The Amityville Horror

Story

Based on a bestselling, allegedly nonfiction book about haunted goings-on in a Long Island house (The Amityville Horror Conspiracy), this rather cheesy horror movie is more silly than unsettling. James Brolin and Margot Kidder star as newlyweds who move into the empty home and are gradually affected by the legacy of a murder committed on the premises. Rod Steiger is a priest who can tell what's up and gets dispatched in a rather ugly way. Director Stuart Rosenberg can't lift the action above a certain level of tawdriness, and the audience ends up watching the horror from a distance instead of feeling involved. In the wake of The Exorcist, this 1979 spooker seemed like a no-brainer knockoff--and still does. --Tom Keogh

DVD Features

• Audio Commentary
  
• Walk through tour of the set house
  
• Recreating The DeFeo Murders
  
• The Source Of Evil Making-Of Featurette

Movie Details

Cast:

James Brolin
Rod Steiger
Margot Kidder
Helen Shaver
Don Stroud
Murray Hamilton
Michael Sacks

MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 117 min
DVD Aspect Ratios: 1.85:1

International rating:

Europe: 15
Australia: M

DVD International release dates:
North America: Jul 17, 01
Europe: Oct 22, 01

VHS International release dates:
North America: Nov 6, 95
Europe: Sep 17, 01