The original Amityville Horror from 1979 is regarded by some as a classic, but in most ways, the 2005 remake starring Ryan Reynolds is superior. Based on the allegedly true story of the Lutz family, The Amityville Horror was first a book by author Jay Anson, which was then adapted into a movie. James Brolin and Margot Kidder starred as parents George and Kathy Lutz, whose family moves into a house where gruesome murders previously occurred, only to be confronted by a demonic presence that terrorizes them and slowly drives George mad.

The Amityville Horror was an enormous hit at the box office, hauling in $86 million on a budget of only $4 million. Critics weren't very kind, but that didn't stop The Amityville Horror from becoming a phenomenon, spawning a stack of loosely related sequels, and earning a reputation as a horror classic. As with most popular horror titles from the past, The Amityville Horror eventually got remade in 2005, starring a pre-Deadpool Ryan Reynolds as George Lutz and Melissa George as Kathy.

Reception to the remake was mixed, and it's today largely forgotten, even though it only came out 14 years ago. No one is likely to argue that The Amityville Horror 2005 is a great film, but when measured up against the 1979 original, it manages to do most things better.

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR 1979 ISN'T AS GOOD AS ITS REPUTATION



When people speak of classic haunted house or demon-based horror, lots are likely to bring up The Amityville Horror. Its reputation as a horror touchstone precedes it, but when not viewed through that nostalgic lens, it's really not very good. For starters, James Brolin overacts to a ridiculous degree, especially in a famous scene where he yells to himself "Oh mother of god, I'm coming apart!". Kidder doesn't fare much better, and Rod Steiger also chews the scenery as a helpful priest. Outside of the acting department, the special effects are mostly laughable, especially the glowing red eyes of young Amy's "imaginary friend" Jody. To top things off, at nearly 2 hours in length, The Amityville Horror drags to a high degree, and is more likely to induce boredom than fear. The film does admittedly have a few good scenes, but that's not enough to save the enterprise as a whole.

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR REMAKE IS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL



The most readily noticeable improvement made for The Amityville Horror's 2005 remake is the acting from the two leads. Reynolds and George play the situation much more straight overall, and avoid excessive overacting. At the same time, when it's time for Reynolds to be menacing, he does it with relish, creating a character much more intimidating than Brolin's George Lutz. The remake as a whole is also much scarier, and while some of that is due to embellishments made to the Lutzs' true story, this is a horror movie, and if dramatic license makes things scarier and creepier, why not do it? The special effects during the scare scenes also benefit well from modern technology, and at a lean, mean 89 minutes, the remake flies by, with none of the boring parts from the older film. Without a doubt, the Ryan Reynolds Amityville Horror remake is better than the 1979 original.