The Amityville Horror *** (2005, Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett, Chloë Grace Moretz, Rachel Nichols) – Classic Movie Review 8,387

Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George star in the 2005 supernatural horror film The Amityville Horror as young married couple George and Kathy Lutz, who move into a large elegant Long Island house, the site of a mass murder a year before.

Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George star in the 2005 American supernatural horror film The Amityville Horror (2005) as young married couple George and Kathy Lutz, who move into a large elegant Long Island house in December 1975 along with their three children, Billy (Jesse James), Michael (Jimmy Bennett) and Chelsea (Chloë Grace Moretz).

That proves a bad idea, as the house was the site of a mass murder a year before and they are soon being terrorised by a demonic force as George begins to behave weirdly and Chelsea starts to see dead people in what turns into 28 days of terror.

Director Andrew Douglas makes an effective job of rebooting the famous haunted house franchise in a full-on, scary, exciting remake of the popular original Seventies chiller The Amityville Horror (1979), based on the novel by Jay Anson, in turn based on the Lutz’s true story. Reynolds is great value, going crazy horrifyingly, Moretz impresses in her film debut, Rachel Nichols is fun as Lisa the babysitter, and Philip Baker Hall is ideal as the priest, Father Callaway.

It may be basic genre horror movie film-making, but it is very slick and grippingly well handled by Douglas, with some edge-of-seat highlights. The smoothly running screenplay is by Scott Kosar, based on the earlier 1979 screenplay by Sandor Stern, based on the novel by Jay Anson, in turn based on the Lutzs’ true story, with the original Seventies material by George and Kathy Lutz.

It is rated R for violence, disturbing images, strong language, brief sexuality and drug use.

Despite not being screened for the critics, it did quite well. On a budget of $19,000,000, it grossed $65,233,369 in the US, and $107.5 million overall worldwide.

Set on Long Island, it was shot in Chicago, Antioch, Buffalo Grove, and Fox Lake, Illinois, and in Salem and Silver Lake, Wisconsin. The house is in Salem at 27618 Silver Lake Road, a 1800s home converted temporarily to add the quarter moon evil eye windows.

The real George Lutz denounced the film as ‘drivel’ and was suing the film-makers at the time of his death in May 2006, citing alleged violations of the original contract and claiming MGM didn’t have the right to make the film without his input. MGM claimed the remake was based on new research of the original events, but George Lutz claimed nobody spoke to him or his family about the film.

By 2024, Douglas’s only other feature film is U Want Me 2 Kill Him? (2013). He was a magazine photographer for Esquire and The Face and then became a director of music videos, commercials and documentaries.

More followed, starting with The Amityville Haunting (2011). The rebooted Amityville: The Awakening followed in 2017.

James Brolin and Margot Kidder played George and Kathy Lutz in The Amityville Horror (1979), but there were four priests in the original, played by Rod Steiger, Don Stroud, Murray Hamilton and John Larch.

The cast are Melissa George as Kathy Lutz, Ryan Reynolds as George Lutz, Jesse James as Billy Lutz, Jimmy Bennett as Michael Lutz, Chloë Grace Moretz as Chelsea Lutz, Rachel Nichols as Lisa, Philip Baker Hall as Father Callaway, Isabel Conner as Jodie DeFeo, and Brendan Donaldson as Ronald ‘Ronnie’ DeFeo Jr.

The Amityville Horror films

The Amityville Horror (1979), Amityville II: The Possession, Amityville 3-D, Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes, The Amityville Curse, Amityville: It’s About Time, Amityville: A New Generation, Amityville Dollhouse, and the reboot The Amityville Horror (2005).

More followed: The Amityville Haunting (2011), The Amityville Asylum, Amityville Death House, The Amityville Playhouse, Amityville: Vanishing Point, The Amityville Legacy, The Amityville Terror, Amityville: No Escape, Amityville Exorcism, Amityville: Evil Never Dies, Amityville: The Awakening (2017), and finally The Amityville Harvest (2020) which seems to be the last film in the series.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8,387

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

Chloë Grace Moretz in The Amityville Horror (2005).