Here's another ace comparison from our Helsinki bound friend Markus, who this time has sent over a great little comparison of The Amityville Horror films. Now I own the original but haven't seen it yet and I must admit I did enjoy the remake. Lets see what Markus thinks...
"The Amityville Horror" is probably best described as "The 'Friday, the 13th' of Haunted House flicks": While no serious (genre) critic would ever put this artistically in the same category as "Halloween" or "The Shining", its lasting popularity- despite reknown flaws and faults- has spawned a lengthy series and even a full blown, glossy remake.
I'm not even going to debate the supposedly real events, which inspired the movie, though I gave the parapsychologist Hans Holzer's audio commentary for the original a go, but it's safe to say that the '79 version should be closer to the origin of the tale than the Michael Bay produced redux.
I have to admit to having a soft spot for this particular movie, because it was one of my very first horror VHS cassettes I got as a present in the late 80's!
Still, even I can spot the numerous flaws, first of all the length:
There's too little going on for about 114 mins, I very much prefer the shorter 98 mins edit for the orginal German rental tape.
With Rod Steiger as a priest giving new meaning to the word "over-acting" and James Brolin looking as if he'd preferred to be somewhere else for most of the time, you're left with Margot Kidder turning in a solid performance as Kathy Lutz.
Despite the slow pacing, the movie manages to create a nice atmosphere which'll keep you watching...but that's mostly due to Lalo Schifrin's haunting score (quite obviously aped years later by Elliot Goldenthal for the main theme of "Pet Sematary") and the somewhat threatening look of the house itself.
Incidently though, one of my all time favourite shock scenes is featured in this movie: Wait for the bit when mum is looking through the window in search of her daughter's mysterious "friend", who apparently just left through it...I'll say no more....
Stephen King tried his best to give "The Amityville Horror" a good beating in his "Danse Macabre", which I always thought to be rather strange, because it doesn't take you much to realize the similarities in plot between his novel of "The Shining" and the "Amityville" storyline....
If you're looking for something "relaxing" to watch to take a quick break from the currently fashionable on-screen-bloodshed, "The Amityville Horror" is a safe pick, which won't challenge you too much...except for that scene when you're starting to wonder: "Did he really just go back to the house to safe the dog????"
3/5
"Based on a true story"...THAT's the critical tag line worth bearing in mind while watching the remake of the popular, but less-than-perfect '79 original, because the update is a pretty two faced beast when it comes to that controversial issue.
Watched merely as another slice of mainstream "retro horror", "Amityville 2005" is vastly superior to the original version, because it replaces the hammy acting and occassional boredom of the '79 film with far more motivated performances, more than enough shocks and jumps to keep you entertained....and it even clocks at a shorter running time with a viewer friendly pacing.
BUT then there's the claim of the "true story"...and unlike "TCM" (original and remake), which has also been toying with the "based on actual events" coating, "The Amityville Horror" IS grounded in a closely examined tragedy: The DeFeo killings coupled with the mystery surrounding the supposed supernatural activities in the real life Amityville house.
Whatever you might think of the stories George Lutz (who sued the makers of the remake at one point) had to tell- plus the HUGE following the "Amityville" case has garnered over the decades, the filmmakers deliberately chose to take a lot of creative freedom with their depiction of the "actual" events. Personally I found the way the "invisible friend" of the youngest daughter of the Lutz family, who's not really shown in the original movie, is turned into the scary, Asian horror-like ghost of one of the DeFeo daughters, a bit questionable, to say the least.
By basically ignoring the voices of those familiar with the supposedly "real events", the new "Amityville" flick should have skipped the "real story" angle alltogether...IF it intended to be taken seriously on that premise in the first place.
Whatever you think of Ryan Reynolds as an actor, he certainly gives it his all as George Lutz whereas James Brolin always looked a bit embarrassed through the whole original movie in the same role.
Anyway, the real life George Lutz wasn't apparently too found of Reynolds.
Watch it as one of the better recent remakes, but if you're really interest in the actual case, there are lots of links in the net which should satisfy your curiosity much better.
3.5/5
Written By Markus Duschek
"The Amityville Horror" is probably best described as "The 'Friday, the 13th' of Haunted House flicks": While no serious (genre) critic would ever put this artistically in the same category as "Halloween" or "The Shining", its lasting popularity- despite reknown flaws and faults- has spawned a lengthy series and even a full blown, glossy remake.
I'm not even going to debate the supposedly real events, which inspired the movie, though I gave the parapsychologist Hans Holzer's audio commentary for the original a go, but it's safe to say that the '79 version should be closer to the origin of the tale than the Michael Bay produced redux.
I have to admit to having a soft spot for this particular movie, because it was one of my very first horror VHS cassettes I got as a present in the late 80's!
Still, even I can spot the numerous flaws, first of all the length:
There's too little going on for about 114 mins, I very much prefer the shorter 98 mins edit for the orginal German rental tape.
With Rod Steiger as a priest giving new meaning to the word "over-acting" and James Brolin looking as if he'd preferred to be somewhere else for most of the time, you're left with Margot Kidder turning in a solid performance as Kathy Lutz.
Despite the slow pacing, the movie manages to create a nice atmosphere which'll keep you watching...but that's mostly due to Lalo Schifrin's haunting score (quite obviously aped years later by Elliot Goldenthal for the main theme of "Pet Sematary") and the somewhat threatening look of the house itself.
Incidently though, one of my all time favourite shock scenes is featured in this movie: Wait for the bit when mum is looking through the window in search of her daughter's mysterious "friend", who apparently just left through it...I'll say no more....
Stephen King tried his best to give "The Amityville Horror" a good beating in his "Danse Macabre", which I always thought to be rather strange, because it doesn't take you much to realize the similarities in plot between his novel of "The Shining" and the "Amityville" storyline....
If you're looking for something "relaxing" to watch to take a quick break from the currently fashionable on-screen-bloodshed, "The Amityville Horror" is a safe pick, which won't challenge you too much...except for that scene when you're starting to wonder: "Did he really just go back to the house to safe the dog????"
3/5
"Based on a true story"...THAT's the critical tag line worth bearing in mind while watching the remake of the popular, but less-than-perfect '79 original, because the update is a pretty two faced beast when it comes to that controversial issue.
Watched merely as another slice of mainstream "retro horror", "Amityville 2005" is vastly superior to the original version, because it replaces the hammy acting and occassional boredom of the '79 film with far more motivated performances, more than enough shocks and jumps to keep you entertained....and it even clocks at a shorter running time with a viewer friendly pacing.
BUT then there's the claim of the "true story"...and unlike "TCM" (original and remake), which has also been toying with the "based on actual events" coating, "The Amityville Horror" IS grounded in a closely examined tragedy: The DeFeo killings coupled with the mystery surrounding the supposed supernatural activities in the real life Amityville house.
Whatever you might think of the stories George Lutz (who sued the makers of the remake at one point) had to tell- plus the HUGE following the "Amityville" case has garnered over the decades, the filmmakers deliberately chose to take a lot of creative freedom with their depiction of the "actual" events. Personally I found the way the "invisible friend" of the youngest daughter of the Lutz family, who's not really shown in the original movie, is turned into the scary, Asian horror-like ghost of one of the DeFeo daughters, a bit questionable, to say the least.
By basically ignoring the voices of those familiar with the supposedly "real events", the new "Amityville" flick should have skipped the "real story" angle alltogether...IF it intended to be taken seriously on that premise in the first place.
Whatever you think of Ryan Reynolds as an actor, he certainly gives it his all as George Lutz whereas James Brolin always looked a bit embarrassed through the whole original movie in the same role.
Anyway, the real life George Lutz wasn't apparently too found of Reynolds.
Watch it as one of the better recent remakes, but if you're really interest in the actual case, there are lots of links in the net which should satisfy your curiosity much better.
3.5/5
Written By Markus Duschek
I disagree with this. The original is far better than the remake. Firstly the remake isn't scary. They over used the character Jodie to the point where the audience is used to seeing her.
ReplyDeleteI understand both versions to liberty's on the novel and real events (if true), but Bay's just makes everything glossy and far too easy going. The original had a great musical score which seemed at times too loud for the film which made things disjointed and creepy. The wonderful moments when the babysitter is locked in the closet and the demonic red room are terrirfying.
James Brolin was fantastic. If you watch the scenes at the start he is very relaxed and laid back compared to his decline which is wonderfully acted and led to him not getting over roles for years as producers couldn't imagine him in another role. The acting styles of Kidder and Brolin work well as one was a method actor and the other not. As for Steiger, he personally beleived in the supernatural and all the myth surrounding the case. Perhaps this led him to being over excited. Finally my last words on this movie are...I just didn't find the remake scary in the slightest, whereas the original (when released) was nerve shattering.
The remake sucked. Jodie was a pig, not a little girl, the red room never existed, and George did not fall into a pit of black slime like the original
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