Synopsis
The prequel/sequel to the successful (and hotly debated) "The Amityville Horror" gives us a fictionalized account of the Ronald DeFeo murders that occurred at 112 Ocean Avenue in November of 1974.
Hot-headed family man Anthony Montelli (Young) moves his family out to Long Island where a demonic entity begins to tear his already unstable family apart. When his eldest son (Wagner) becomes a vessel for the evil presence it sets off a chain of events that would forever scar the Amityville community and sell a ungodly amount of books and movie tickets.
Technical
Producer Dino De Laurentiis brought in fellow Italian and unknown director Damiano Damiani and by keeping with the tried and true Italiano tradition further amped up the rip-off nature of the production by adding an "Exorcist" component complete with a dramatic final exorcism. Carpenter understudy Tommy Lee Wallace provides a decent but unremarkable script that gives you the gist of the DeFeo murders but with an "Exorcist" twist. Composer Lalo Schifrin returns from the original to once again score the festivities with a bit of creepiness.
Opinion Regardless of your stance on the whole "Amityville" brouhaha I enjoyed "Amityville 2" for what it was. There was an interesting camera flourish every so often and even though the final act was ripped straight from "The Exorcist" it still managed to be entertaining. Yeah there's a bit of unintentional humor and a rather creepy incestuous plot line but a good time was had.
Summary Take "The Amityville Horror" add a heaping helping of "The Exorcist" then sprinkle in a little Italian seasoning and you have a decent follow-up in a series with more ups and downs than a steamy car on lovers lane.
The prequel/sequel to the successful (and hotly debated) "The Amityville Horror" gives us a fictionalized account of the Ronald DeFeo murders that occurred at 112 Ocean Avenue in November of 1974.
Hot-headed family man Anthony Montelli (Young) moves his family out to Long Island where a demonic entity begins to tear his already unstable family apart. When his eldest son (Wagner) becomes a vessel for the evil presence it sets off a chain of events that would forever scar the Amityville community and sell a ungodly amount of books and movie tickets.
Technical
Producer Dino De Laurentiis brought in fellow Italian and unknown director Damiano Damiani and by keeping with the tried and true Italiano tradition further amped up the rip-off nature of the production by adding an "Exorcist" component complete with a dramatic final exorcism. Carpenter understudy Tommy Lee Wallace provides a decent but unremarkable script that gives you the gist of the DeFeo murders but with an "Exorcist" twist. Composer Lalo Schifrin returns from the original to once again score the festivities with a bit of creepiness.
Opinion Regardless of your stance on the whole "Amityville" brouhaha I enjoyed "Amityville 2" for what it was. There was an interesting camera flourish every so often and even though the final act was ripped straight from "The Exorcist" it still managed to be entertaining. Yeah there's a bit of unintentional humor and a rather creepy incestuous plot line but a good time was had.
Summary Take "The Amityville Horror" add a heaping helping of "The Exorcist" then sprinkle in a little Italian seasoning and you have a decent follow-up in a series with more ups and downs than a steamy car on lovers lane.