The Amityville Horror

R

Released Jul 27, 1979

1 hr. 57 min.

Horror

List

31%

45 Reviews

Tomatometer

52%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Chiller about a family who is terrorized by supernatural forces when they move into a new house in New York State which was the scene of a recent mass killing and the home of an 18th-century satanist. When swarms of flies appear from nowhere and the pipes and walls begin to ooze slime and blood, they call on a local priest to exorcise the evil spirits.

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Critics Consensus

Dull and disappointing, the best that can be said for The Amityville Horror is that it set a low bar for its many sequels and remakes.

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Howard H

Great horror film, worthy of being held close to other classics of its era.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/15/24

Full Review

Thom G

Within the usual standards, many elements in the film would require a resolution, an explanation, or closure that never arrives. However, the film manages to establish a specific eerie atmosphere from the beginning, with a growing sense of dread.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

Jessica F

This is a creepy iconic horror film based on a true story with much improvisation. The film gave a creepy feel most of the film by using red lighting and many camera shots filming the exterior of the house. The main theme of children singing really helps the atmosphere of the film. The acting was a solid performance, especially by Helen Shaver with her facial reactions. This film is definitely worth a watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/24

Full Review

Paul T

You know rotten tomatoes doesn't have enough reviewers this is why films get a low rating but as a man of insight i am the perfect person to review films because I don't do reviews based on my opinion I do reviews based on if a film is good , I mean I can hate a film and still say it's great ! But this film is a classic , don't matter what middleclass people with too much time on their hands say , horror fans love this film, Why ? because it's a great horror forget if it's a good film or not it's a great horror, As a kid these films were terrifying I couldn't sleep after this stuff , Sure it's easy to poke fun now but when this came out people were terrified and that is what we must remember the effect it had on a generation , You can't watch this today and understand no you had to stay up till 1Am as a kid and watch this with ya parents asleep upstairs and be scared to death and think I hate that evil looking house and Knowing it's based on a true story of a real mass murder committed by a guy who said he was possessed and real people who lived there after actually did report terrible creepy experiences and ran away in the night leaving all their stuff behind saying the house was evil ! That actually happened so any film based on those events already had my attention, The acting is great , the way the house gets in their heads and drives them to despair is also good and it creates a physiological horror atmosphere where it's not what you see but what you don't that bugs you . Sure it hasn't aged as well but then nothing does after that many years but that's why we must judge it for the impact it had back then not because we have seen better since over the years , because before we did this was the measuring stick and we shouldn't forget that , Respect is due !

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/24

Full Review

Robert G

Really spooky haunted house flick. There was no ridiculous gore or any forced scares. One of the best parts about it being a final solution to the evil wasn't forced at the end, they just left and the house remained evil. A lot of haunted house movies to come after it, like Poltergeist or The Conjuring, harken back to Amityville. Not perfect by any stretch, but was ahead of its time.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/01/23

Full Review

Patrick C

Personally I found the first hour quite boring. I'm glad I finished it though because the ending was well worth it. One of the best horror endings I've ever seen tbh. Also the acting was amazing and the two leads are very nice to look at.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/19/23

Full Review

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Stuart Rosenberg

Director

James Brolin

George Lutz

Margot Kidder

Kathy Lutz

Rod Steiger

Father Delaney

Don Stroud

Father Bolen

Natasha Ryan

Amy

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The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - Flies Attack Father Delaney

3:02

The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - I'm Coming Apart!

1:56

The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - Window Pain

0:58

The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - Axe Man

1:13

The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - Amy's Friend, Jody

0:41

The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - Bleeding House

3:00

The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - Aunt Helena Freaks Out

2:41

The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - Carolyn is Possessed

2:12

The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - Father Delany's Prayer

2:10

The Amityville Horror: Official Clip - Kathy Sees Jody

1:05

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

[The Amityville Horror] begins with the promising premise of a haunted house in the suburbs (poltergeists in the barbecue pit?) and quickly degenerates into a display of pretentious camera angles.

Mar 20, 2019

Full Review

K.C. Summers

Washington Post

The Amityville Horror is a horror. What is supposed to be the true story of a young couple driven from their dream house by demons turns out to be nothing more than a rip-off, and a tedious one at that.

Mar 20, 2019

Full Review

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

Its pacing is off, there are too many go-nowhere subplots, & it seems just to come to a clunking halt at the end [but] the film's lack of commitment to any single reading of its narrative architecture is precisely what makes it so uncanny.

Jun 26, 2017

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A pack of flies swarm all over Father Delaney --- then again, given Rod Steiger's howling performance as the priest, it could just be that the flies like reeking ham.

Rated: 1.5/4

Feb 12, 2023

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Bloody Disgusting

The Amityville Horror is a quintessential haunted house film...One of the film’s challenges is the workman-like direction from Stuart Rosenberg and lackadaisical editing by Robert Brown, but Brolin and Kidder deliver truly committed performances.

Rated: 2.5/5

Nov 11, 2022

Full Review

Eve Tushnet

Patheos

The extended climax falls especially flat...

Feb 28, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Chiller about a family who is terrorized by supernatural forces when they move into a new house in New York State which was the scene of a recent mass killing and the home of an 18th-century satanist. When swarms of flies appear from nowhere and the pipes and walls begin to ooze slime and blood, they call on a local priest to exorcise the evil spirits.

Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Executive Producer: Samuel Z. Arkoff
Screenwriter: Sandor Stern
Distributor: American International Pictures
Production Co: American International Pictures (AIP)
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 27, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 31, 2017

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