Horror fans are accustomed to confusing timelines, so much so that there’s a YouTube channel devoted to going through the bizarre continuities of “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” “The Omen” and many more. Even by those standards, “Amityville II: The Possession” (1982) creates a messed-up situation. And I’m not even referring to the sibling incest or multiple homicides.
It’s understandable why “Possession” is wrongly thought to be a prequel. It’s adapted from Hans Holzer’s book “Murder in Amityville” (1979), which chronicles the DeFeo murders — as seen in the prolog of “The Amityville Horror” (1979). And the poster says this is the story from before the first film, and the trailer strongly implies it (although it is cautious with its wording).
Why it’s a sequel …
Setting all ancillary materials aside, and viewed strictly as a piece of horror-saga fiction, it’s not confusing: “Possession” is a sequel to the 1979 film, taking place in the year of its release, 1982. The only in-film counter-argument is that no one mentions the Lutz family problems (the original film’s main story) nor the DeFeo family homicides.
“Amityville II: The Possession” (1982)
Director: Damiano Damiani
Writers: Tommy Lee Wallace, Hans Holzer, Dardano Sacchetti
Stars: James Olson, Burt Young, Rutanya Alda
On Tuesdays this summer, RFMC is looking back at selected films in the “Amityville” series.
Several indicators place the sequel in 1982, including that the house is fixed up with new appliances such as a stainless steel sink. In its excellent “Amityville” video, the aforementioned Horror Timelines channel points out other items and on-screen dates that indicate the film can’t take place before 1979.
It would’ve been nice if a character mentioned how “Possession’s” killings precisely mirror the DeFeo killings in this same house. The DeFeo son claimed possession, and here, Sonny Montelli (Jack Magner) commits the exact same crime and is clearly possessed. (The effects crew does excellent practical effects work, and Magner totally sells it, also making use of his own gumby face.) This is a missed opportunity by writer Tommy Lee Wallace (who wrote and directed another timeline-busting film, “Halloween III: Season of the Witch,” this same year). Or possibly legal issues came into play.
Still, many horror sagas that chronicle strings of killings don’t harp on the previous events, partly because they don’t want to alienate people who haven’t seen the other installments. 1982 was before the internet, so if the Montellis live isolated lives, they might not know about the past events in this house. But what about the books? Those exist in the real world, not in the film’s world (“based on a true story” is not the same as a documentary).
We can imagine that after “Possession’s” story ends, Amityville residents will gossip about how two family homicides happened in the same house in about 10 years’ time. But before that, citizens aren’t necessarily going to harass the Montellis about the DeFeo and Lutz events.
… and a pretty darn good one
OK, so – the misleading poster and trailer aside – this is a sequel. Is it a good one? Surprisingly, yes. Director Damiano Damiani doesn’t rely on jump scares but instead draws the horror from the Montelli family members’ awkward, abusive and sometimes loving-in-the-wrong-way relationships.
Burt Young essentially plays Anthony Montelli as “Rocky’s” Paulie, but without the remotest lovable underbelly. It’s tough to watch him yell at and beat his children, blaming them for the paranormal events.
Luckily, “Possession” doesn’t dwell on that, and also, the others do fight back. We’re in the fascinating position of rooting for Sonny to kill his father, even though Sonny himself is unhinged. But also, Sonny might be possessed.
Eventually he definitely is, but that might not explain all his pre-possession actions. Sonny and sister Trish (Diane Franklin) are a little too close, leading to a famous (infamous?) scene in Trish’s bedroom. The younger siblings, Jan and Mark, have a tinge of this type of relationship, too. Damiani shows skillful direction to get such subtleties out of young actors.
The ‘fourth act’
“Possession” course-corrects from the original as the side plot about the priest, Father Adamsky (James Olson), goes somewhere this time.
This is one of those “four-act” films wherein a major event (Sonny’s murder spree) seems to mark the end, but there’s a whole ’nother major issue to resolve. I didn’t mind this too much in a home viewing, since the film clocks in at a comfortable 104 minutes.
Even better, “Possession” isn’t predictable as it moves along. And it makes further use of Franklin – a scene-stealing Final Girl even against the likes of Magner and Young — in that final act by tying Trish into the priest’s inner demons.
As such, rather than simply another telling of the DeFeo murders – also found in the original’s prolog, and later in the “Conjuring 2” prolog and the 2018 film “The Amityville Murders” – “Possession” keeps us on our toes.
Granted, that final act will be familiar to “Exorcist” fans. But not in a bad way; this is tastier stuff than 1977’s “Exorcist II: The Heretic,” for sure. Even more of a bold claim: Thanks to a deeper character roster and more impressive practical effects, “Amityville II: The Possession” is a notch better than “The Amityville Horror.”