Amityville 1992: It's About Time

This one is probably one of the better sequels, and though it doesn't really live up to the classic standards, it sure packs a punch.

Unlike the fourth and seventh and eighth sequels, this one delivers far more suspense, though a lot of it is typical and expected, such as the declining sanity of the buyer of anything related to Amityville. But it's well-done/well-put-together, and the idea of an Amityville-possessed clock is far more ominous than a stupid lamp, mirror, or a doll-house, you've got to admit.

It even has some real gore thrown in there... what a surprise... Also, this is the first Amityville that really relies on lies, cons and deceits of people and how things like that can tear families and attachments into shreds.

It's a decent sequel, I suppose.

'It's About Time' rehashes a concept last seen in 'Amityville IV: The Evil Escapes', in that an artifact from the infamous Long Island house is relocated into the home of another family, where it soon begins to take over their lives with its demonic intentions. Hardly surprising, given that John G. Jones was the scribe for both installments.

This, I have to say, is the better attempt, and it goes a long way towards rebuilding the damage done by the painful and indeed execrable 5th film, 'The Amityville Curse'. This time around, the artifact is a clock, and its hellish influence not only possesses both the house and its occupants (naturally), but plays around with time itself, breathing at long last some new ideas into the franchise. The tension is reasonably well-paced, allowing for a gradual build until all hell breaks loose.

At the same time however, 'Amityville 1992' still suffers from a fairly silly and uneven storyline, aggravated by sloppy editing choices that prevent the overall effort from meshing together seamlessly. Add to this some rather hammy acting from veteran performers Steven Macht and Nita Talbot, along with some just plain bloody awful acting from Jonathan Penner, and it becomes difficult to take the film seriously. Thankfully the principal lead is Shawn Weatherly, who avoids the obvious temptation the script offers to go over-the-top and gives a creditable performance under the circumstances, as does Damon Martin, in what looks to be his final film.

Nonetheless, 'It's About Time' makes a far better effort to remember its roots than its two predecessors. With minimal rewrites, IV and V could very easily just be standalone horror flicks, but the plot of VI rests upon the apparently again-destroyed Amityville house's past history. On the one hand, it has no conscious ties to the DeFeo murders, but in the universe of the film franchise, these were supposed to be influenced by the house's long-present demonic incumbents, and it is here where 'It's About Time' builds its story. In the process, it grafts yet another unnecessary centuries-old European explanation for its dark history which I didn't really buy into, but I can let it slide since new ground is being explored. After all, I also have to put aside the obvious fact that if this clock has been in the house all along, why does it only manifest its powers now? Yet this is the most interesting aspect of the film, and if anything, Jones should have really let fly with the time distortion element and tried harder to pull it together into what could have been an even better and possibly mind-bending tale.

At any rate, 'It's About Time' pulls the franchise out of the mire that the previous installment dumped it into. It's still fairly silly, but a great improvement nonetheless.

It's certainly about time that this series had a hit, and with Amityville 1992: Its About Time, we have one!

This sixth entry ignores whatever The Amityville Curse was doing and continues the theme of the fourth film which involves cursed items from the infamous house being sold off to new owners. Here we have a possessed clock which has been purchased by the head of the family named Jacob . Once Jacob brings the clock into his house, we start to see the Amityville evil take over him and other members of his family.

Jacob gets bitten by a rabid neighbourhood dog which is when he starts to become possessed and physically dangerous to everyone around him.. After the clock kills a few people and possesses family members, it's up to Jacob's girlfriend Andrea to try and figure out what is happening and how the clock plays into how everything around her and the family is falling apart.

The acting is very well done by all. Stephen Macht and Shawn Weatherly are absolutely terrific as the dysfunctional couple. Macht has the job of playing the possessed abusive male lead and he certainly is terrifying! Shawn Weatherly as Andrea is a wonderful heroine which I rooted for to survive the entire time. Jonathan Penner provides comic relief in the later half as Andrea's side piece, trying to adapt to the craziness happening around him.

This film also gives us some really effective special effects, including a very realistic dog bite and a melting face to name a few stand out moments. It provides scares in a very fun way, some predictable stuff but entertaining nonetheless. The director likes to trick the audience numerous times in thinking that one horrific thing is happening when in fact it is not.

Amityville 1992: It's About Time is for sure my favourite sequel of the series. It provides scares, pretty decent special effects, and a story that connects this film to the original two while also making viewers entertained throughout.The evil clock has the ability to move time forward and backwards at a rapid pace which I found really well done, and it starts to control time in the home. I definitely recommend this one to any horror fan. It's a fun sequel that doesn't disappoint on the fun and cheesiness meter.

7/10

Being number six in a long line of AMITYVILLE sequels, AMITYVILLE 1992 (well it seems like it could actually be!) was never really going to be any good. Supernatural horror sequels never really seem to work, no matter how much of a classic the originals were. Look how the OMEN series depleted rapidly in quality, gasp as Freddie Kreuger becomes less of the ultimate evil and more like that old geography teacher that everyone used to play up to - vomit as the EXORCIST franchise went from classic to jurassic... Number six just doesn't sound good!

And IT'S ABOUT TIME really doesn't do anything to argue this matter. Some nice ideas are here, don't get me wrong, but the film just lollops along with a pace that starts to feel like time is stopping altogether! The only gratification I got (and the only reason why I held out) was the wonderful scene where the lovely Megan Ward experiences her 'para-sexual' awakening. Great cinema - I can't really complain!

So make of this review what you will - AMITYVILLE is not nearly as bad as some from this genre, and it is not entirely unenjoyable. Just plan something else to do at the same time - this film requires only a fraction of your attention (about 10 minutes halfway through actually!), so your brain might start to drum its bio-rythmical thumbs...

"Amityville: It's About Time" follows a California architect who returns from a business trip in New York, where he acquires an antique clock. Soon after his return, he is in a terrible accident that leaves him bedridden; meanwhile, his family experiences an array of bizarre occurrences in their house. Little do they know, the clock they've brought in was from the Amityville DeFeo house, and is doing more than telling time.

I'll be frank here: none of the "Amityville" films have ever been spectacular—even the original, which, though a good haunted house film, had its flaws. The sequels have been hit and miss, and 1990's "The Amityville Curse" was abhorred by many (I actually somewhat enjoyed it, but that's another story). As the installments in this series progressed, they've tended to sprawl out to the point that each haunting is incidentally connected to the Amityville house via objects rather than geography—this occurred in Part 4 where a lamp possessed evil powers, and would be re-used again in the followup to "It's About Time" in "Amityville Dollhouse." Long story short, the series as a whole is rather silly.

With that out of the way, I do think "Amityville: It's About Time" does have some goods to offer. Where the earlier films in the series were more concerned with suspense, this sequel goes straight for thrills from the beginning, though there is a bit of character building as the film meditates on the disintegration of a family. The clock itself acts as a catalyst in the warped dynamic, and there is a lot of playful writing involving the clock's powers and its relationship toward time.

The film manages to evoke a weirdly oppressive suburban atmosphere, and the performances throughout are better than what you find in most direct-to-video fodder; Stephen Macht's role as the breadwinning architect-turned-madman is decent, and Megan Ward and Damon Martin play convincing enough teenagers. Nita Talbot is a bit of a show-stealer here as a matronly neighbor who uncovers the truth behind the family's turmoil.

Overall, "Amityville: It's About Time," though not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, is one of the better "Amityville" sequels. As silly as the premise may be, there is a decent amount of fun to be had. A few memorable performances plus some appreciable special effects and playful writing render this worth a watch for genre fans. 6/10.