Amityville Horror

A classic haunted house yarn with solid performances from the cast - young and old, Amityville Horror (2005) is not a subtle, psychological horror but a balls-out, in-yer-face monster picture with the vengeful ghosts and demons appearing on screen from the moment the Lutz family arrive at their new home.

Although it claims to be based on a true story no real attempt is made to keep the mayhem within the bounds of reality and George's rapid descent into insanity isn't so much an homage to Nicholson in The Shining as a parody. Ryan Reynolds is superb as the troubled head of his step-family and while best known for his light-hearted roles shows here he can turn charm to menace at the flick of a switch.

Amityville is the least well-respected of the clutch of iconic horrors from the 1970s and has spawned some truly awful sequels, but this remake does the story proud, reinventing it for a multiplex audience used to glamorous leads and stories told through OTT gore and special effects.

There's nothing really original here and the 2005 film ticks all the boxes for haunted house clichés e.g. spooky faces at windows, erratic plumbing, moving furniture, clocks stopping etc but does it with a brazen panache and lack of pretencion that makes the film enjoyable for what it is.