Whether or not the events Stuart Rosenberg's The Amityville Horror is based on are true is irrelevant. What matters is that for several years much of America thought that it was true. Therefore Rosenberg was able to indulge in many seemingly superfluous details and characters that in hindsight only serve to drag the film down. To viewers in the 70's, Father Delaney's experiences might have seemed like vital information. However, by the time the third act comes along, Delaney has far out-stayed his welcome (despite the fact that the scene where he gets into a shouting match with Church officials is one of the best in the film). While individual moments are certainly chilling, the film loses much of its tension by insisting on portraying the events of the possession within the historically accurate time-frame. By the time 20 or so days have gone by and the supernatural manifestations have become overtly violent, we begin to lose sympathy with the family for not leaving the house. It reminds me of another great horror film that centered on an average, middle class family besieged by a possessed house: Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982). But whereas the family in that film had a reason to stay in the house (their daughter had been sucked into an alternate dimension), The Amityville Horror gives no plausible explanation for why the Lutzes stay at 112 Ocean Avenue. I know that they were trying to be historically accurate, but in a film that relies on jump scares like the glowing eyes outside of the little girl's window, you can't break the pace with huge gaps in the timeline. But there is still much about The Amityville Horror to love: the sets, the acting, and the impeccable atmosphere up until the third act.
6/10
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