The Amityville Murders

Oh yay, another Amityville film! Because that's what 2018 needed *Sigh*.

Starring a couple of industry veterans and former cast members of previous Amityville movies this dull lifeless effort has done nothing to reinvigorate a stale franchise or turn this dreadful year for movies around.

Instead of covering the Lutz family as many of the previous have it tells the original story of the Defeo family building up to the tragedy that befell them. The trouble is alike the Lutz's we don't really know what happened and therefore a huge chunk of the movie is pure fiction and supernatural garbage.

Ronnie Defeo went from room to room shooting his family as they lay in bed. The mystery being how none of them heard the gunshots, how they were all shot in bed (Blood stains proved they hadn't been moved) and why neighbours also were oblivious to what took place. Yes it's a mystery, no I don't believe it was demonic forces!

The Amityville murders does have some good performances and it was fantastic to see Burt Young on screen in 2018, but it's so darn boring!

For huge fans of the Amityville legend only I'd say.

The Good:

Dead Island trailer theme (Weirdly)

Some good cast members

Good performances in places

The Bad:

Criminally boring

Just shouldn't exist

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Mothers are more concerned with their kids art style than their drug use

Changing the details in a true story makes perfect sense

This film essentially begins a couple of weeks before a young man named "Ronald 'Butch' DeFeo Jr." (played by John Robinson) kills his parents and all four siblings with a rifle he claims was given to him by an evil entity within the house in Amityville, New York. Just prior to the killings, the film incorporates a number of scenes in which Butch DeFeo's father "Ronnie DeFeo Sr." (Paul Ben-Victor) physically abuses his son on a number of occasions. And it's primarily for this reason that Butch becomes heavily involved in drugs--which further hastens his mental and emotional decline into complete insanity. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film is basically a remake of the prequel known as "Amityville II-The Possession" produced back in 1982. Unlike that movie, however, this film doesn't quite have the same creepy atmosphere due to the primary focus being on drug abuse over that of an evil presence within the house. Having said that, while this film is definitely better than a number of others in this series, I don't consider it to be on the same level as the 1982 film, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

It's 1974, three weeks before the infamous murders. Ronnie DeFeo (Paul Ben-Victor) and Louise DeFeo (Diane Franklin) have five children; college-age Butch (John Robinson), Dawn (Chelsea Ricketts), Allison, Marc, and Jody. Butch and Dawn are calling upon the spirits in the red room. Ronnie has nefarious dealings and brutally beats his family. Butch has nightmarish visions and continues to deteriorate. Butch is sick and alone at home on Halloween. The house is ransacked and Ronnie's money is stolen from his safe.

This is based on true events. As always, one has to take it with a good helping of salt. It comes with the supernatural anyways so the pretense is pretty thin. At least, it's trying to fit the true story in and around the spirit world. The most compelling part may be the return of Diane Franklin. This really should be the story of Dawn. She's the 'normal' character and the story could be seen through her eyes. The supernatural part should be in question for the majority of the movie. The drama isn't there. As a horror, it could be much better. There is potential but it's concentrating on the wrong character.

The Amityville Murders: An accurate representation of what it was like growing up in the 70s. Abusive parents bullying & beating their children, and finally one of them snapped. I'm surprised this kind of thing wasn't more common back then. No demons, devils or haunted house or other supernatural entities necessary.

This isn't a bad addition to the series, but it's not "award winning" great either. The acting is good to mediocre, and the grandmother is by far the worst actor. The movie fills in a blank that's been left hanging for years bringing the series full circle. All in all, I'd say it's worth at least one viewing.

"The Amityville Murders" is one of those movies that gives the sensation of dejavu to the viewer. The story is well-known by fans of horror movies and does not show anything new and does not surprise. The acting is not bad but watching this film is waste of time. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): Not Available