The Amityville Horror (1979) Review

Director: Stuart Rosenberg

Writers: Sandor Stern, Jay Anson

Stars: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger

Run Time: 1 Hour, 57 Minutes

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2Xj4lUe

Synopsis

We begin by seeing gunfire in the windows of the Amityville house. This is the murder of the DeFeos, which we’ve already seen in 2018’s “The Amityville Murders,” a prequel to this film. They were all killed at 3:15.

One year later, George and Kathy Lutz buy the place and move in. The Realtor says “There’s nothing else like it on the market, not at this price.” As the Realtor walks them through the house, we get flashbacks to the murders.

One month later, they’re mostly moved in. Father Delaney comes over to bless the house. Everyone else is outside, so he starts without them. The door locks, and the flies start building up by the thousands. He gets sick and then hears the words “Get out!” He leaves, but then finds that he’s gotten blisters that evening.

George and Kathy are having some sexy time when they are interrupted by their daughter, who doesn’t like the new house. Later that night, at 3:15, George is wide awake. He goes to check on the kids and looks out the window. He sees that the boathouse door is open, so goes out to check it. He gets a jump scare. After that, George starts acting weirder and weirder.

Kathy calls Father Delaney, who is now in a coma. His younger colleague, Father Bolen, knows he went to the house, but Kathy says otherwise because she never saw him that day. Aunt Helena, who is a nun, stops by for a visit, and that goes badly. Kathy wakes up at 3:15 that night and screams, “She was shot in the head!”

The two priests head over to the house the next day and have a traffic accident. The claustrophobic babysitter has an incident in the closet. Father Delaney argues with his superiors about the evil in the house. They tell him to chill out and take a vacation.

Weird things continue until one night at 3:15, George hears the flies and then the front door explodes. They call the police, but they can’t explain it. The police mention that George looks like one of the DeFeos. More and more, George becomes unhinged.

The daughter’s “imaginary” friend Jodie peeks through the window at Kathy with bright red eyes. They find a hidden room in the basement, and it’s all red inside. Father Delaney has a bad experience at church, leaving him blind. George beats on Kathy for a little bit, and he’s clearly getting still worse.

Kathy does some research and finds that George is the spitting image of Ronald DeFeo, the kid who killed his whole family in the opening sequence. On the final night, George sees a monster upstairs and storms through the house with an axe and the walls drip with blood. They all escape to the van, but George goes back to the house after Harry the dog. How badly could that go?

George has an interesting adventure in the basement, and then they finally escape to the van, where they make a lot of money by getting some guy to write a hit book about their crazy misadventures.

Commentary

It’s really well done and holds up pretty well even today. I remember being terrified by the book when I was ten or twelve and then being disappointed by the film when I saw it later.

The acting is good, especially Brolin and Steiger. Margot Kidder is just sorta there. The music is memorable and creepy, and the pacing is mostly pretty good, although it gets a little draggy in the last half hour. On the other hand, I still think the book’s ending is better.