‘Amityville 3-D’ should have put final nail in franchise’s coffin
The Amityville Horror franchise is not exactly on the same par as the Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th or Halloween films. These ghostly tales from Amityville, N.Y., most of them interesting but underwhelming, follows a supposedly haunted house on Long Island, and the premises of each film are somewhat similar. Here’s how it goes: Unsuspecting house guests enter the gloomy doorways and dark hallways, and within a few days, these same house guests run away, screaming about the many things that go bump in the night.
Amityville 3-D does not grow substantially on the “success” of its two predecessors. Although it’s a watchable horror film, it never elevates to the point of gaining the audience’s interest.
This time around, we have the great Tony Roberts playing a writer who attempts to prove the rumors false. He’s determined to look behind the curtains, walk around the basement and ensure that all these “ghosts” come out and show their face. He knows that everything about the house must be fake, and this drives his motives.
It doesn’t take much to figure out where the plot and this main character end up. A haunted house tale can’t survive without some bonafide haunts.
It’s a shame the movie doesn’t work better. Roberts is an accomplished Broadway actor, someone who could have done a lot with a meatier role. He usually offers a perfect balancing act between comedy and drama, but here, his talents are largely wasted.
Horror from the 1980s is always a crapshoot. A recent marathon at the Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers, N.Y., played some well-konwn horror staples, including Night of the Creeps (the best of the bunch), Basket Case, Demons 2 and Society. Besides these, there are also the big players on the block: Freddy, Jason, etc. Where Amityville 3-D fits into this scary bunch of flicks is probably on the lower end of the spectrum. One watches it until the end, and that’s saying something, but the moment the final credits roll, it’s instantly forgettable.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
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Amityville 3-D
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1983
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Directed by Richard Fleischer
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Written by William Wales
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Starring Tony Roberts
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Running time: 105 minutes
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Rated PG
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Rating:
