Amityville Horror, The

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

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.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

This remake stays close to the eponymous 1979 horror movie it's based on, except for being precisely 10,000 times scarier.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

I got exactly what I expected: Scared and tickled, within an inch of my life.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

Much meaner remake, starring Ryan Reynolds (quite good).

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

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.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

The truly shocking thing about the new version is that it's not bloody awful.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

There are some genuine scares to be had here, and not just of the “Boo!” variety.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

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.

Village Voice David Ng

A Xerox so tattered and faded that it's impossible to determine who's to blame for the overproduced mediocrity before our eyes.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

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.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Shorter and punchier but nearly as hokey as the original.

Variety Scott Foundas

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.

Philadelphia Inquirer David Hiltbrand

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.

Premiere Nicole Perri

The new film is also sleeker, sexier, and, thankfully, shorter than the original.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The Amityville Horror fails as a movie, but, if you are searching for are a few good scares, you'll find them here.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

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.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Why remake a horror film if you can't make it scarier?

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Extraordinarily faithful to the spirit of that creaky, derivative, fly-infested, don't-go-in-the-attic boofest.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

All this is out of the Haunted House 101 textbook.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Unimaginative.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

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.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Images seem to be grafted into the film that have little to do with the actual story.

Chicago Reader Benjamin Strong

Melissa George's performance has more Lady Macbeth in it than Kidder's.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Result? It's not scary, just busy.

USA Today Claudia Puig

In this Amityville, the performances are bad, the special effects ho-hum, and it's not even particularly scary.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

As far as these things go, the film's violence is not outrageously excessive.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The latest cannibalization of a popular older horror film.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

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.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Shoddily made, boring and, most shockingly, without a single decent scare.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

A sustained if wildly uncoordinated assault on our senses, complementing those feverish jump cuts with a cliché of equally stunning proportions

Slate David Edelstein

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.