Amityville Horror (Blu-ray) (2005)

Editor's Note This frightening remake of the 1979 horror classic from producer Michael Bay (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) delves deeper into the supposedly true story of supernatural events that occurred in a Long Island, New York home in the '70s. When George and Kathy Lutz (Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George) come across a beautiful river-front colonial home being sold for a steal, they suspect a catch. Once informed that the home was the site of a grisly mass murder, they decide to buy the house anyway and eagerly move in, bringing with them Kathy's three children from a previous marriage. While no one can deny that the house is rife with spooky sounds, the family members try to put their fears at bay. But over time, strange occurrences start happening, becoming more and more frequent, and these events start to have a transformative effect on several family members. Kathy's daughter starts to act bizarrely, ending up in a variety of life-threatening situations, led by her new, not-so-imaginary friend Jody (one of the children slaughtered in the house years before by her older brother). Likewise, something strange seems to be happening to George. His usually sweet demeanor is replaced with a hostile one, and he starts cruelly taking out his aggression on Kathy's children. Kathy's original assumption that a house cannot be evil is challenged as she watches her husband transform into the sort of man that just might be capable of murdering his family. Faster-paced than the original, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR keeps viewers on the edge of their seats with quick editing, suspenseful music, and moderately graphic violence. The two leads give quality performances, and seem to inhabit the decade in which the story is set despite the film's slick, contemporary production.

	Melissa George
	Jimmy Bennett
	Chloe Grace Moretz
	Jesse James
	Philip Baker Hall
	Ryan Reynolds
	Ted Field - Executive Producer
	Brad Fuller - Producer
	Steve Jablonsky - Music
	David Crockett - Executive Producer
	Andrew Form - Producer
	Michael Bay - Producer
	Scott Kosar - Screenwriter
	Sandor Stern - Screenwriter
	Michael Bay - Director

New York Times
"[T]he new AMITYVILLE stars an effective Ryan Reynolds..." 04/15/2005 p.E13

Los Angeles Times
"[D]ecidedly superior to the original....The film is a terrific scare show, fast and furious, made with a lot of style and energy, packing plenty of jolts yet never lingering morbidly over horrific images. " 04/15/2005 p.E4