Amityville: The Demon

PG

Released Nov 18, 1983

1 hr. 45 min.

Horror

List

14%

21 Reviews

Tomatometer

18%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Investigative reporter John Baxter (Tony Roberts) buys a notorious house in the Long Island suburb of Amityville, N.Y., in an attempt to prove that stories about its being inhabited by demons are fraudulent. But soon his daughter, Susan (Lori Loughlin), and her friend Lisa (Meg Ryan) are experiencing inexplicable terrors, while his estranged wife, Nancy (Tess Harper), and supernatural expert Elliot West (Robert Joy) fear that the evil has begun to spread outside the house's walls.

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Critics Consensus

A gimmicky Amityville retread with insufferable characters.

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jordan m

This relied a bizarre amount on its special effects and the effects sucked. Seeing several pre-fame stars was worth the watch and the premise itself didn't suck (a grounded skeptic moving into the house) but it had the same issues I disliked in previous installments where they've made the ghosts virtually omnipresent as they affect people miles away from the house. There were no intelligent decisions made at any point in the movie, most comically with the paranormal researcher insisting he must confront the demon by leaning in close enough to have his face melted off. The most shocking thing of the entire movie was the absolutely beautiful musical score - it really kept the movie going and was noticeable at all the right moments.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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ryan s

1/5. Extremely boring with awful characters. The opening is solid plus one cool kill, but that's all there is here.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

I actually liked this film although the ending was a little cheesy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

Let's be clear: this isn't a good movie. It's also not so bad that it's great or unintentionally hilarious. Most people probably will not like this film. But for whatever reason, I thought it was alright as a kid, and I still watch it from time to time. It's a guilty pleasure. So I'm giving it an over-inflated three star review for strictly biased personal reasons. It's still better than anything with the Amityville name attached that's come out since then, including the 2005 remake of the original.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/14/18

Full Review

Audience Member

The plot, where it exists, is uninteresting or outright confusing. The characters are morons with no genre-awareness, let alone self-awareness, whatsoever. The 3D is an absolute eyesore, so much so that I found it more enjoyable to watch the movie without the red/cyan glasses and just try to interpret the overlapping images in two dimensions. Recommended to anyone who likes to viciously mock movies aloud with like-minded friends.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

Cynical tabloid reporter buys the old Amityville house where strange occurrences and the fly problem persist. This 3-D feature ups the ante and is certainly an improvement over Part II before the series got downgraded to tv movie and direct-to-video status. Finale features a rather fantastic monster. Would be worth seeing in 3-D.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

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Richard Fleischer

Director

Tony Roberts

John Baxter

Tess Harper

Nancy Baxter

Robert Joy

Elliot West

Candy Clark

Melanie

John Beal

Harold Caswell

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Variety Staff

Variety

There is hardly anything original about the picture.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Time Out

To pad things out characters argue over story-lines from previous Amityville movies, while for 3-D purposes, wasps, furniture and minor players are hurled in our direction at varying intervals.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Nick Schager

Slant Magazine

Replaces derivation with gimmicks.

Rated: 1/4

Apr 4, 2005

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Bloody Disgusting

While Tony Roberts' Baxter is a bore, there is enough odd and unusual material here to merit a look. If only the film had embraced the madcap ridiculousness of the climax throughout its runtime and wasn’t encumbered by such a dud protagonist!

Rated: 3/5

Dec 7, 2022

Full Review

Alan Jones

Starburst

A superior haunted house movie.

Aug 1, 2022

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

No longer a haunted house movie at all, but simply a collection of crummy shock scenes with absolutely no shock.

Rated: 1.5/5

Aug 30, 2017

Full Review

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Synopsis

Investigative reporter John Baxter (Tony Roberts) buys a notorious house in the Long Island suburb of Amityville, N.Y., in an attempt to prove that stories about its being inhabited by demons are fraudulent. But soon his daughter, Susan (Lori Loughlin), and her friend Lisa (Meg Ryan) are experiencing inexplicable terrors, while his estranged wife, Nancy (Tess Harper), and supernatural expert Elliot West (Robert Joy) fear that the evil has begun to spread outside the house's walls.

Director: Richard Fleischer
Executive Producer: Antonio Rubio
Screenwriter: David Ambrose, William Wales
Distributor: Vestron Video, Live Video
Production Co: De Laurentiis, Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 18, 1983, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)