The Amityville Horror (2005) Critic Reviews

The film is a terrific scare show, fast and furious, made with a lot of style and energy, packing plenty of jolts yet never lingering morbidly over horrific images. It is anchored in strong characterizations, and its plot develops with chilling psychological suspense. It's such a skillfully made entertainment that its plunge into the supernatural is persuasive even for the skeptical.Read the full review

I got exactly what I expected: Scared and tickled, within an inch of my life.Read the full review

The truly shocking thing about the new version is that it's not bloody awful.Read the full review

The remake simply replaces the laughably dated horror tropes of the 1979 version with a commercial-slick J-horror aesthetic that's sure to look just as silly to audiences in another 15 years.Read the full review

Begins slavishly faithful to its low-key 1970s predecessor then sledgehammers auds with a numbing succession of shock edits and over-the-top horror effects.Read the full review

Shorter and punchier but nearly as hokey as the original.Read the full review

Low-key creepy rather than outright scary, the new Amityville marks a modest improvement over the original, partly because, from acting to bloody effects, it is better executed.Read the full review

The Amityville Horror fails as a movie, but, if you are searching for are a few good scares, you'll find them here.Read the full review

Extraordinarily faithful to the spirit of that creaky, derivative, fly-infested, don't-go-in-the-attic boofest.Read the full review