The Amityville Horror

Not only following the current trend of classic horror remakes, The Amityville Horror is also a film of transparent artistic liberation. Hardly surprising for a movie that totes itself as truth yet features ghosts and ghouls. Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, the debut of director Andrew Douglas presents the story of a house possessed by evil forces. The truth behind the tale is actually Ronald DeFeo murdering his family within the house. A few years later a new family moves in only to flee after living there for just 28 days. The rest of what you see here is purely entertainment, including an unfortunate historic storyline attempting to explain the "real" origin of the haunting. Sometimes a haunted house should just be haunted, no questions asked. The extras offered on this special edition are standard, with a photo gallery here and some commentary there. Some deleted scenes are included and they actually help develop the characters in a more believable fashion. Too bad they weren't included in the actual movie. There are also two short documentaries on hand. "Supernatural Homicide" is a manipulative piece using this film's footage to sensationalise the real life murders. While the opinions offered from people involved with the house during the 1970s are intriguing, this feature is really a marketing tool that profits off the DeFeo family's deaths. The "making of" short, on the other hand, is surprisingly interesting, although it dwells too much on only a few specific scenes. Despite the R-rating, this movie lies more in the realm of suspense/thriller than horror. While fans of the original and followers of the true-life story will find a lot to complain about, this is still one of the better remakes out there. If you are looking for a few good scares, this is definitely a good place to start. (Sony)