The Amityville Horror (2005) - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

“Remakes don’t kill people… people kill remakes.”

There is a downside to franchise notoriety. While some studios might look at an established I.P. like Halloween, Friday the 13th, or The Exorcist and think it’s a worthwhile venture to give it a reboot, other franchises don’t need that attention. Before Blumhouse started squeezing horror franchises dry, Platinum Dunes was responsible for a number of questionable 2000s-era revisits. After their surprise hit remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they decided to give Jay Anson’s story of the Lutz family’s terrifying tale a new spin with 2005’s The Amityville Horror. 

We all know the story of the Lutz family and their purchase of the infamous DeFeo murder home for a rock-bottom price - there’s little point in rehashing this story again. It was a fun summer horror novel that became a fairly decent horror film in 1979 starring Margot Kidder and James Brolin. Flash forward 26 years; swap Brolin for Ryan Reynolds and Kidder for Melissa George with 100% less believability as struggling 1970s parents and you have this new movie. The only problem is it lacks any of the novel or original film’s understanding of how to build any kind of suspense. It’s all smash cut, loud noise, and wiz-bang special effects blasted at the audience passing as horror. 

As his first feature film, Andrew Douglas lacks any finesse or subtlety with this production. From minute one, it’s a very loud, very busy, and very cliched 90 minutes of ghostly horror. Too much talking? Well lets throw in a jump scare we’ve seen from any number of haunting and J-horror films from the late 90s onward. That scare sucked? Well, let's crank up Steve Jablonsky’s overwrought score to 11. None of that’s working? Let’s let Ryan Reynolds take off his shirt again…and again… and one more time for good measure because it worked so well in Blade Trinity. 

I guess the reason I revisit this movie would qualify as “hate-watching” but I have to admit to being absolutely amused by it. It’s entertaining as all get out, albeit not as a true blood-and-guts horror film. It's best as a drinking game or as a friend told me "something to watch after dropping an edible." There's no build to this film. We get a mere few minutes to meet the new version of the Lutz family before Ryan Reynolds goes full Jack Nicholson in The Shinning. We know he's going to go crazy long before anything remotely scary happens. 

As much as I do enjoy the original first film and have read Jay Anson’s novel many times, I don’t hold either in high regard for quality. They’re pretty mediocre and really only famous for the media circus that surrounded the Lutz family and their brief tenure owning the famous Dutch Colonial at 112 Ocean Avenue in the Amityville neighborhood of Long Island, New York. I think the story is a fascinating look at media and how through news coverage, novels, films, and celebrity hangers-on like Ed and Lorraine Warren this story endures. I personally believe the story is a load of fresh-dropped horse apples, but I’ve met people who are ardent true believers. They are the ones that actually scare me, not this remake or any other in the franchise for that matter. I thought a remake approached through the lens of media circus fallout would have been much more interesting instead of an A to Z replay with a lot of extra nonsense thrown in. 

No, this film is not scary. It's actually kinda funny. This was a missed opportunity to take a sprawling franchise that long ago drifted into direct-to-video schlock and take it back to its roots. Instead of a slow-burn suspenseful building of terror and dread like The Conjuring, the film is just noise for scares. As Ryan Reynolds goes full Shinning Jack Torrence, by the last act it has all become one unintentionally hilarious setpiece after another. And I guess that’s fitting for what this franchise has become. Just search “Amityville” in IMDB and you’ll see the full range of nonsense mockbusters that have spawned from the depths. 

For another take, here's Mr. Duarte's The Amityville Horror (2005) Blu-ray Review

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Because we all asked for it (I didn't, but someone must have) - Scream Factory unleashes 2005’s The Amityville Horror to 4K as a two-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray Collector’s Edition. The 4K is pressed on a Region Free BD-66 disc with a Region A BD-50 serving up the 1080p and the bulk of the bonus features. Both discs are housed in a standard two-disc black case with identical slipcover artwork. Each disc loads to an animated main menu with standard navigation options. 

This movie may be pretty lousy for the scares, but visually it treats horror hounds to some delicious 2160p Dolby Vision Candy. Some of the heavier CGI effects pieces might by a bit soft, some of the ghostly Jodi effects can look a little dated, but overall it’s a slick picture. Reportedly sourced from a "4K scan of the DI Film Negative" (not quite sure how that works, but I’ll go with it), the image displays some lovely fine details. Reynolds’ beard, the recreation ‘70s pastiche clothes and furnishings are impressive. Textures enjoy a marked improvement over the old Blu-ray with a nice cinematic veneer of film grain. The Dolby Vision grade works wonders for the darker scenes with deep inky blacks and ominous shadows giving this transfer a much better sense of three-dimensional depth. Whites are brilliantly crips without blooming. Primaries have a lovely natural pop to them without appearing over-saturated. Reds are a nice deep crimson - especially for all of the bloody bits. Skin tones look natural and human without being overly pinked or peached. This probably isn’t the first film folks would want to upgrade for, but it does make for a worthwhile 4K presentation.

On the audio side Scream Factory packs this disc with a thunderous DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix partnered with a solid DTS-HD MA 2.0 track. Now if you’re set up with a full-throated sound system or even a high-quality sound bar, the 5.1 track is the best way to roll. The 2.0 does a decent job, I rewatched most of the third act with the 2.0 going and was surprised to see it hold up, but it just doesn’t quite have the same impact. And speaking of that 5.1 mix, this track has the same vibe and feel of the 2010 Blu-ray. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily but there’s very little sonic subtlety in this show. It’s a lot of noise blasting through all channels to compensate for lacking scares. But, just the same, the dialog sounds just right, key audio effects come in crisp and clear, and the Jablonsky score may be a bit of a lot too much, but it’s stylish moody atmospheric material. I actually enjoy listing to this score on its own, so it's kind of a shame we don't have an isolated score track with this disc. 

On the bonus features angle, the archival extras return with a new featurette offering interviews with director Andrew Douglas and Steve Jablonsky. At 44 minutes, the new material is a nice little retrospective with the director discussing his career, how he came into the project, and making the film. Which is often more than what we get for a film like this one, so kudos to Scream for adding something new to the soup. 

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentary featuring Ryan Reynolds, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentary featuring Ryan Reynolds, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller
• Houses Don’t Kill People - Revisiting The Amityville Horror (HD 44:36)
• Deleted Scenes (SD 7:42)
• Deleted Scenes with Commentary featuring Ryan Reynolds, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller 
• The Source of Evil - Making The Amityville Horror (SD 26:28)
• On Set Peeks (SD 21:12)
• Home Movies (SD 3:46)
• Scare Reel (SD 1:46)
• Theatrical Trailer 

A case certainly could be made that The Amityville Horror is ripe material worthy of a remake. The franchise was already so convoluted that it made some sense to go back to the beginning and make something old look brand new. Unfortunately, this 2005 outing didn’t work out. While it was a box office smash helping feed the glut of 2000s horror remakes, it was a flop with critics and fans. The key problem is it's so overworked that it ends up passing as more of a comedy than a full-blooded horror film. As it’d turn out, the best Amityville Horror remake would end up being 2013’s The Conjuring from James Wan. 

Questionable standing as a horror remake aside, Scream Factory proves the film is a strong candidate for a 4K upgrade. The Dolby Vision transfer is visually creepy stuff serving to the best aspects of the film’s teal-blasted imagery. Audio doesn’t see an upgrade, but the 5.1 track still rolls and the collection of new and archival extras is certainly worth picking through. Hardly my favorite, but I admit I enjoy watching it from time to time. As such, 2005’s The Amityville Horror on 4K is at least Worth A Look