The Amityville Horror (1979)

Review by John "Spooky Sully" Sullivan



When I was younger, I can remember walking through the local library and noticing a book with flies printed on the dust jacket. When I reached junior high, I saw it again and finally got up the nerve to read that particular book from cover to cover. It was "The Amityville Horror" by Jay Anson. Boasting " A True Story" on the front, the basic story was that one year after the brutal murder of an entire family, George Lutz, Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into the house left vacant from that violent aftermath. Twenty-eight days later they abandoned their new home in terror leaving everything behind claiming it was inhabited by demonic forces and this was an account of those 28 days. By the time of my reading, the movie had already become a world-wide box office hit starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger which I had caught on cable tv growing up. When I finally did read the book, I noticed as is with a lot of Hollywood's book-to-screen adaptations, that both versions varied to some degree in content. I believe it is these variations in the book and movie that have over the years tarnished the credibility of what actually happened. Well, that and the numerous movie sequels!
Over time, 1979's The Amityville Horror has been released on different formats such as laserdisc, VHS, and in 2000, we saw MGM's first version of The Amityville Horror on dvd. As this review is from the second "Amityville" dvd incarnation from MGM in 2005, it does fair better this time around in the special features department. In addition to the original theatrical trailer and radio spots from the previous version, it also debuts a documentary entitled "For God's Sake, Get Out!" featuring James Brolin and Margot Kidder who portrayed Long Island homeowners George and Kathy Lutz in the film and also includes audio commentary by one of the original Amityville Horror investigators, Dr. Hans Holzer. The insights from Brolin and Kidder are fine, but it would have been nice to also hear from the actors that played the children or maybe a set designer and discover what they were searching for when casting the most iconic role to fill - the house. As for the commentary, Holzer WAS one of the original investigators on the case however, as the featured voicover, it just doesn't fit. As interesting as the actual haunting is, behind-the-scenes stories from the movie set is what I feel we should have received from either the principal actors or from the filmmakers themselves and not just a review of the invstigation. Though with a 1:85:1 aspect ratio and 5.1 surround sound, if you are a fan of the movie or have never seen it, this is sure to be a great addition to your collection. And for all of you completists out there, it is worthy to note that in addition to the single disc version, it is also available in a nice boxed set edition that includes Amityville II: The Possession, Amityville 3-D and a bonus disc titled Amityville Confidential which includes two History Channel documentaries and a behind-the-scenes look at the 2005 theatrical remake (Personally, I would have liked to have seen the old In Search Of episode included as well!).
Through the years, many rumors have surfaced from "The story was greatly exaggerated" to "It was all a complete hoax". Whether it was real or not, only the Lutz family can say for sure. One thing I do know is that this movie scared the hell out of me as a kid and even today it still has all the bumps and shocks of a good old fashioned ghost story. It's the fear of unseen things and supernatural forces that still (I mean occasionally) makes me pull the covers over my head at night. To me, that's scarier than any psycho with a knife.