Amityville 2 - the Posession [DVD]

Apparently, the makeup artists for this picture were told to just go crazy. For the most part, the special effects are very good, although the extent of physical transformations we witness in Sonny are probably somewhat excessive. This only becomes problematic toward the exorcism scenes at the end. The music is also an important and effective part of this movie experience, although at times it reminded me of Star Trek music.

Much has been made of the incest storyline, but I feel it is important to note that there is no graphic exploitation of this controversial theme. In fact, that aspect of the movie makes the tragedy all the more dramatic and compelling. The key to this movie’s winning me over was the concentration on family issues; to call this family dysfunctional is perhaps an understatement. The gore is there at times, but it is not the focus of the storyline—if anything, it takes away from rather than adds to the impact of the film on the viewer. It is also unfortunate but perfectly understandable that this film is compared so closely to The Exorcist. Certainly, the latter parts of the movie are weaker than the first half, and it is pretty obvious that the whole exorcism storyline reflected an attempt by the filmmakers to somewhat selfishly usurp the notoriety of The Exorcist. There are, however, many differences between this film and The Exorcist, and taken on its own merits I found the relevant scenes powerful and effective. I agree that the movie goes downhill somewhat after the pivotal murders actually take place, but I can honestly say that the first hour of this movie represents some of the most creepiest, spine-tingling moments in the annals of cinematic horror.

The film portrays TRUE events that happened in a real town called Amityville, Long Island NY in 1975.

"In a middle class, sleepy little town, a boy named Ronald Defeo, 'out of the blue', shoots to death all 6 members of his entire family in their sleep. The house is only a couple of meters away from the houses next door, and yet no shots were heard. The gun used was a high-powered rifle! The boy is arrested and sentenced to life. End of story.

Until, 1 year later the Lutz family moves into the house (the man uncannily looks very much like the murderer), only to move out 28 days later claiming that the house is (demonically) haunted.

The Lutz's story became worldwide news, and completely overshadowed the DeFeo story. The Lutz's wrote a book called 'The Amityville Horror' about their ordeal, then a film was made, based on the book, also called 'The Amityville Horror'."

This is a sequel to the Lutz's 'The Amityville Horror', but actually tells the story the Defeo's.

The movie offers a different perspective from the conventional facts. In the movie, shortly after the family moves in, subtle supernatural things start to happen. This, though, leads the father to turn violent, and domestic troubly start. A priest is asked to bless the house, but when he comes he soon wishes that he hadn't. One dark night the eldest boy, when in The house all alone, is violently possessed by something very evil. Over a period of time the boys attitude and appearance start to change for the worse, he then has incest with his sister, and finally he murders his entire family.

The cinematography in this film is in a class of it's own. A true feat that has set the standards, which no other horror film has managed; (with the exception of the original, 'The Amityville Horror', and 'The Exorcist'). The movie is well made in every respect and the acting in outstanding.

The house itself, that the movie was filmed in, is enough to give you creeps. It's the second most spookiest house I've seen; the original house is The spookiest.

The achievement is the atmosphere and vibe that this movie manages to produce- something uncannily REAL...

Nuff said. Watch it!

p.s Don't listen to any bad reviews you might hear about it.