After watching My Amityville Horror yesterday I decided not to review it. Instead I wrote a short comment on Letterboxd and could leave the subject without any worries that I didn't spread my opinion, something I imagine everyone probably think is very important. My opinion. No, just kidding. But that comment wasn't enough. I had to write something more.
I'm living in an interesting relationship. My partner is the open-minded person in the household, maybe you can say he's a seeker. Me, on the other hand, really don't believe in anything. Not god, not UFO, no ghosts, nada Bigfoots etc. But still it's me who watches all these documentaries about the supernatural, read the books and and does research just for fun. I'm pretty sure I'm not a closeted believer, I'm just very curious on stuff that's outside the respected science.
"So, what do you think?" he asked me after we've watched My Amityville Horror. "Well... I think he actually believes in what he tells us, but I think it's imagination, it's the amazing mind that creates memories that's not there, and with parents encouraging him to believe in everything he's just created his own memories of what happen in that famous house". My partner didn't really agree with him, and the silence fell over the living room.
My Amityville Horror tells the story about the famous hauntings from the oldest son's angle, Daniel Lutz. He was just a teen when the shit hit the fan and has forever been branded, both by himself the public, as "that Amityville kid". He's nowadays a complex man, probably with some kind of disorded, but still lives a good life, steady job, two children. This is the first time he talks about it, and he's very confident in his storytelling. What's really interesting is how he describes George Lutz, his stepfather, and their relationship - something that I think shaped his personality more than the alleged hauntings. It's not fun to listen to and it's easy to see that Daniel trusts very few people. In one moment he's getting angry at the filmmaker, who asks him if he would like to take a lie detector test. Everything is kept in the film.
I love how the filmmakers also seek up several of the people involved in the case, including two journalists, a couple of paranormal investigators - including the infamous Lorraine Warren (spoofed very funny in Amityville 3D). She and her husband Ed was the closest to have experienced something in the house (you might have seen the famous demon-boy photo). Lorraine is very old, slightly confused and when she pulls out what she claims is fragments from the cross that Jesus hanged on it goes wild. Really wild. What surprises me here is Daniel's reaction to that. But I'm not gonna tell you.
My Amityville Horror is an excellent documentary, more about the persona of Daniel Lutz than the actually haunting. He, if anyone, is a haunted person - from the memories of his absusive stepfather, which make the tragedy so much bigger.
There's a reason why The Amityville Horror always comes back in popular culture, in books and documentaries. It's one of those timeless, complex stories that always opens up to something new. From the Lutz family to the DeFeo family before them. It's not just ghosts that scares us in this story, it's the humans.
"My Amityville Horror tells the story about the famous hauntings from the oldest son's angle, Daniel Lutz."
The problem is that I only seen the bland remake of this story....The Amityville Horror(2005).
"What's really interesting is how he describes George Lutz, his stepfather, and their relationship - something that I think shaped his personality more than the alleged hauntings."
A dysfunctional family...?
I didn´t know that, that might explain some things.
"Lorraine is very old, slightly confused and when she pulls out what she claims is fragments from the cross that Jesus hanged on it goes wild. Really wild."
Well, tall tales by a wild woman....
"My Amityville Horror is an excellent documentary, more about the persona of Daniel Lutz than the actually haunting. He, if anyone, is a haunted person - from the memories of his absusive stepfather, which make the tragedy so much bigger."
Never heard about this one, but it does sound interesting.
Good review and thanks.
Posted by: Megatron | April 12, 2013 at 15:31
I think the 1979 version is very bland and boring also. The best one in the whole franchise is Amityville 2. That's a disturbing, dark film.
Posted by: Fred Anderson | April 12, 2013 at 16:56
Fred:
Really...?
Ok.....well....need to see both of those films, thanks Fred.
Posted by: Megatron | April 12, 2013 at 17:23