Amityville: It's About Time Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Amityville: It's About Time Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 9, 2019

For the sixth descent into “Amityville Horror” happenings, “Amityville 1992: It’s About Time” picks up where 1989’s “The Evil Escapes” left off, once again returning to a John G. Jones book to explore the power of a cursed object as it’s placed inside a seemingly normal household. This time, it’s a clock, and the screenplay strives to play with time and personal issues as it cooks up another round of “Amityville Horror” hauntings, which, for this round, are guided by director Tony Randel, who knows a thing or two about nutso scares after his work on “Hellbound: Hellraiser II.”

The clock is an Amityville object brought to a tract housing area, with evil making a trip to the suburbs. The timepiece literally drills itself into place, turning a mildly dysfunctional household into a chaotic arena for the possessed, with actors Stephen Macht, Shawn Weatherly, Damon Martin, and Megan Ward cast as the residents receiving the full power of Amityville’s wicked influence. It’s not exactly coloring outside the lines, but there’s some spirit to “It’s About Time,” with Randel organizing a series of murder set-pieces that find innocents coming into contact with the pitiless power of the house. The helmer serves up gore and panic, helping the picture to deliver B-movie highlights and reasonably considerable character business.

Amityville: It's About Time Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation handles "It's About Time" splendidly, working with a 4K scan from the 35mm original camera negative. Detail is exceptional, as sharpness is found in full here, picking up on makeup labor and gore zone achievements, with plenty of wounds to explore. Facial surfaces are textured and exteriors are dimensional. Interiors are crisp, securing decoration and deterioration. Colors are tastefully refreshed, doing well with genre hues that emphasize reds and blues. Skintones are natural. Grain is heavier but film-like. Delineation preserves evening and low-lit encounters. Source is in good shape.

Amityville: It's About Time Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix supplies a pleasingly wider listening event, offering reasonable power to "It's About Time." Scoring cues are comfortably balanced with the action, with a strong sense of synth. Dialogue exchanges are clean and crisp, never losing a step when household chaos increases. Sound effects are distinct, from the persistent ticking clock to raging possession encounters.

Amityville: It's About Time Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Time Pieces" (13:30, HD) sits down with director Tony Randel to work through the "Amityville 1992: It's About Time" experience, beginning with his employment as an executive at New World Pictures, where he eventually was hired to helm "Hellbound: Hellraiser II." Building off this success, Randel reworked the "It's About Time" screenplay, trying to give it a little more meaning. Casting stories are recounted, including time guiding Dick Miller through a scene, and the shoot in Calabasas, California inspired the filmmaker to use the scourge of tract housing to his advantage. Celebrations of production design, cinematography, and storyboard art are offered, and Randel goes into the production process, detailing a brief rehearsal period and the incorporation of ideas from his actors. Work from special effects company KNB is highlighted, as are editing and scoring achievements. Randel is proud of the feature, watching it play big with the few public screenings it's had, but he shares slight bewilderment that he's never asked about the endeavor. His storytelling goals for the material are provided as well.

• "Clockwork" (7:29, HD) is a conversation with co-screenwriter Christopher DeFaria, who discusses the challenge of adapting ideas from a book by John G. Jones, who also provided the source material for 1989's "The Evil Escapes." Receiving the job after working his way around the industry, DeFaria eventually paired up with Antonio Toro, who brought a darker edge to "It's About Time." The interviewee explores the business model of Republic Pictures in the 1990s, churning out DTV product for video stores, and he recalls time with Tony Randel. DeFaria happily shares a few mistakes made during the shoot, including a bad decision to overfill a bathtub during the feature's climax. He's also eager to point out the movie's success, doing well financially and scoring with viewers.

• A Trailer has not been included.

Amityville: It's About Time Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"It's About Time" doesn't make a move to reconsider what could happen with an "Amityville Horror" picture. It's formulaic, sometimes to a fault, but Randel tries to sneak in some ideas on personal inventory, which is appreciated, and he provides some macabre events, managing to create an intimidating figure out of a clock.