Brenda's Review of the Amityville Horror 2005

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Hello there again. This is Brenda with Brenda's Horror Movie Reviews. We recently did a review on the Amityville Horror, the version from 1979. I recently rewatched the 2005 version, and that's the one I want to concentrate on today. There are definitely similarities and a few differences with both movies, but both touch on the story of the DeFeo killings to the Lutzes. George and Kathy Lutz this time around are played by Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George. I love Melissa George. She's from Triangle and 30 Days of Night. And I love Ryan Reynolds because that man is up breathing. That's about all he needs to do to keep me interested. I think I'm floored that 2005, that this movie is over 20 years old. That just does not register with me. My husband was still alive, and I remember when I first heard about it, I was so excited because I was obsessed with the original, and we actually got to see it together in the theater and it became one of our favorite movies. This movie, as in the original, shows the DeFeo killings at the beginning of the movie. It shows the Lutz family in their first home when they're trying to be a happy family and excited about buying a new house. At that point, the only one being a dick is Billy. He's 12 years old and he's upset, I think, that mom got remarried. In this movie, Kathy Lutz is a widow versus being divorced in the original. One of the things I remember talking about in the review of the original was that they had only been there 28 days before they fled the home, and I was saying that they hadn't even made the first mortgage payment yet. In this one, I feel that they focus on their lack of money a lot more. George is quick to talk about that he put everything into that house. But you know what? They got a good deal on that house. $80,000 for three-story house, boat house. I'd have no problem eating ramen every day to keep that house. And you know what? He came up with the $400 to buy the DeFeos furniture in there. Some of it, maybe, but the beds, ew. I believe everybody knows that the original address on the house was $112 Ocean Avenue, and it was later changed to $108 Ocean Avenue. If you put it in Google, you can still find it. I noticed in the 2005 version they actually have 412 Ocean Avenue, and I went ahead and plugged that in for Amityville, and it comes up the pen is kind of in the middle of an intersection, so I don't think it's attached to anything. The children's names were different in both movies also. In real life, they were Daniel, Christopher, and Melissa. In the 1979, it's Greg, Matt, and Amy. In the 2005, it's Billy, Michael, and Chelsea. And of course, I was attached to the original so much that I got to see Natasha Ryan, who played Amy Lutz, and I will post that picture on our Facebook account so you can have a look. I have the little autograph. I feel like this movie moves a lot faster than the original. There's no buildup. Once they move into the home, it starts ramping up pretty fast. There's an upgrade in the babysitter. She's definitely slutted up in this one. The red room, there's a lot more to that also, and I don't know if that was totally in George's mind or if he he's seeing the reality of what went on before the house was built. A haunted house is always going to be my favorite character in a movie. It definitely gets a wine glass for the environment. I do feel it's darker, literally a darker movie. So it does have the eerie effect. Definitely evil. It's definitely entertaining. It's not that I want a slow build, but it did come at me fast and hard. And why would I really complain? I've tried to put this little tidbit off and I wasn't even gonna mention it. So big spoiler alert, they have a dog. And the dog survives the original. It does not survive this one. So I had a very hard time with that, which did play on my empathetic nature. I couldn't handle it. I kept hoping it was something in George's head, but evidently he did kill that dog when he was in a rage. Don't like that. So fuck you, Ryan Reynolds, for upsetting me on a Tuesday evening. Also, at the end of this movie, I had a problem with them fleeing the house in a boat versus a car. I'm not sure why, I just thought it was corny. This movie does fulfill my five categories, so it gets five glasses of wine on that. And because Ryan Reynolds is in there, we have to add a little bit more. So I'm gonna give it a final score of 7.23. I do hope all of you will come back for the next episode. It is a special episode. It is going to be my first crossover extended episode. I'm also a podcaster with Stacy from Let's Wine with Brendan Stacy. She is the one that does not like scary movies, and I have talked her into going to see Obsession with me today. She said she's already nervous, but we are gonna go. So the next episode will be about the 2026 movie Obsession. I definitely predict it'll be a bit of a longer episode since when her and I get together, we just go on and on. We tend to ramble, but come back and give us a listen. Um, you can reach us at bsstudios at myyahoo.com. Until next time.