The Amityville Horror

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The Amityville Horror

R

2005

1h 29m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

23%

Tomatometer

164 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

When George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds) and his wife, Kathy (Melissa George), find a beautiful new house in the small town of Amityville, N.Y., they think the place is too good to be true. After they move in with their kids, they find out the cheap price tag is thanks to the house's sordid history: The former tenant murdered his family after supposedly being possessed by the devil. Believing the home is haunted, the couple find a priest (Philip Baker Hall) to help them rid the place of evil spirits.

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Critics Consensus

A so-so remake of a so-so original.

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Kevin C. Johnson

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

08/15/2024

Reynolds and George are distractingly attractive leads, but they get the jobs done in this solids, unspectacular spook show that horror fans will revisit without hesitation.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

09/30/2005

1.5/4

The problem with The Amityville Horror is that, in a very real sense, there's nothing there.

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Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

05/14/2005

1.5/5

... routine remake of a 1979 horror classic.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 9

2/5

Even if Ryan Reynolds is effective as a villain, his descent from family man to maniac is for too extreme, abandoning the subtlety that made the original so effective.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

12/08/2023

2/5

…immediately forgettable and disposable stuff, without even the hook of sticking to the original details of the supposedly true story…

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Joe Lipsett

Bloody Disgusting

02/28/2023

3/5

The Amityville Remake is a serviceable mid-tier entry in the 2000s remake craze...It’s not terrible, but aside from the lingering body shots of Reynolds running around in low-waisted pyjamas in the rain, it’s not particularly memorable either.

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Ian H

@Howellsey Nov 7

Like the 2 leads usually but everything seems a bit undercooked and mundane

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Alexander S

@RT61935749 Oct 20

The Amityville Horror's real-life story is downright terrifying and I'm hooked on supernatural tales like it. The remake, although not perfect, still resonates with me – it's a decent blend of truth and Hollywood horror, even if Michael Bay's involvement did make it a bit more over-the-top. Grading: C+

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Ryan H

@RyGuy Oct 16

Ryan is slowly losing his mind while playing step daddy for 3 kids in a house that’s haunted by the previous family. When they escape the house, they decide it was a reasonable crash out and move on. This movie was pretty dull.

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Alejandra C

@RT30574541 Sep 6

When i was younger i only fell for one jumpscare. Not impressed.

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Tony W

@RT57694977 Jun 28

ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt

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DanTheMan 2

@DanTheMan2150AD May 19

Brutal, disquieting and genuinely disturbing, as remakes go, The Amityville Horror is a fine venture. Trimming the fat and upping the ante by losing the ambiguity of the original and trading it in for a much more interesting family dynamic reminiscent of The Possession. This certainly isn't the first time I've enjoyed a Platinum Dunes remake of a beloved horror classic, but one of the few I can say that I preferred to the original. Fast and furious, made with an abundance of style and energy thanks to some rapid-fire editing and engaging direction courtesy of Andrew Douglas, the film packs in plenty of jolts yet never lingers morbidly over horrific images. The visual depiction of the Amityville ghosts makes for some truly frightening moments, including several harrowing scenes of child endangerment that made my skin crawl. This is as much a martial drama as it is a genuinely creepy horror film, and what makes that work more than anything is undoubtedly its cast. Ryan Reynolds is surprisingly great as the lead patriarch, and his chemistry with Melissa George is seriously engrossing; their strifes are their kid's problems just as much as theirs. Offset by a more pounding Steve Jablonsky musical score, this Amityville Horror is way more relentless in its terror than many would have you believe, straightforward to a degree, but it makes for a far more engaging watch.

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Andrew Douglas

Director

Ryan Reynolds

George Lutz

Melissa George

Kathy Lutz

Jesse James

Billy Lutz

Jimmy Bennett

Michael Lutz

Chloë Grace Moretz

Chelsea Lutz

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Synopsis

When George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds) and his wife, Kathy (Melissa George), find a beautiful new house in the small town of Amityville, N.Y., they think the place is too good to be true. After they move in with their kids, they find out the cheap price tag is thanks to the house's sordid history: The former tenant murdered his family after supposedly being possessed by the devil. Believing the home is haunted, the couple find a priest (Philip Baker Hall) to help them rid the place of evil spirits.

Director: Andrew Douglas
Producer: Michael Bay, Steve Whitney, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller
Screenwriter: Scott Kosar
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: E1 Entertainment, Platinum Dunes, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Radar Pictures
Rating: R (Language|Brief Drug Use|Sexuality|Terror|Violence)
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 15, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $64.3M
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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