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"THE AMITYVILLE HORROR" (2005) (Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Extreme Extreme *Extreme Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Heavy Extreme None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Heavy Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror: After moving into a house where a man killed his entire family and blamed it on voices there that ordered him to do it, a family must deal with various supernatural occurrences as well as the father slowly becoming deranged and ever more dangerous. PLOT: George (RYAN REYNOLDS) and Kathy Lutz (MELISSA GEORGE) have always dreamed of owning a big house. Currently residing in a small apartment with her three kids -- 12-year-old Billy (JESSE JAMES) and his younger siblings Michael (JIMMY BENNETT) and Chelsea (CHLOE GRACE MORETZ) -- they're cramped for space and a huge fixer-upper they've found seems like a steal. The only catch is that the year before, a deranged man -- allegedly driven crazy by voices in the house -- murdered his entire family there. With George, a contractor, stating that houses don't kill people, but other people do, the couple buy and move into the place, but don't tell their about its sordid past. It's not long, however, before all sorts of odd things begin occurring, including young Isabel interacting with Jodie (ISABEL CONNER), the young ghost of one of the past murder victims. And George -- who's drawn to the house's unfinished basement -- becomes increasingly irritated, especially toward his step-kids and their pet dog. As things become more intense and the supernatural occurrences start increasing -- including toward a babysitter, Lisa (RACHEL NICHOLS), who informs the kids about the previous murders -- Kathy eventually goes to the local church in search of help. Yet, upon visiting the house, Father Callaway (PHILIP BAKER HALL) gets an unwelcome reception and flees, never to return. From that point on, and with George progressively becoming more deranged and dangerous, Kathy must decide what to do to protect herself and her family from their haunted house. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into horror films, it's a good bet they will, particularly if they're also a fan of someone in the cast. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For violence, disturbing images, language, brief sexuality and drug use. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: RYAN REYNOLDS plays a contractor who reluctantly agrees to buy the house and then becomes increasingly affected by whatever evil lurks inside it. He becomes progressively deranged to the point of trying to harm his family, and uses strong profanity. MELISSA GEORGE plays his wife who's happy to move into the new house until he goes off the deep end and becomes ever more dangerous toward her and her kids. She uses some strong profanity. JESSE JAMES plays her 12-year-old son who has yet to accept George as his new dad and thus bears the brunt of his increasing deranged state. CHLOE GRACE MORETZ plays his younger sister who befriends a ghost in the house that makes Chelsea do some dangerous things, such as walk along the peak of the roof. JIMMY BENNETT plays her young brother who's spooked by the house. RACHEL NICHOLS plays the teenage or young twenty-something babysitter who smokes pot, uses strong profanity, and spills the beans to the kids about the house's deadly past. PHILIP BAKER HALL plays the local priest called upon to bless the home. ISABEL CONNER plays the vindictive ghost of a girl who was previously murdered in the house. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a quick look at the content found in this R-rated horror film. Profanity consists of at least 7 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some non-explicit, sexually related dialogue is present, as is a sex scene featuring slight movement and glimpses of partial female nudity. A chiseled man is seen in low-riding pajama bottoms, while a young woman is seen in revealing attire. Violence consists of flash images of a man shooting and killing his entire family, and another man's attempts at killing his family. Various scenes featuring that material have bloody results, while some supernaturally based violence is also present. Those scenes, various haunted house type moments and visuals (including that of dead and bloody figures/ghosts), other moments of peril and various jump scenes may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Various degrees of bad attitudes are present, most notably that of a deranged man (under supernatural influence) progressively becoming more irritated with his family to the point of trying to kill them (all leading to increasingly tense family levels). A young woman briefly smokes pot, a drug-related comment is made and a couple has wine with dinner. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, some scenes set during thunderstorms have bright flashes of light (the first one has near strobe-like effects). For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some jumpy camerawork toward the end of the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE George and Kathy have wine in a restaurant. She playfully asks if he's trying to get her drunk, prompting him to state, "That's the appeal of marriage...you don't have to." We see the babysitter smoking pot from a bong in a bathroom. When Billy knocks on the door with some popcorn, she says, "Kid, you read my mind." George visits a doctor to see if something's wrong with him, with the doc asking if he uses narcotics. George says he doesn't, but that after this past week, he's giving them a second thought. BLOOD/GORE As a man kills his family by shooting them one by one with a shotgun, we see brief images of bloodshed (on the bodies as well as on walls, etc.). We also see still images of related material and then more flash images of the bloody killings. We see several views of Jodie's ghost whose face is bloody. Michael has to pee, holds his hands over his crotch and then urinates in the toilet (we hear the sound, but only see him standing there with his back to the camera). We see a bloody ghost behind Michael (with blood pouring out of her mouth). George hears noises, goes to investigate, opens a door and sees himself standing there, holding a shotgun. We then hear the shot fire and see blood splatter onto a wall (George then wakes up from his nightmare). We see flash and still images of the original murders and related blood (some in black and white). We see some blood trickle down a closet's light bulb. We then see Jodie's ghost standing there and she takes a babysitter's finger and places it deep inside the large bullet hole wound in her (Jodie's) head. The sitter panics and tries to claw her way out of the closet, resulting in bloodying her own hands along with the wall/door. George sees blood running down a trench in the floor and then spots a body where the skin has been cut open (with bloody/gory views). He then lifts the head and sees that it's himself, with a bloody face. We see George vomiting in the toilet. Later, we see him vomiting from his bed to the floor. George lies down in a filled bathtub when hands pop up from the water and pull him down. He struggles to stay above the surface, with the hands seeming to tear open some of his skin (very briefly seen). As George watches a home movie projected on the wall, an image of Billy suddenly but briefly turns monstrous (with a decomposed facial look). George re-racks the film and sees the same image before the film burns up. George strikes the family dog with an ax and we see its blood splatter onto the wall as George repeatedly strikes it. We don't see the impact, but we do see a brief shot of the dead and bloody dog. George tears open a basement wall, getting some sort of goo on his hands (and we then see maggots all over the other side of the wall). George makes his way into an unseen part of the basement where he's either imagining everything or seeing ghosts of various Indians who were tortured and killed there centuries ago. Most are bloody and we even see one strung up via hooks in the flesh of his chest. He then finds a missionary standing before him (facing away) and the figure cuts his own throat, spraying blood onto George until he's completely covered in it. Billy's face suddenly looks decomposed to George. George has some blood on his head after being struck there. We see various flash images of the previous murders in the house (with bloody results). We see Jodie's ghost that has dead looking skin (with veins showing) with a gunshot wound in her forehead. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Billy is in a perpetually bad mood, especially toward George who he doesn't see as his (new) dad. George initially becomes moody (under the influence of evil in the house) and then becomes bitter, angry and irritated toward Kathy and her kids. That eventually leads to him trying to kill them. After George tells Billy, "Get to work, buddy," Billy mocking repeats that back to him. The teen/early twenty-something babysitter shows up wearing a small halter top that shows a lot of cleavage and all of her bare belly. Later, she lounges about on Billy's bed (in some provocative poses) and asks him if he's ever French kissed (nothing else happens as she then tells him the history of the house). We see that George is making Billy (who's scared and crying) hold the piece of wood he's splitting with an ax, with the boy letting go at just the last moment. After Kathy tells George that they need to get out of the house, he replies, "How did you get so f*cking stupid?" She then says that they're losing each other, prompting George to yell at her. We learn that a missionary tortured and killed Indians in the house centuries ago. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. We hear an evil voice say "Kill them" and then see a man slowly make his way through his house, shooting his family members dead, one by one, with a shotgun (all in flash images during a thunderstorm). His last victim, a young girl, cowers in fear in the corner as he aims his gun at her. A shadowy figure passes by as a real estate agent shows the Lutzes the house. She then doesn't go down into the basement with them and appears to be nervous in the house. We hear creepy sounds/voices from inside a house vent. George goes into the unfinished basement when he hears sounds down there. Voices then seem to come from a radio, but he then finds that it's unplugged and then thinks the sounds are coming from the house's vent system. While having sex with Kathy, George sees an image of a girl with a noose around her neck and her toes barely touching the dresser (and then her hanging there by that noose). We see the dead-looking Jodie sitting in Chelsea's room. Kathy and George realize that young Chelsea is missing and then race down to the boathouse where they see her standing on a boat, holding a balloon, and in a daze. Michael sees one of his army men fall off the shelf and hears otherworldly sounds coming from the vent. He gets up from his bed and has to pee, but is scared and nervously races down to the bathroom. After he's done, we see a bloody ghost behind him (with blood pouring out of her mouth). We then see the windows in the house suddenly open and a chair move by itself. George hears noises, goes to investigate, opens a door and sees himself standing there, holding a shotgun. We then hear the shot fire and see blood splatter onto a wall (George then wakes up from his nightmare). George sees Chelsea's balloon down at the boathouse and races down there to find her. He goes inside, sees a bubble come up from the water and dives in, trying to find her. George sees Jodie's ghost standing behind Chelsea in her upper floor window. He then races up there and she's fine, but we then see a pair of beastly hands (coming out of the ceiling) holding a struggling girl to the ceiling. We see that the kitchen door magnets have rearranged themselves to spell "Katch 'em and kill 'em." After the babysitter informs the kids that one of the original victims was found in a closet, the kids dare her to go in. She's not scared and does so, but the door suddenly closes and locks, the lights go out and we see some blood trickle down the light bulb. We then see Jodie's ghost standing there and she takes the sitter's finger and places it deep inside the large bullet hole wound in her (Jodie's) head. The sitter panics and tries to claw her way out of the closet (as we see structural damage -- cracking, etc. -- occurring on the walls), resulting in bloodying her own hands along with the wall/door. Chelsea comments on Jodie the ghost, telling her mom that Jodie won't hurt her, but that she (Jodie) doesn't like the man in the house who makes her do bad things. George hears a voice (coming from behind a wall) telling him to kill them all. George sees blood running down a trench in the floor and then spots a body where the skin has been cut open (with bloody/gory views). He then lifts the head and sees that it's himself, with a bloody face. George lies down in a filled bathtub when hands pop up from the water and pull him down. He struggles to stay above the surface, with the hands seeming to tear open some of his skin (very briefly seen). George and Kathy spot Chelsea standing at the very peak of the tall house's roofline. George grabs a ladder and scrambles up it, with the ladder eventually sliding away (George is okay). Kathy races up the interior stairs and then finds herself out on the roof, cautiously trying to make her way to Chelsea who's doing a balance beam type walk across the narrow peak. The girl says she has to go with Jodie and then purposefully falls off the edge, with her mom grabbing her just in time. Kathy, however, then slides down the roofline, barely holding onto Chelsea until she can't anymore. The girl drops, but George snatches her from the air and pulls her to safety. We see that George is making Billy (who's scared and crying) hold the piece of wood he's splitting with an ax, with the boy letting go at just the last moment. As George watches a home movie projected on the wall, an image of Billy suddenly but briefly turns monstrous (with a decomposed facial look). George re-racks the film and sees the same image before the film burns up. At 3:15 am (when bad things happen), we hear voices in the house, doors open and George then finds the front door open. He grabs his ax and heads toward the boathouse where he hears the family dog barking and then growling. He slowly goes inside, sees a ghostly figure in the water and then one then rushes at him. He swings his ax, but we hear the dog squeal and then see its blood splatter onto the wall as George repeatedly strikes it. We don't see the impact, but we do see a brief shot of the dead and bloody dog. George suddenly sees a ghostly image in the water. Father Callaway informs Kathy that the one-eyed doll that Chelsea has was buried with one of the murdered girls who previously lived in the house. Father Callaway sprinkles holy water in the house that boils upon contact with the floor. A figure then runs by the door that then closes by itself. Father Callaway hears growling sounds from the vent and steps up onto something to look into it. A huge swarm of flies then blasts out of the vent, knocks him to the floor and attacks him, as a demonic voice states, "Get out." Despite having killed the dog, George hears it barking from the boathouse at night. George makes his way into an unseen part of the basement where he's either imagining everything or seeing ghosts of various Indians who were tortured and killed there centuries ago. Most are bloody and we even see one strung up via hooks in the flesh of his chest. He then finds a missionary standing before him (facing away) and the figure cuts his own throat, spraying blood onto George until he's completely covered in it. George sees a figure in the water in the boathouse. Kathy then ends up falling in the water, with her long hair getting stuck in the boat's spinning propeller (and her skin briefly looks decomposed while in the water). George then reverses the prop and she's freed. Some family members discover that George has crafted wooden coffins in the basement with all of their names on them. Kathy then slams the door and she and the kids try to get out of the house, all as George grabs a shotgun and slowly comes after them. As they go for the front door, it suddenly slams shut and locks, as do the other doors, forcing her and the kids to try to barricade George into the basement. He gets out and slams Kathy against the wall and has her by the throat or face when Billy tries to come to her rescue. George then elbows Billy several times. They manage to escape, George shoots through a door and she and the kids head through a window and up onto the roof during a thunderstorm at night. George fires a shotgun blast through the roof (narrowly missing Kathy) and she and the kids continue to scramble up the roof through the heavy rain. George then follows them, with Billy then hitting him in the face with a pole or rode that sends him sliding down the roof and then off it where he falls several stories onto the muddy ground. They then see a ghostly figure in the window as they try to go in it, and thus end up climbing down the side of the house. George then grabs his ax and confronts his family, grabbing and then pushing Billy back to a wall with the handle of the ax. He prepares to strike him, but Kathy holds a shotgun to his head. He grabs the barrel and places it against his forehead, but she can't shoot him. Billy's face suddenly looks decomposed to George who then raises his ax, but Kathy strikes him on the head with the butt of the shotgun, sending him to the ground. There, she appears to hit him again (it nearly looks like she misses, but George is later unconscious and bound). Billy's face suddenly looks decomposed to George. George strikes Kathy in the chest with his ax, but we then see that he only imagined doing so. Jodie's ghost screams, everything in the house resets (doors, chairs, etc.) and she then vanishes into the floor. GUNS/WEAPONS Shotguns/Ax: Used to threaten or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "It's f*cking sick," "Unlock the f*cking door," "How did you get so f*cking stupid?" "Are you f*cking crazy?" "Back the f*ck up," "Holy sh*t," "That little sh*t got me fired," "Stinky," "Poopy-head," "Crap monkey fart," "This sucks," "I think you look foxy in that skirt," "Houses don't kill people. People kill people," "A-hole" (said just like that), "Get to work, buddy" (said in a mocking, repeated fashion), "Freaky," "Pissed," "Whack job," "Nut(s)" (crazy person), "I'm totally freaking you out," "I suck at babysitting," "Shut up," "G*ddamn babysitter's an idiot," "Wipe that stupid look off your face," "Jerk," "Douche-bag," "Weirdo," "Doofus," "Dipstick," "No way in hell," "Wacko family," "Have you lost your mind?" and "What the hell is your problem?" George spits out some of Kathy's cooking, prompting her to ask, "Is this discipline or torture?" He replies, "I thought it was meatloaf." Billy drinks directly from the milk bottle. We see that George is making Billy (who's scared and crying) hold the piece of wood he's splitting with an ax, with the boy letting go at just the last moment. JUMP SCENES The sudden sight and sound of an ax splitting wood (following a tense scene) might startle some viewers. A sudden sound might startle some viewers. George lies down in a filled bathtub when hands pop up from the water and pull him down. George suddenly sees a ghostly image in the water. A ghostly figure suddenly rushes at George. A huge swarm of flies blasts out of the vent, knocking Father Callaway to the floor. Kathy turns and George is suddenly there. Various bloody figures suddenly pop out at George. Kathy turns and George is suddenly there again. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous, suspenseful and scary music occurs in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 7 "f" words, 2 "s" words, 2 hells, 1 crap, 1 damn, 8 uses of "G-damn," 2 uses of "My God" and 1 use each of "God" and "Godforsaken." SEX/NUDITY We see George and Kathy playfully cavorting and snuggling on their bed (clothed). George tells Kathy, "I think you look foxy in that skirt." We see home movie footage showing George's camera focusing on Kathy's clothed butt as she dances around. Kathy drops her nightgown and we see the top of her chest and then a brief view of her small panty-covered butt (with some partial, bare butt cheeks) as she climbs into bed with George. The two passionately kiss and she then climbs on top of him. We see her bare back down to the top of her butt (that's under the sheets) along with slow movement as she's on top of him. A horrific vision, however, causes him to stop and nothing else sexual happens. We see Kathy in a very tight sweater that accentuates her large bust. We see a very buff George with his pajama bottoms or sweatpants riding very low (showing well below his bellybutton, but no pubic hair is seen). We later see him dressed the same way. Kathy shows some cleavage in her dress. The teen/early twenty-something babysitter shows up wearing a small halter top that shows a lot of cleavage and all of her bare belly. Later, the camera focuses in tight on a close-up, profile shot of her clothed chest and then of her sticking out her tongue quite far (she's trying to imitate Gene Simmons from the rock group KISS). She then lounges about on Billy's bed (in some provocative poses) and asks him if he's ever French kissed (nothing else happens as she then tells him the history of the house). George and Kathy have wine in a restaurant. She playfully asks if he's trying to get her drunk, prompting him to state, "That's the appeal of marriage...you don't have to." SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear an evil voice say "Kill them" and then see a man slowly make his way through his house, shooting his family members dead, one by one, with a shotgun. His last victim, a young girl, cowers in fear in the corner as he aims his gun at her. Michael asks his step-dad if he ever met his real dad (George says he didn't). Billy states that prayers are no good since nobody answered his when he asked for his dad to stay alive. George's change in demeanor and attitude put a lot of strain on his relationship with Kathy and her kids, especially when he tries to kill them. George yells at Billy (thinking the boy pulled a prank on the babysitter - he didn't) and Kathy sees that. Kathy and Chelsea yell at each other (over the girl being up on the roof). Chelsea then says that Jodie (the ghost) was going to show Chelsea her dead dad and that she just wanted to see him. After Kathy tells George that they need to get out of the house, he replies, "How did you get so f*cking stupid?" She then says that they're losing each other, prompting George to yell at her. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The claim that the film is based on a true story (which will make some believe that everything in the movie is based on fact). Step-parents and step-kids. Haunted houses. Billy states that prayers are no good since nobody answered his when he asked for his dad to stay alive. VIOLENCE We hear an evil voice say "Kill them" and then see a man slowly make his way through his house, shooting his family members dead, one by one, with a shotgun (all in flash images during a thunderstorm). His last victim, a young girl, cowers in fear in the corner as he aims his gun at her. While having sex with Kathy, George sees an image of a girl with a noose around her neck and her toes barely touching the dresser (and then her hanging there by that noose). We see flash and still images of the original murders and related blood (some in black and white). After the babysitter informs the kids that one of the original victims was found in a closet, the kids dare her to go in. She's not scared and does so, but the door suddenly closes and locks, the lights go out and we see some blood trickle down the light bulb. We then see Jodie's ghost standing there and she takes the sitter's finger and places it deep inside the large bullet hole wound in her (Jodie's) head. The sitter panics and tries to claw her way out of the closet (as we see structural damage -- cracking, etc. -- occurring on the walls), resulting in bloodying her own hands along with the wall/door. George lies down in a filled bathtub when hands pop up from the water and pull him down. He struggles to stay above the surface, with the hands seeming to tear open some of his skin (very briefly seen). George grabs Billy by the face while mad at him. George strikes the family dog with an ax and we see its blood splatter onto the wall as George repeatedly strikes it. We don't see the impact, but we do see a brief shot of the dead and bloody dog. A huge swarm of flies blasts out of the vent, knocking Father Callaway to the floor. George makes his way into an unseen part of the basement where he's either imagining everything or seeing ghosts of various Indians who were tortured and killed there centuries ago. Most are bloody and we even see one strung up via hooks in the flesh of his chest. He then finds a missionary standing before him (facing away) and the figure cuts his own throat, spraying blood onto George until he's completely covered in it. George rips a phone from the wall. George gets out of the barricaded basement and slams Kathy against the wall, and then has her by the throat or face when Billy tries to come to her rescue. George then elbows Billy several times. They manage to escape, George shoots through a door and she and the kids head through a window and up onto the roof during a thunderstorm at night. George fires a shotgun blast through the roof (narrowly missing Kathy) and she and the kids continue to scramble up the roof through the heavy rain. George then follows them, with Billy then hitting him in the face with a pole or rode that sends him sliding down the roof and then off it where he falls several stories onto the muddy ground. They then see a ghostly figure in the window as they try to go in it, and thus end up climbing down the side of the house. George then grabs his ax and confronts his family, grabbing and then pushing Billy back to a wall with the handle of the ax. He prepares to strike him, but Kathy holds a shotgun to his head. He grabs the barrel and places it against his forehead, but she can't shoot him. Billy's face suddenly looks decomposed to George who then raises his ax, but Kathy strikes him on the head with the butt of the shotgun, sending him to the ground. There, she appears to hit him again (it nearly looks like she misses, but George is later unconscious and bound). George strikes Kathy in the chest with his ax, but we then see that he only imagined doing so. We see various flash images of the previous murders in the house (with bloody results). Reviewed April 12, 2005 / Posted April 15, 2005

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