one that lands at least three others leave you with a bit of
a laugh. It all comes down to different factors like budget or
timing. Christmas light devil eyes are tough to present as spooky.
The biggest offender of all is the climax. As the film builds and we
arrive near the end of the month the final night within the house
turns out to be a bit of a bore. George has to rescue the family dog
and swim through some evil goo, that's about it. It's so
underwhelming, even more so when compared to the crazy shit that
happens in later films and books. That's really the films biggest
issue. For all that it gets right there are multiple scenes of it
falling flat on its face and failing to thrill.
Despite its failings I still find the
first movie to be a cozy campfire tale. The whole affair is basic and
a little silly yet there's a level of pure entertainment that should
keep most people enthralled. Whether you like the movie or not, it
was a mad success story and paved the way for many sequels to come.
Amityville II: The Possession
(1982). Dir. Damiano Damiani
People mention titles like The
Godfather II when it comes to sequels that outdo their
predecessors but would you believe Amityville II belongs in
that same camp? No joke, despite some continuity issues with the
surrounding films this second film manages to be darker, scarier, an
so much nastier than what came before. Much of this improvement can
doubtlessly be attributed to Director Damiano Damiani who proves much
better at maintaining a sense of dread along with the script from
longtime John Carpenter contributor, Tommy Lee Wallace.
Based on a book detailing the actual
DeFeo murders this entry takes the route of being a prequel, albeit
with changed names and some obvious dramatization. The story concerns
the Montelli family, a supremely messed-up flock who move into their
new home with hopes of a fresh start. Problem is the dad's an abusive
prick, mom's a nutter, and the kids have some questionable
relationship quirks. The house preys on these issues as it takes
control of the eldest kid, Sonny and convinces him to kill his
family. Caught up in all this is the local priest who fails to
protect the family and must try to save Sonny from possession after
the fact.
A lot of this movie rests on the
shoulders of a few actors. The most prominent is Jack Magner, an
actor who only took on two roles before fleeing Hollywood for a
normal life. It's a shame too as he's very adept at shifting between
sorrowful and full-on evil. Then there's Burt Young, best known as
Paullie from the Rocky series,
as the horrid dad. He is so easy to hate here that it's just
beautiful. James Olson, one of those “that guy” actors, plays the
closest thing to a hero as Father Adamsky and does a fairly solid
job. Lastly there's Diane Franklin as the eldest daughter of the
family who serves as a connective glue for everything and provides
the film with the required amount of nudity. She does an excellent
job of handling heavy material while still coming across as young and
naieve.
As mentioned
earlier this is so much darker than the previous entry that it just
revels in misery. As expected there's a much higher body count but
that's nothing compared to all the emotional torment, abuse, incest,
practically a take-out menu of unpleasant acts. Naturally this makes
for a far less comfortable viewing experience but man does it ever
stick with you. And that's not even counting the scares. Right near
the middle of this film there is an extended sequence with Sonny home
alone that ranks among the best haunted house scenes. Sadly the movie
never tops it, but if the first flick is a spooky novelty this is
total horror. There's even some nasty gore in parts, one notably
involving a melting face.
What is a bit of a
letdown, and something that is shared with the first, is the climax.
The final exorcism sequence is entertaining and freaky but the
resolution is bit of a head-scratchier. Combined with the overall
negativity of the story it can leave you feeling unsatisfied. Even
so, this is such a grim and oppressive feature that should be seen by
any horror fan.
Overall the first
two entries make for as solid a start as any series could ask for.
Things would soon take a sudden turn towards the absurd however which
necessitated course corrections. All those topics are for another
day. In the meantime you'll just have to cope with whatever I throw
out as our next update, likely Sentai as there is a ton to talk about
on that front. Stay safe folks and count your blessings if you live
in a normal, not evil, house.
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