Among all the horror franchises with endless sequels and reboots and knockoffs, none can compete with the “Amityville” series (to use the word “series” loosely) for sheer bloat. Wikipedia lists 45 films under the heading “Works based on the Amityville haunting.”
I’m not going to rank all 45, for the sake of my sanity. About half of them have nothing to do with the real-life events nor other films in the series; the makers slapped on the “Amityville” name as an afterthought, to get brand recognition.
The other half are more “official,” in that they tie into the 1970s Amityville hauntings. But they can’t directly reference the two real-life events (the 1974 DeFeo killings and the 1975 Lutz hauntings) because they didn’t get the rights to those stories. However, “Amityville” (a town on Long Island in New York) can’t be copyrighted, so these movies “continue” the story via implication.
For the sake of a manageable list (and the avoidance of watching tons of garbage), I’m ranking 11 selected films. This includes the eight “Amityvilles” released in the 20th century (three theatrical, one made-for-TV and four straight-to-video). I’m rounding it out with a trio of 21st century films that had a theatrical release; all three are set in the infamous house and reference the real-life families. Click on each title for a full review.
11. “Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes” (1989)
If you’re curious how a horror script would play if shot like a basic, well-lit drama, here’s your answer. And you’ll also learn why horror films are generally not shot this way. Along with lack of mood, the concept is ridiculous: The orb of a tree-shaped lamp that’s uglier than “A Christmas Story’s” leg lamp gets ominous close-ups like HAL-9000 as it causes bad things to happen. You’ll never feel so ahead of the characters as you do in this TV movie. We simply wait for the family members – who have daytime-soap-level mistrust of each other – to figure it out and destroy the lamp (which can be smashed as easily as any old lamp).
10. “Amityville: A New Generation” (1993)
The story of an artists’ loft being haunted by a mirror would be done with more panache in “Candyman 4” (2021), but give “A New Generation” mild credit for getting there first. A normal-seeming descendant (Ross Partridge) of a crazy member of the “Bronner family” (the copyright workaround for the DeFeo family, I suppose) has visions of homicide. His internal good-evil battle plays out externally as he’s compelled to kill his friends. A weak score undercuts the decent vibe of inner-city brick buildings and bizarre visual arts installations as the film is ultimately overwhelmed by its cliches.
9. “The Amityville Horror” (2005)
This flinch-inducing remake loads up on cheap jump scares and big set pieces (the best of which finds 8-year-old Chloe-Grace Moretz standing on the roof’s peak). But its bigness doesn’t make it scarier, and it gets further removed from the 1975 Lutz hauntings as writer Scott Kosar riffs on the original movie, which riffed on the original book, which riffed on the Lutzes’ telling of the events (which some people speculate isn’t entirely accurate). A hilariously miscast Ryan Reynolds patterns his George Lutz after Jack Nicholson in “The Shining,” giving this film yet another comparison at which it fails. Although Melissa George and Rachel Nichols are easy on the eyes, this is slick, forgettable Naughties horror.
8. “Amityville: The Awakening” (2017)
The next glossy cash-grab ranks a notch higher because the premise is fun, for a half-second: It’s set in the “real world,” wherein the 1974 and ’75 events happened and then all the films and books came out. It starts off promising, as we’re amused that Gen-Z new-girl-in-town Belle (Bella Thorne) learns about the Amityville legend for the first time when her family moves into the haunted house (which it acquires cheap). Her brother (Cameron Monaghan) is wasting away on a hospital bed in the sitting room and is susceptible to possession. But the film does nothing with this other than what you expect. For a better possessed-sick-teen yarn, see 2009’s “The Haunting in Connecticut.”
7. “The Amityville Curse” (1990)
The first of the four direct-to-video films (known as the “curse” films, although this one ironically is the lone entry not about a cursed object) features a watchable mix of good and bad actors. As it cashes in on the Amityville name by positing a second haunted house in the town (cue eye roll), it has occasional good horror ideas such as a murder in a confessional booth. Dawna Wightman, mature enough to be a Final Woman rather than Final Girl, carries us through. But many characters’ actions and arcs make no logical sense upon reflection, and the writers miss an opportunity for a satirical comparison between house-flipping and straight-to-VHS moviemaking.
6. “Amityville Dollhouse” (1996)
If you watch the “curse” entries in order, this is the last one, and you’ll be tired of the premise. The idea of a dollhouse that functions like a voodoo doll is cheekier than a lamp or mirror, but not as fun as it should be. This entry achieves middle-of-the-pack status because it has nominal characterization and arcs. Refreshingly, two people – relatives of the main family who happen to know about the occult – proactively investigate the dollhouse. Bolstered by Nineties stylings like the suburban house, the plot is like a Season 1 “Buffy” episode. It’s interesting to note that the demons get robust creature designs here, quite different from the early entries in the saga. But the finished product leans goofy rather than scary.
5. “The Amityville Murders” (2018)
Writer-director Daniel Farrands, who has done horror documentaries such as the “Friday the 13th” piece “Crystal Lake Memories,” chronicles the 1974 DeFeo killings in a rather dry, scholarly manner. Strictly speaking, this is the only film to explore those events in detail. They had been used as a spice in both versions of “The Amityville Horror” and “The Conjuring 2,” and “Amityville II” uses them as inspiration. Despite a certain wrongness in making entertainment from a convicted murderer’s more sympathetic version of what happened, Farrands’ film safely avoids controversy. Fans of “The Possession” will enjoy seeing Diane Franklin (now playing the mom), and the way lookalike Chelsea Ricketts tries to channel Franklin’s original turn as the victimized daughter.
4. “Amityville 3-D” (1983)
The capper to the original trilogy (and the first entry that’s wholly removed from real-world events) boasts a fairly intelligent screenplay, and its characters mostly behave smartly. The new owner of the haunted house (Tony Roberts, carrying us through) brings in experts who set up all kinds of scientific equipment to codify and catalog the ghosts and demons. We get the sequel charm of revisiting the familiar setting, which seems to still have some haunts in store. And it’s amusing to see a young Lori Laughlin and Meg Ryan as teens who scoff at the house’s grim lore. Weak special effects make the final act into a B-grade “Poltergeist” knockoff, but most of the journey is entertaining.
3. “Amityville 1992: It’s About Time” (1992)
This is like a light “Hellraiser” film as Tony Randel hops franchises to direct. A possessed mantelpiece clock that can do anything the writers want (similar to Pinhead’s machinations) haunts a family of well-drawn Nineties stereotypes such as a yuppie, a punker and a mallrat. None of the characters play out their stereotypes exactly like you’d expect, though (for instance, the punker is pals with an old lady who is wise about the occult). Although the cast lacks big names, the performances are solid. The movie is hampered by being comedic one moment and horrific the next, failing to achieve a smooth blend. But between the bouts of “Amityville”-style incest and “Hellraiser”-style gore, “It’s About Time” is a fun romp.
2. “The Amityville Horror” (1979)
The saga’s first entry remains one of its best. Although it pales in comparison to certified religious-horror masterpieces from not long before it, such as “The Exorcist” and “The Omen,” it has cachet due to being based on the (supposedly) true story of the Lutz family, driven out of their house by hauntings. (It’s at least apparent that the Lutzes believe this and aren’t spinning a yarn for the yarn’s sake.) James Brolin is so understated as the stepdad that you can graft layers onto him, while Margot Kidder (“Superman”) is cute and sympathetic as the young mom. “Amityville” has been parodied by “The Simpsons” (“Get out!”), “Scary Movie 2” (“Damn enchiladas!”) and more, and it’s rougher around the edges than the genre gems of the Seventies. But it is a low-budget classic for good reason.
1. “Amityville II: The Possession” (1982)
Italian director Damiano Damiani drenches us in mood as he revels in the dysfunctional family of Tommy Lee Wallace’s (“Halloween III: Season of the Witch”) screenplay, which imagines the Montellis are supernaturally forced to play out the tragedy of the DeFeos. (The marketing materials wrongly present this film as actually telling the DeFeos’ story.) “Rocky’s” Burt Young plays the overbearing dad without the relative charm of Paulie. The otherwise unknown Jack Magner combines his gumby face with prosthetic effects to play the gradually possessed son. And should’ve-been-a-star Franklin is heartbreaking as the daughter who is a little too close to her brother. A possession-centered “fourth act” makes the film arguably too “big” – like the “Exorcist III” eight years later – but Magner’s acting and Damiani’s style keep it engaging. While retaining the low-brow schlock aesthetic, “Possession” is the saga’s most artistic, professional and entertaining installment.