Post by The Butcher on Nov 17, 2005 23:00:20 GMT -5
**Warning: Contains Spoilers**
Amityville 2 opens like a bulldozer in a glass house. The Montellis arrive at their new Ocean Avenue home, a place they will never forget. The mother and children enter the house while the dad (Burt Young) impatiently waits outside. His oldest boy Sonny (Jack Magner) quickly pulls into in the driveway where he quickly jumps out of the car wearing a three-foot smile. He begins to frolic about as he looks over their new demonic structure. Dad cuts in with “Where the hell were you? I thought you’d back up your mother. Sonny says, now with a two-foot smile “she knows the way.” Dad steps closer and says “Don’t be smart boy. You’re not too big for a whippin’” Sonny replies as he buries his head “Yeah, I know. You proved that to me.” Dad then smacks Sonny in the arm “OK, you’re pushing it. You’re right on the edge.” This is about the point when I said “oh, boy, here we go.” And we’re only three minutes in. The Dad mine as well had been wearing one of those “drunk on board” t-shirts. It really makes you miss the early eighties when child-abuse had a meaningful place in films of all types.
That same night, the whole family sits down at the dinner table to enjoy their first home cooked meal. The house is already unpacked mind you. As they are saying grace the entire room shakes just like a California earthquake. At the height of the event, a large oval mirror falls off the wall. The Dad immediately stands up screaming at Sonny. “God damn boy!” The whole family yells at the father to calm down and he replies with “Well, he hung it” blaming his son for not hanging the mirror correctly. He’s just itching for a reason to kick that boy’s ass. At this point I closed my eyes, slowed my breathing and begged for possession. Damn! I didn’t remember the film being this bad. But don’t fret. Things do get better.
What the film has going for itself right off the bat is the musical theme composed by Lalo Schifrin. And as I have said in the past, it is one of the creepiest themes ever to be written. The second ace in the hole is the baggage the Amityville House carries. Just the name of the house makes piss run down my leg. Even with these ridiculous moments the film is tolerable because within a few minutes we’ll inevitably cut to an exterior shot of the house showing those two creepy attic windows making everything OK again. I can see the editor cutting the film. “Shit! That scene really sucked! Where is that footage of the boathouse?”
One of the more interesting ideas brought to the table in this Amityville prequel is the secret room behind the wall in the basement closet. During one night in particular, on 112 Ocean Avenue we cut to blackness and then the secret door would open and we are in first person mode looking out into the basement. We travel into the cellar, up the stairs, then the next set of stairs. The whole time the camera technique gives the impression that we are floating like a ghost. Man, it’s giving me the creeps just thinking about it. This effect is used several times throughout the film and is very effective. I kept imagining I am the guy sleeping and this thing has crawled out of that grimy, dark pit to creep around the house and watch me as I slept. Hopefully it didn’t watch me yank the snake beforehand.
My favorite and scariest scene in Amityville 2: The Possession is when Sonny is having his birthday party. This is a few days after he fucks his sister by the way. He is across the room looking back at his family as they look upon him with exaggerated smiles, like they are on some new wave game show. Everything drops to silence. We hear a voice say “Look at them they’re pathetic. They’d be better off if you killed them. Don’t you think so?” OK, creepy! The contrast between the dialogue and the family smiling is truly unsettling. You just know that there are crazies out there who have these thoughts and some even act upon them. It makes me sick to my stomach actually. I can see killing your dog but wife and children is a place I won’t go.
Overall, Amityville Horror definitely has it problems when it comes to production quality. There are scenes that are down right laughable. Half the actors have their shit together like James Olson, Jack Magner and Diane Franklin while the other half left it at home, their shit that is. The special effects are a crapshoot too. I am telling you. The whole film is up and down. It’s as if they were playing musical chairs with the director. But one thing I will say, the film is scary. Much scarier then I thought is would be. It’s really too bad because there is so much potential here. I would really love to see a remake. As far as recommending Amityville 2: The Possession? Absolutely, but you gotta get past the pathetic moments. Just laugh at them like I did and enjoy the ride.
Amityville 2 opens like a bulldozer in a glass house. The Montellis arrive at their new Ocean Avenue home, a place they will never forget. The mother and children enter the house while the dad (Burt Young) impatiently waits outside. His oldest boy Sonny (Jack Magner) quickly pulls into in the driveway where he quickly jumps out of the car wearing a three-foot smile. He begins to frolic about as he looks over their new demonic structure. Dad cuts in with “Where the hell were you? I thought you’d back up your mother. Sonny says, now with a two-foot smile “she knows the way.” Dad steps closer and says “Don’t be smart boy. You’re not too big for a whippin’” Sonny replies as he buries his head “Yeah, I know. You proved that to me.” Dad then smacks Sonny in the arm “OK, you’re pushing it. You’re right on the edge.” This is about the point when I said “oh, boy, here we go.” And we’re only three minutes in. The Dad mine as well had been wearing one of those “drunk on board” t-shirts. It really makes you miss the early eighties when child-abuse had a meaningful place in films of all types.
That same night, the whole family sits down at the dinner table to enjoy their first home cooked meal. The house is already unpacked mind you. As they are saying grace the entire room shakes just like a California earthquake. At the height of the event, a large oval mirror falls off the wall. The Dad immediately stands up screaming at Sonny. “God damn boy!” The whole family yells at the father to calm down and he replies with “Well, he hung it” blaming his son for not hanging the mirror correctly. He’s just itching for a reason to kick that boy’s ass. At this point I closed my eyes, slowed my breathing and begged for possession. Damn! I didn’t remember the film being this bad. But don’t fret. Things do get better.
What the film has going for itself right off the bat is the musical theme composed by Lalo Schifrin. And as I have said in the past, it is one of the creepiest themes ever to be written. The second ace in the hole is the baggage the Amityville House carries. Just the name of the house makes piss run down my leg. Even with these ridiculous moments the film is tolerable because within a few minutes we’ll inevitably cut to an exterior shot of the house showing those two creepy attic windows making everything OK again. I can see the editor cutting the film. “Shit! That scene really sucked! Where is that footage of the boathouse?”
One of the more interesting ideas brought to the table in this Amityville prequel is the secret room behind the wall in the basement closet. During one night in particular, on 112 Ocean Avenue we cut to blackness and then the secret door would open and we are in first person mode looking out into the basement. We travel into the cellar, up the stairs, then the next set of stairs. The whole time the camera technique gives the impression that we are floating like a ghost. Man, it’s giving me the creeps just thinking about it. This effect is used several times throughout the film and is very effective. I kept imagining I am the guy sleeping and this thing has crawled out of that grimy, dark pit to creep around the house and watch me as I slept. Hopefully it didn’t watch me yank the snake beforehand.
My favorite and scariest scene in Amityville 2: The Possession is when Sonny is having his birthday party. This is a few days after he fucks his sister by the way. He is across the room looking back at his family as they look upon him with exaggerated smiles, like they are on some new wave game show. Everything drops to silence. We hear a voice say “Look at them they’re pathetic. They’d be better off if you killed them. Don’t you think so?” OK, creepy! The contrast between the dialogue and the family smiling is truly unsettling. You just know that there are crazies out there who have these thoughts and some even act upon them. It makes me sick to my stomach actually. I can see killing your dog but wife and children is a place I won’t go.
Overall, Amityville Horror definitely has it problems when it comes to production quality. There are scenes that are down right laughable. Half the actors have their shit together like James Olson, Jack Magner and Diane Franklin while the other half left it at home, their shit that is. The special effects are a crapshoot too. I am telling you. The whole film is up and down. It’s as if they were playing musical chairs with the director. But one thing I will say, the film is scary. Much scarier then I thought is would be. It’s really too bad because there is so much potential here. I would really love to see a remake. As far as recommending Amityville 2: The Possession? Absolutely, but you gotta get past the pathetic moments. Just laugh at them like I did and enjoy the ride.
