It's always been a bit baffling to me about what makes The Amityville Horror that popular, that memorable, that it has spawned so many sequels, prequels, and even a remake. Perhaps it is because it is reportedly based on a true story that it was able to more easily tap into people's fears. Or just the idea of achieving the American Dream, the dream house that turns into a nightmare, was something that many Americans could relate to. Whatever it was, this low-budget 1979 spook story spawned quite a legacy.
George and Kathy Lutz (played by James Brolin and Margot Kidder) have been looking for a new home for their new family and think they have found the perfect home in the small town of Amityville in Long Island, NY. They can barely afford it, but the deal is too good to pass up. The only thing that gives them pause is the fact that the prior family to live in the house was murdered by the eldest son. Despite that, they decide to make an offer with the intention of scrimping and saving for their new home. Upon moving in, strange things start to occur. At first it's small things, such as things disappearing, cold drafts, toilets filling with black slime, the usual homeowner problems. Things escalate when a priest, Father Delaney (played by Rod Steiger), comes to bless the house and is swarmed by a hoarde of flies and becomes violently ill until being told by a loud voice to "Get out!" The same thing happens to Kathy's sister, who happens to be a nun. George starts becoming increasingly irritable and can not feel warm in the house, so when he's not out back chopping firewood he's in the living room, huddled by the roaring fireplace. They also begin to have strange dreams, usually waking up at 3:15 a.m, which is when the murders occurred. Despite it all, the Lutz family is determined to remain, in part because they have sunk all their money into the house and have nowhere else to go.
The film was directed by Stuart Rosenberg from a script by Sandor Stern from the "non-fiction" book by Jay Anson. There is a certain straight-forward way they tell the story that I suppose works for the film. It covers the various events the Lutz family claim they went through pretty much beat by beat with the book. The problem is that the film is rarely, if ever all that scary. It trots out every haunted house cliche imaginable, but yet aside from frequent shots of the exterior of the house, with those quarter-circle windows illuminated (and a late in the film image of a floating, glowing red eyed pig that is more funny than scary), there is really no personification of the evil haunting the place. It's just random things that happen in the house that are apparently evil. This may be enough as the film clings to that "Based on a True Story" moniker, even while including such hammy scenes like a psychic family friend exclaiming there is a portal to hell in their basement. There are also moments of apparent demonic activity away from the house, as the forces prevent Father Delaney from returning to the house as well as trying to attack him in his church, neither one particularly explained.The big saving grace of the film is the genuinely creepy score by Lalo Schifrin.
The acting in the film is pretty over the top, with both James Brolin and Margot Kidder being the biggest offenders, but at least it's entertaining. With Margot Kidder going into hysterics randomly or James Brolin screaming out randomly, "It's tearing me apart!" like the evil forces of the house have prompted him to give his best James Dean impression. Rod Steiger does reasonably well as Father Delaney, but for the most part he's separate from the main action of the film aside from his first scene in the house.
I have had an interest in the Amityville haunting for a long time, ever since I first read the book. The thing is though, the more I researched it the more I realized that at least the book was largely fabricated, if not the entire story itself. Large parts of the book have been called into question as people researched records around that time that would correspond to things said to have happened there. Which is why I treat both the book and the movie, along with it's 2005 remake, with a grain of salt. The level of paranormal activity they said occurred there, along with the fact that no other residents of the home after the Lutz family left have experienced anything paranormal in the house leads me to believe it's a hoax.My feelings further solidified as I researched more and more off and on over the years and realized that the stories changed as the years passed, especially as the kids started to speak about their experiences, with one of them even releasing a documentary of their own called My Amityville Horror, that just further murkied the waters.
There is something I have always found compelling about this story, despite all the complaints and criticisms that I mentioned above. Even though I'm fairly sure it was a hoax, or at least exaggerated, from what really happened only makes me wonder all the more why I keep coming back to it. There is just something about this story that has continued to exist in the public consciousness, returning time and time again. Perhaps it just taps into the dark side of the American Dream, owning the dream home and having it go bad on you, revealed here in the most extreme way. That fear of the dream turning into a nightmare. It's something most people can relate to on some level. Clearly, this must be the case as the film spawned a large franchise of sequels and spin-offs, with the first two follow-ups taking place in the same house and subsequent films following cursed items from the house, such as a lamp, clock and dollhouse. The newest entry in this series, Amityville: The Awakening was just released to view for free through Google Play before it's release on Blu-Ray and DVD later this year and I will be taking a look at it next.
No comments:
Post a Comment