Review of Amityville Horror, The

Introduction

Jay Anson`s book, from which this film was made, was based on an allegedly true story, the authenticity of which is still questioned to this day, but it seems to be accepted that it was mostly made up and just one big hoax. The book and the film have been hailed as classics by some, so let`s see if the film can live up to this high billing.

Video

Despite the age and reasonably low budget, we do get a very good 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. There`s a few traces of dirt and dust hanging around, but the detail is quite good for the age of the print.

Look out for some very dodgy special effects which will make you laugh rather than scream with terror - this is also due to the age of the film.

Audio

A DD 2.0 soundtrack, which is the original mono replayed across both channels. You can also choose French, Italian and Spanish versions should you desire.

The dialogue is mostly clear and crisp, with some slightly off moments. The sound effects are rather unsubtle as you might expect from a film of this ilk, but at least you do get a score from that 1970s master Lalo Schifrin.

Features

Just a rather low-key trailer - the film would be trailed rather differently nowadays.

Conclusion

A supposedly scary film that`s not very scary at all. And it`s certainly no classic in my book. It might have scared you if you were young when you first saw it, but seeing it now will surely make you change your mind. There are so many stereotypes and so many totally laughable things going on, like an evil spirit that gives you flu-like symptoms, blocks toilets, closes windows or makes you vomit - ooh, that`s evil!

And don`t even get me started on the ending. Dear oh dear. Margot Kidder manages reasonably well along the way (and is just about worth watching), but James Brolin isn`t very good at all.

If you do want to buy this film then at least the picture is good and the sound ok. More extras (particularly given the arguments over the authenticity of the original story) would have been nice.

A rather poor film on another average disc.