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Amityville Horror, The
Dimension Films / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Amityville Horror, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 33 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.9 out of 10
based on 31 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 62 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for violence, disturbing images, language, brief sexuality and drug use

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Philip Baker Hall, Jimmy Bennett, Jesse James, Chloe Moretz, and Jason Padgett

Thirty years after the shocking events that inspired a best selling novel and one of the most popular horror films of all time, come revisit the house that started it all: The Amityville Horror. (United Artists Pictures)


GENRE(S): Horror  
WRITTEN BY: Scott Kosar
Sandor Stern (earlier screenplay)
Jay Anson (novel)
 
DIRECTED BY: Andrew Douglas  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: October 4, 2005 
Theatrical: April 15, 2005 
RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
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.
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75
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.
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70
Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
I got exactly what I expected: Scared and tickled, within an inch of my life.
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60
LA Weekly Chuck Wilson
Much meaner remake, starring Ryan Reynolds (quite good).
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50
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.
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50
San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
The truly shocking thing about the new version is that it's not bloody awful.
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50
Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
There are some genuine scares to be had here, and not just of the “Boo!” variety.
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50
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.
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50
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.
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50
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.
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50
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Shorter and punchier but nearly as hokey as the original.
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50
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.
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50
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.
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50
Premiere Nicole Perri
The new film is also sleeker, sexier, and, thankfully, shorter than the original.
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50
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.
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50
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.
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50
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Why remake a horror film if you can't make it scarier?
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42
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Extraordinarily faithful to the spirit of that creaky, derivative, fly-infested, don't-go-in-the-attic boofest.
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38
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
All this is out of the Haunted House 101 textbook.
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38
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Unimaginative.
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30
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.
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30
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Images seem to be grafted into the film that have little to do with the actual story.
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30
Chicago Reader Benjamin Strong
Melissa George's performance has more Lady Macbeth in it than Kidder's.
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25
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Result? It's not scary, just busy.
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25
USA Today Claudia Puig
In this Amityville, the performances are bad, the special effects ho-hum, and it's not even particularly scary.
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25
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
As far as these things go, the film's violence is not outrageously excessive.
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25
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
The latest cannibalization of a popular older horror film.
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0
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.
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0
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Shoddily made, boring and, most shockingly, without a single decent scare.
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0
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
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0
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.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.9 (out of 10) based on 62 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Keara M. gave it a3:
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.

Shaniqua N. gave it a10:
This movie was bomb! it scared the hell outta me! PROPS!

Jesse M. gave it an8:
The movie was pretty good. I enjoyed it. Wasn't as scary as I was expecting. Still good.

George A. gave it a7:
Not the best take on the story but it was watchable. slightly slow to start but once u get into it it realli isen't that bad. I have read the novel by Jay Anson’s and was intrigued about the whole subject and spent several hrs finding out all i could I dislike movies based on tragic events, however this film lets you know the basics and although personally i think it could have been filmed betta i think that it's always hard to produce films which u know will shock people especially when there is already a horrific and disturbing story to recreate as not much more has to be added to shock people. Overall a decent film in the end especially like the documentry on extras.

Andy W. gave it a2:
There are many questions that needed to be asked when you finish watching this movie. Like why is their dog named Hairy? They could've named it Lassie, except it wouldn't have made a big deal, seeing how the dog did absolutely nothing in the entire movie. How come a whole swarm flies just fly out of the vent in the movie, when it has absolutely nothing to do with the plot what so ever? Why is Ryan Reynolds such a bad actor in this movie? Why is the lead actress sooo hot, and is the only one that puts out an outstanding performance in this movie? It's really puzzling to me, why I wasted just over an hour watching this movie.

Sam S. gave it a10:
This movie was kick ass brilliant.

Richard D. gave it a10:
A fantastic remake of the original movie. I did'nt leave my seat cause i was afraid that i'd miss somthing.

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