The following is a movie review “The Amityville Murders” by Marc Primo.
Release date: 28 November 2018
Director: Daniel Farrands
Language: English
Production companies: Skyline Entertainment, Cinetel Films, ETA Films, Green Light Pictures
Producers: Daniel Farrands, Eric Brenner, Lucas Jarach
The house of horrors that the Lutz family built is back after a string of rip-off films that had nothing to do with the original story invaded cinemas not long ago. In Daniel Farrand’s The Amityville Murders, we find ourselves not only back to the spooky house where Ronald DeFeo murdered his family, but also to the facts that surround that very heinous incident.
The film attempts to stay true to the original events as compared to the many sequels and knockoffs of the past. Ronnie Sr. (Paul Ben-Victor) wreaks havoc in the life of his son Butch (John Robinson), driving his wife Louise (Diane Franklin who also played the role of oldest daughter Patricia in Amityville II: The Possession) to the edge. The father’s rage towards his son ultimately comes to a murderous end as Butch allegedly becomes possessed by the devil, which pushed him to gun down the whole family in their sleep.
Farrand’s experience in chilling documentary-style films such as Never Sleep Again: The El Street Legacy and Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th helps in molding the chilling events portrayed in the film particularly Butch’s downward spiral into madness. The rest of the cast members’ performance go well with Robinson’s character making the film more of a magnet for true crime fans than what horror fans today are actually looking for.
Farrand’s approach proposes that Butch’s mental illness was the only reason that triggered the brutality and that there were no supernatural forces at work by applying visual hallucinations in presenting the supernatural. The Amityville Murders passes the average bar of horror with by a hair and is decent enough to keep anyone interested in the DeLeo murders. It’s an entertaining installment to the franchise, but somehow might just leave audiences more confused about the true events that transpired in the Amityville house more than ever.
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