Film #49: The Amityville Horror (1979)

Plot - Josh Brolin's dad and John Heard's ex-wife move into a haunted house. The house begins to drive them to the brink of madness and generally just ruin their day.

Form - Not really anything good, although the final escape and the babysitter locked in the closet scenes are pretty striking.

F/X - Mostly relegated to the end, where the house starts bleeding and everything.

Acting - James Brolin and Margot Kidder make everything more believable than your average horror film.

Mise en scene - The house!!! I love all the shots where the front windows of the house are flashing over and over.

Quotables - My personal favorite is the scene where the priest mentions he's a psychologist, to which his superior chastises him for mentioning his "secular education".

Cool stuff - A lot of the occurrences, much like the book, are menial at best. Losing your money, babysitter being locked in closet, these portions aren't nearly as crazy as coming at your kids with an ax or falling into a hole filled with green sludge. Gives the film some character.

5.5/7

(I really don't like this film THAT much, so I'm surprised it scored so high)