Amittyville Horror

If you liked Amittyville Horror (2005), or are a big horror movie nut to begin with, perhaps you shouldn't keep reading this post.

Perhaps it's because I'm not a horror movie nut that I didn't like it, along with most other movies of this nature.

Problem #1: Cliche' bumps, bangs, and gouls jumping out from nowhere. I don't watch all that many horror movies and still these types of "scares" got old to me really fast. Not only are they cliche/overused/unscary; they had almost nothing to do with the story/plot of the movie. That being said, without those things, the movie would have been half as long. They could have used this time expanding on the backstory of the house, however cliche' it may be (I know, I know, It's "based on a true story" so if it's cliche' it's because other films stole this basic premise...I'll address this in a second)

Problem #2: The Huanted House. The original movie was only made because the idea of a haunted house is so appealing to film makers. The original book I suspect was only written because of this same intrique. Though I'm sure some reading this are going to scoff at this next statement, allow me to point something out. This new version of the movie, was based on the screenplay from the original version, which was based on the book, which was based on actual events. Without getting into Meme Fidelity theory, ever play the telephone game? I suspect aspects of these events have been tweeked and modified to conform to what our ideas of a haunted house movie should be.

And whats the basic premise of any huanted house movie? A murder/murders occured in the past in the house, and now either ghosts or some general demonic pressence is wreaking havoc on the new occupants because the house is now "stained" by the deaths.

Problem/Cliche' #3 The little girl. For some reason horror film makers have decided that it's just downwrite scary to make put children who are actually dead and are appearing as ghosts, or in the case of The Ring, have a little kid with a deadpan expression that just looks like a ghost (not to mention the little girl trapped in the well). I suspect they think there's horror in the contrast (innocent little child/evil creepy things). It's also worth mentioning the cliche' of contrasting nursery rhyme songs with creepy off-key music and sound effects in horror movie trailers. Get over it guys, we get it.

Overall, it would have been a better movie if they had revamped the story and said it was "inspired by actual events" or "inspired by the original screenplay". Would it have been as faithfull to Amittyville fans? No, but it would have made for a more creative and if done right, a much more scary movie.