Andrew Douglas' The Amityville Horror Review

In a society where the horror genre is overrun by Paranormal Activity, it was nice to see an actual representation of paranormal horror. I watched this movie as a child, and recently reviewed it again. I was pleasantly surprised by the (not cheesy) jump scares and interesting plot. From the moment they stepped into the house, I knew there would be spirits within. However, I was once again pleasantly surprised that it was not the typical paranormal movie.

The cliche paranormal films usually go something like this... A nice family moves into a seemingly typical house. After a short amount if time strange events begin to take place. The woman of the house, and the children are usually the first to notice, while the husband is naive and does not believe any of it. The strange events escalate into full blown paranormal phenomenons and the husband finally realizes what is going on, right at the end. In the end it is typically resolved and the family lives on with their lives. Sounds familiar right? I bet you could name many paranormal movies that fit this scenario. Well, frankly I am tired of the same replay that these movies have. This is the main thing that stood out to me with The Amityville Horror, it does not follow the same mundane script as the rest. Sure it has its similar elements, but it succeeds in hitting a deeper and darker nerve.

As I watched the film I couldn't help but to feel enthralled by the eerie nature that surrounds it. Throughout the entire film I was constantly engrossed in the scenes. As each new event seemed to be full of scares, and twists. They created a lot of new aspects that are not found in many other films, and even when they did use a common scheme, they made it original by amplifying it.

Just when of the film the whole story is wrapped together in an excellent way. It answers all questions that you may have, and even throws some more information in there just to toggle with your mind. During this time, you are also witnessing the most intense part of the movie. It is a slow pace movie, up until the end, which gives an even more significant feeling of surprise. As you finally get to see the creature that has been causing all of the havoc. This movie really left me with the feeling that I had watched a quality film, and one that actually had an interesting plot, along with solid scares. It is a must watch for any horror fan.

Word Count: 435