This weekend, I watched “The Amityville Horror (2005).” I really enjoyed this movie; let me tell you about it.

The Movie Plot:

The movie is about a stepdad, George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds), his wife Kathy Lutz (Melissa George), and his three stepkids, Billy, Michael, and Chelsea Lutz. Kathy decides it’s time to pack up and move. She found an ad in the paper for a nice house that seemed way out of their budget, but it was just in their range. George and Kathy agree to buy the house, and they move the whole family in. On the first day already, George was starting to feel strange. He was seeing things, hearing things, and was under the weather. His condition progressively gets worse over 28 days, threatening the kids, calling his wife names, and even killing the dog. On the 28th day, he discovers what’s in the basement (which is where he has been living for most of the movie), and at the same time, Kathy discovers what is in the basement by going to the library and reading about the house. She rushed home to find George has already built a coffin for every single person in the house, and a chase ensues. The kids do their best to help their mom fight this crazy man off by pushing him off the roof George followed them onto. This hardly stops him, and Kathy has to knock him out, tie him up, and put him in the boat to get away from the house so George would go back to normal, which he did.

My Thoughts:

While I believe this all could have been avoided if they had done a quick background check on the house, I think the movie is actually really good. I found myself wondering, Why wouldn’t she just leave him as soon as he called her family wackos? then I remember this takes place over 28 days, and she has no idea how bad it really is. I think that the movie can be predictable, but at the same time there is a great twist. I love the out of pocket-ness of George. I think his character arch, going from the loving, caring “dad who stepped up” kind of vibe to these kids are demons, and I have to kill them. I like how the movie doesn’t have too many jump scares; I feel like they gradually get less and less as the movie goes on until it eventually relies on the unsettling character George is. I definitely feel like it was a smart idea to get George away from the house because it was the house that made him do those things.

In summary:

I think this movie is really good, and although it was exaggerated a lot from the real story, it was still very entertaining, and I would definitely watch it again. If you enjoy Ryan Reynolds and scary movies, I would definitely watch this.