{"id":37148,"date":"2016-09-07T09:50:37","date_gmt":"2016-09-07T16:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37148"},"modified":"2021-01-10T01:30:44","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T08:30:44","slug":"amityville-horror-the-1979","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37148","title":{"rendered":"Amityville Horror, The (1979)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;m telling you there was a presence in that house!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Horror-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Horror-Poster-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-37150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Horror-Poster-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Horror-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Horror-Poster.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA recently married couple (Margot Kidder and James Brolin) move with Kidder&#8217;s three kids (Natasha Ryan, K.C. Martel, and Meeno Peluce) into a house tainted by the murders of its last inhabitants at the hands of their own son. A priest (Rod Steiger) attempting to &#8216;purify&#8217; the house begins experiencing mysterious symptoms, while Brolin becomes increasingly obsessed by chopping wood; the family&#8217;s dog barks incessantly at the basement; and Ryan develops an invisible imaginary friend who tells her about the house&#8217;s past.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Horror Films<\/li>\n<li>Margot Kidder Films<\/li>\n<li>Possession<\/li>\n<li>Priests and Ministers<\/li>\n<li>Rod Steiger Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Amityville_Horror\">Jay Anson&#8217;s &#8216;fact&#8217;-based book<\/a> isn&#8217;t nearly as &#8216;convincing&#8217; or as much fun&#8221;. He notes that while the &#8220;two leads try hard, [the] material becomes increasingly stupid&#8221;, and that the &#8220;filmmakers were hampered by [the] fact that nothing really terrible happened to the Lutzes during their tenure&#8221;. Indeed, while there&#8217;s atmosphere to spare, the storyline is painfully slow, and neither Kidder (wearing kid-like piggy tails) nor Brolin (menacingly one-note) is particularly sympathetic. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Brolin.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Brolin.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"852\" height=\"482\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-62708\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Brolin.png 852w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Brolin-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Brolin-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Brolin-768x434.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Brolin-477x270.png 477w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peary rags on Rod Steiger for giving &#8220;what may be the worst performance in horror-movie history&#8221;, arguing that he&#8217;s &#8220;<em>incredibly<\/em> awful&#8221;, but I can&#8217;t agree; I think Steiger&#8217;s sincere performance is simply misplaced in a film that asks him to become hysterical without good enough cause. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Steiger.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Steiger.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"852\" height=\"482\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-62707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Steiger.png 852w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Steiger-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Steiger-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Steiger-768x434.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amityville-Steiger-477x270.png 477w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Several sequels followed, and the film was remade in 2005, though I haven&#8217;t seen that version. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Effectively atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"852\" height=\"482\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography.png 852w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography-768x434.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"852\" height=\"482\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography2.png 852w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography2-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Amityville-Cinematography2-768x434.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lalo Schifrin&#8217;s score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; skip this one unless you&#8217;re curious. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0078767\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aycyas.com\/amityville79.htm\">And You Call Yourself a Scientist Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1979\/07\/27\/archives\/film-devils-legacy-in-amityville-horrora-family-in-peril.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/index.php?page=review&#038;id=53\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moria.co.nz\/horror\/amityville-horror-1979.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fantasticmoviemusings.com\/2017\/06\/05\/the-amityville-horror-1979\/\">SciFilm Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m telling you there was a presence in that house!&#8221; Synopsis: A recently married couple (Margot Kidder and James Brolin) move with Kidder&#8217;s three kids (Natasha Ryan, K.C. Martel, and Meeno Peluce) into a house tainted by the murders of its last inhabitants at the hands of their own son. A priest (Rod Steiger) attempting to &#8216;purify&#8217; the house begins experiencing mysterious symptoms, while Brolin becomes increasingly obsessed by chopping wood; the family&#8217;s dog barks incessantly at the basement; and&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37148\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37148"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62709,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37148\/revisions\/62709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}