Ryan Reynolds brings the rage, but this remake forgets what made the original so haunting.

Two decades on, The Amityville Horror (2005) still stands as one of the more prominent attempts to resurrect a horror legacy that’s seen more sequels, spin-offs, and reboots than most franchises could survive. But while this glossy reimagining may boast higher production values and a memorable performance from Ryan Reynolds, it ultimately trades away the creeping dread of the 1979 original for jump scares and visual bombast.

Directed by Andrew Douglas, the remake wastes no time in dialing up the intensity, diving into its supernatural beats with an urgency that’s both jarring and oddly hollow. Gone is the patient, simmering tension of Stuart Rosenberg’s original film—where James Brolin’s slow unraveling added genuine unease. Reynolds, to his credit, gives it his all, and while he captures the transformation into the increasingly unhinged George Lutz with gusto, there’s a lack of the brooding gravitas that Brolin effortlessly embodied. He’s intense, yes, but intensity without nuance quickly becomes noise.

As for Melissa George, this reviewer will admit a soft spot—she brings an emotional steadiness to the role of Kathy Lutz, and her presence elevates scenes that might otherwise collapse under the weight of Douglas’ heavy-handed direction. But even her grounded performance can’t escape the remake’s overarching flaw: its overreliance on style over substance.

The original Amityville Horror succeeded not just because of its infamous “true story” marketing hook, but because it knew how to build atmosphere. The 2005 version, unfortunately, seems determined to blow the doors off the house from the start. Any notion of slow-burn psychological torment is bulldozed by jump scares, flickering spectres, and flash-cut haunted house theatrics.

In the years since, many have tried to return to Amityville with diminishing returns. Oddly, it was filmmakers like James Wan and Leigh Whannell—clearly inspired by this brand of haunted house horror—who came closer to the spirit of what made the original chilling. Their Conjuring universe didn’t just pay homage; it refined the formula and found a new audience hungry for the quiet dread and escalating horror the Amityville franchise once promised.

The Prognosis:

At twenty years old, The Amityville Horror (2005) remains a sleek but soulless retelling. It may still attract casual horror fans and those nostalgic for mid-2000s supernatural thrillers, but it serves mostly as a reminder that atmosphere, patience, and suggestion often haunt the mind far longer than a house full of CGI ghosts.

  • Saul Muerte