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The Amityville Horror
Metascore
33 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 31 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 31
  3. Negative: 13 out of 31
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  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    90
    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. It is anchored in strong characterizations, and its plot develops with chilling psychological suspense. It's such a skillfully made entertainment that its plunge into the supernatural is persuasive even for the skeptical.
  2. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    This remake stays close to the eponymous 1979 horror movie it's based on, except for being precisely 10,000 times scarier.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    70
    I got exactly what I expected: Scared and tickled, within an inch of my life.
  4. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Chuck Wilson
    60
    Much meaner remake, starring Ryan Reynolds (quite good).
  5. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    50
    Shorter and punchier but nearly as hokey as the original.
  6. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    50
    The good news is the updated version is scarier than the original, thanks to snazzier special effects, a shorter running time, moody lighting, a few solid jolts and one icky moment involving a bratty babysitter and a closet. The bad news is the film rehashes every horror movie cliché you can imagine.
  7. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    50
    Why remake a horror film if you can't make it scarier?
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: David Hiltbrand
    50
    With his beard and '70s clothes, Reynolds looks like Val Kilmer playing Jim Morrison. Before things go precipitously south, he gives an endearing performance that proves he's ready for far more substantial roles than Van Wilder.
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    50
    The truly shocking thing about the new version is that it's not bloody awful.
  10. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    50
    The Amityville Horror fails as a movie, but, if you are searching for are a few good scares, you'll find them here.
  11. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Nicole Perri
    50
    The new film is also sleeker, sexier, and, thankfully, shorter than the original.
  12. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Pete Vonder Haar
    50
    There are some genuine scares to be had here, and not just of the "Boo!" variety.
  13. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    50
    The remake simply replaces the laughably dated horror tropes of the 1979 version with a commercial-slick J-horror aesthetic that's sure to look just as silly to audiences in another 15 years.
  14. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: David Ng
    50
    A Xerox so tattered and faded that it's impossible to determine who's to blame for the overproduced mediocrity before our eyes.
  15. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    50
    Yes, there are more cheap shocks this time around, and they're fun to watch, but you'll have forgotten most of them by the time you make it out to your car.
  16. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    50
    Low-key creepy rather than outright scary, the new Amityville marks a modest improvement over the original, partly because, from acting to bloody effects, it is better executed.
  17. Variety
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    50
    Begins slavishly faithful to its low-key 1970s predecessor then sledgehammers auds with a numbing succession of shock edits and over-the-top horror effects.
  18. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    42
    Extraordinarily faithful to the spirit of that creaky, derivative, fly-infested, don't-go-in-the-attic boofest.
  19. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    38
    All this is out of the Haunted House 101 textbook.
  20. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    38
    Unimaginative.
  21. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    30
    First-time feature director Andrew Douglas, whose advertising background is evident in every frame, brings lashings of style but no sense of real horror to the recycled script.
  22. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    30
    Images seem to be grafted into the film that have little to do with the actual story.
  23. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Benjamin Strong
    30
    Melissa George's performance has more Lady Macbeth in it than Kidder's.
  24. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    25
    Result? It's not scary, just busy.
  25. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    25
    In this Amityville, the performances are bad, the special effects ho-hum, and it's not even particularly scary.
  26. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    25
    The latest cannibalization of a popular older horror film.
  27. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    25
    As far as these things go, the film's violence is not outrageously excessive.
  28. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    0
    Shoddily made, boring and, most shockingly, without a single decent scare.
  29. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    0
    A sustained if wildly uncoordinated assault on our senses, complementing those feverish jump cuts with a cliché of equally stunning proportions
  30. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    0
    As a symbol of what some filmmakers and some studios think the public will buy, it's a horrific piece of work. How dare anyone put this piece of c--- in front of me. How dare anyone put it in front of YOU.
  31. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    0
    I'd like to tell you about the remake of The Amityville Horror (MGM), but I ankled after less than five minutes. It was something about the little girl holding the stuffed animal getting blown away with a shotgun at point-blank range.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 75 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 51
  3. Negative: 12 out of 51
  1. MetalMan95
    4
    I have not seen the original. This movie, it wasn't really that scary. It relied on jump scares, and creepy images, its just overflowing with cliches. But it had some potential going for it, then, it botched at the end. Honestly, i know it was based on true events, but it could've been executed much, much, better.… Full Review »
  2. jimmytancredi
    3
    Movie haunted mansion coolest I've ever seen, even that could be used a little more home to more herror, but it's still a movie that puts fear. I wouldn't put my feet in this house.… Full Review »
  3. KearaM.
    3
    The acting was somewhat good but the book is where the entertainment is. I was unimpressed with the scare factor of the movie but the book was one of the scariest I have ever read. Also, to some people who didn't get the events that happened in the movie (such as flies coming out of the vent) read the book and it will make much more sense. The film was decent and some of the facts appeared to be somewhat accurate but it was nearly 100% commercialized and nothing more.… Full Review »
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