Amityville II: The Possession Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Amityville II: The Possession Blu-ray Movie Review

The devil made him do it.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 27, 2013

Note: This film is currently available only in this box set: The Amityville Horror Trilogy.

Does it ultimately even matter if 112 Ocean Avenue in the town of Amityville on Long Island was really haunted, as its residents, the Lutz Family, insisted? After all, doesn’t that oft-quoted adage go something like “perception is reality”? And for millions of readers who made The Amityville Horror a top bestseller in 1977 (and for decades afterward), while the book’s imprimatur that it was a “true story” may have helped to spark interest, it actually perhaps has less to do with the franchise’s success than might be initially assumed. In fact, one of the fascinating things that has sprung up in the wake of the book and the many films which followed (the first three of which are presented in this new box set from Shout! Factory’s Scream Factory imprint) is that once accusations of fraud and chicanery started arising, the whole Amityville phenomenon only seemed to gain momentum. The seventies were for whatever reason a heyday for books and movies about demonic possession, from the iconic heights of The Exorcist to still scary but perhaps somewhat lesser fare like The Omen and the vastly underrated The Possession of Joel Delaney, but there’s little doubt that these films are near the bottom rung (or perhaps even below the bottom rung) of this decade’s genre offerings. That doesn’t mean there aren’t scares here, for there certainly are, at least in fits and starts scattered throughout the three films, but cynics may have a hard time maintaining a straight face through some of the patently ridiculous plot machinations, poor writing and less than Oscar worthy performances this trio of would-be spook-taculars (sorry) have on tap.

As I detailed in the The Amityville Horror Blu-ray review, one of the few undisputed facts surrounding the whole sordid Amityville saga was the horrific murder of the DeFeo family in what later became known as the Amityville House. Parapsychologist Hans Holzer (who provides the commentary on the Shout! Factory release of the first film) wrote a book entitled Murder in Amityville which, like Jay Anson’s The Amityville Horror, was trumpeted as being a true story, despite the fact that it was filled to the brim with speculation. Since then, the book has been re-released as Amityville: Fact or Fiction? , which may be one of the more salient elements in attempting to ferret out how to approach Amityville II: The Possession, which is based, at least in part, on Holzer’s book.

Amityville II: The Possession is a rather sordid entry, even by Amityville standards, but perhaps ironically it turns out to be the most effective of the first three Amityville films, if only by dint of the fact that’s it so resolutely dour and salaciously shocking. We’re introduced to the Montelli family, which is a roiling concatenation of dysfunction. Father Anthony (Burt Young) is a bully and a reprobate, prone to beating his harried wife Dolores (Rutanya Alda) and children. Those kids include teenagers Sonny (Jack Magner) and Patricia (Diane Franklin), who, in one of the film’s most controversial plot points, have an incestuous relationship with each other. In other words, this is obviously not the world of Father Knows Best.

There has been some discussion about whether Amityville II: The Possession is to be taken as a prequel (as Holzer’s book inarguably was) or a sequel, but the fact is, it doesn’t really matter, and in some ways it’s best to approach this film almost as a standalone offering. In this formulation the “portal”, which the first film revealed but didn’t overly dwell on (perhaps to its detriment), becomes a pathway whereby Sonny is possessed by a demon and begins transforming, both psychologically and actually physically, ultimately becoming a murdering maniac. As with the first film, well meaning priests (played by James Olson and Andrew Prine) get involved, but again as in the first film, they find themselves relatively powerless in the face of such overwhelming evil.

Amityville II: The Possession is undeniably smarmy, but it’s also perhaps the most frightening of the initial triptych of films. Part of that is ironically divorced from the actual “Amityville” setting, for watching Young tear through the house in bouts of rage is at least as unsettling as any of the special effects handiwork which transforms Magner from a troubled teenager into a troubled demonically possessed teenager. Italian director Damiano Damiani invests the film with a little quasi-gialli gore and flair, and the film, while certainly no underappreciated masterpiece, actually creates a stifling mood of a family crumbling under the weight of both internal and external forces beyond its control.

Amityville II: The Possession Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Amityville II: The Possession is presented on Blu-ray by Scream Factory (an imprint of Shout! Factory) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is arguably the strongest transfer in the new Shout! box set, one which is sourced from elements with a few less specks and flecks than the first film, and which is graced by incrementally better sharpness and contrast. Colors are very accurate looking and fine detail is quite commendable, to the point where Magner's make-up becomes fairly fake looking at times (it's quite easy to spot the latex appliqués in some scenes). This high definition presentation handles the shadowy interior scenes surprisingly well, revealing at least passable detail in the background of the frame.

Amityville II: The Possession Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the other films in this box set, Amityville II: The Possession offers both lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 mixes. Again, as with the first film, the 5.1 mix here is surprisingly well done, with some great surround activity (listen to how the voices haunting Sonny waft through the surround channels, sonically cornering the listener as they do their intended victim). Lalo Schifrin's nice score also fills the surrounds. Dialogue (and lots of screaming) is presented cleanly, with excellent fidelity. One kind of interesting thing to note: listen during the murder scene to the surprisingly paltry sounds of the gunshot (which are often mixed with thunder). I'm assuming this was a deliberate choice by the filmmakers, since a lot of controversy has arisen as to why no neighbors heard anything happening. Maybe the gun was possessed, too.

Amityville II: The Possession Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Possession of Damiani: Interview with Director Damiano Damiani (1080p; 6:08) talks (in Italian with English subtitles) about being something of a "hired gun" for this film and coming into a project that was already for the most part put together, and then trying to invest it with something of his own personality.


• Adapting Amityville: Interview with Tommy Lee Wallace (1080p; 12:27) is a rather interesting sit down with the screenwriter, who rather intelligently discusses the perception of the house being haunted creating the reality. Wallace debunks at least a few commonly held beliefs about the story, so be forewarned.


• A Mother's Burden: Interview with Rutanya Alda (1080p; 14:09). Alda is quite winning reminiscing about the film, including a cute anecdote about Dino De Laurentiis and Damiano Damiana discussing her casting in front of her in Italian.


• Family Matters: Interview with Diane Franklin (1080p; 13:39). Franklin, who played the daughter in the film, recounts her auditioning and casting process and how some of the actors already cast inspired her to go for the role.


• Father Tom's Memories: Interview with Andrew Prine (1080p; 3:43). Prine talks about working with a director who spoke no English and how successful the film turned out to be.


• Continuing the Hunt: Interview with Alexandra Holzer (1080p; 28:46). Holzer is the daughter of in her words "the original ghost hunter", Dr. Hans Holzer, who provided the commentary on the first film in the Shout! Factory trilogy, and who wrote the book which served as source material for this film.


• Trailers (1080p; 3:13)


• Still Gallery (1080p; 3:37)


• Audio Commentary with Alexandra Holzer. This is a patently odd "commentary", for a couple of reasons. First of all, in one of very few instances like this that I can personally remember, the film's actual soundtrack is nowhere to be found. Instead we get Holzer, and only Holzer, and then only very sporadically. She will talk for a second of two, and then there's virtually nothing, other than what sounds like her shifting in her chair or perhaps playing with a pen or pencil. Then, a few minutes later, she'll chime in with another sentence or two. She does have a few interesting things to say about her father's book and some of the controversy which surrounded it.

Amityville II: The Possession Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of the original Amityville Horror have tended to dismiss this follow-up as lackluster, but I'd urge them to revisit it. Personally, I found this outing to be at least nominally more disturbing than the first film. Some of that is due no doubt to the smarmier elements of the plot, but this film has some honest to goodness scares in it and a less camptastic atmosphere than the first outing. This Blu-ray presentation features nice looking video and great sounding audio, and comes with some excellent supplements. The film itself may ultimately be no great shakes, but the supplements help to make this release Recommended.