The Amityville Curse Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Amityville Curse Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 11, 2022

1990’s “The Amityville Curse” is generally regarded as the fifth installment of “The Amityville Horror” franchise, but it remains loosely connected to previous chapters in the saga. It’s a brand name cash-in offering from the producers, who hope to lure viewers into yet another round of domestic terror with a deadly house, with the series embracing its turn into a cursed object genre experience. For this round, a nightmare for new homeowners emerges from a confessional booth in a basement, with the screenwriters trying to stay connected to the Catholicism of the original endeavor while inching the picture into a psychological freak-out situation. “The Amityville Curse” (based on a book by Hans Holzer, who spent most of his latter years profiting from the “Amityville” experience) is silly, very silly, and perhaps that’s the main reason to stick with the effort, which doesn’t have any scares, just campy offerings of behavioral meltdowns and dimwit characters who fail to recognize trouble when it first visits them.

Father Percheos has been murdered inside a confessional booth, with the scene of the crime relocated to the basement of a local home. Moving into the vacated dwelling is Marvin (David Stein) and his wife, Debbie (Dawna Wightman), with the pair looking to remodel and resell the house with help from their college pals, including handyman Bill (Anthony Dean Rubes), artist Abigail (Cassandra Gava), and her husband, Frank (Kim Coates). The gang move into the building and begin work, but soon enough, trouble comes looking for the homeowners. For Debbie, terror is immediately recognized due to her ESP, in touch with an evil presence that’s making itself known to everyone, inspiring the friends to figure out what’s going on in the basement, finding help from their kooky neighbor, Moriarty (Helen Hughes).

“The Amityville Curse” is much like the other “Amityville” curses, following new homeowners into their dwelling, capturing their excitement with a fresh living space, only to realize that the place is looking to kill them. For this film, Marvin is more of a real estate shark, sensing a financial windfall if he can flip the Amityville location, requiring clean up help from old friends with special skills. It’s a party at first, with the reunion reigniting old college dynamics and flirtations, but the house soon becomes a prison for the players, with Debbie gradually coming into contact with a malevolent force behind the haunting. The idea of a cursed confessional booth is different, but the screenplay doesn’t do much with the concept, and director Tom Berry isn’t exactly inspired when it comes to visualizing horror happenings. For “The Amityville Curse,” there’s the appearance of an angry dog, a broken wine glass, and a few crawling tarantulas, which isn’t exactly the stuff of a disturbing movie. Debbie’s contact with the other side is also wearisome, pushing Wightman to act her heart out for a production that doesn’t back her up, offering feeble trips into the darkness instead.

The Amityville Curse Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from a "2K scan of the original camera negative." Those who've only seen "Amityville: The Curse" on VHS should be somewhat pleased with the viewing experience, which provides an adequate look at frame particulars. Detail is acceptable with some cinematographic softness, exploring skin surfaces and fibrous period costuming. House tours are textured. Exteriors offer decent dimension. Colors are refreshed, with nice primaries throughout. Moodier hues are also preserved. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory, inching toward solidification at times. Grain is heavy, with a chunkier appearence. Source is in good condition, with some brief points of damage.

The Amityville Curse Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix provides decent clarity throughout the listening event, capturing performance choices and balancing more potent acts of hysteria. Scoring supports comfortably, helping with suspense needs, offering clean instrumentation. Atmospherics are appreciable, along with sound effects.

The Amityville Curse Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (10 pages) features an interview with Alexandra Holzer and a comic from artist Rick Trembles.

• Commentary features film historians Paul Corupe and Jason Pichonsky.

• "Amityville Memories" (16:14, HD) is a video conference interview with Tom Berry, who explores the project's origins, with the movie intended for the home video market. Describing the production's era as "the golden age of horror," Berry shares his love of the genre and the ability to make these kinds of pictures with relative ease at the time. The creative approach of "The Amityville Curse" is detailed, moving away from the iconic house, and legal battles with author Hans Holzer are shared, who targeted the production for a quick payday. Casting is celebrated, including an odd connection to star Kim Coates. The interviewee dissects a few of the technical challenges found during the shoot, and shares his experience as a director, finding the job too stressful. The release of "The Amityville Curse" is also highlighted, including some theatrical engagements around the world.

• "Acting in Amityville" (12:27, HD) is a video conference interview with actress Dawna Wightman, who recalls her early ambition to become a stage actress, working hard to achieve her dream. Her casting story is shared, along with an assessment of director Tom Berry. Characterization and acting interests are detailed, with some level of fear coming from the location, which was an old nunnery. Professional challenges with a tarantula, zombie vomit, and a hot chocolate-shooting gun are recalled. Co-stars are remembered, giving Wightman an understanding of professional and personal behavior, and she shares her feelings on the feature, which apparently has a huge fanbase in Germany.

• "Shooting Amityville" (12:13, HD) is a video conference interview with cinematographer Rodney Gibbons, who opens the discussion with his vertigo issues, having trouble with high shots. An educational background is provided, with Gibbons managing to spend some time with Vilmos Zsigmond, and personal favorite movies are shared, helping to shape his creative POV. Technical details are recalled, including a chance to shoot on 35mm, with the production looking down on video and 16mm, hoping to put out a professional product. Shooting locations are examined, including some cramped spaces, and the interviewee offers some professional notes on the shooting of "The Amityville Curse."

• "Rodney Remembers" (11:18, HD) returns to the cinematographer, who walks through some career experiences, recalling his time on such titles as "Pinball Summer," "My Bloody Valentine," "Back Stab," "Scanners 2: The New Order," "Deadbolt," "Screamers," "Relative Fear," and "The Paperboy."

• A Trailer has not been included on this release.

The Amityville Curse Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Oddity arrives with Moriarty, a local woman who knows what's going on, becoming a figure of exposition for the screenplay, but "The Amityville Curse" soon follows the routine for these movies, which slips into a final act of possession and pursuit, only with iffy makeup effects and a noticeable lack of suspense. It's already difficult to work up enthusiasm for anything "Amityville," which began with dubious claims turned into a literary sensation, and soon a film series was born, and one that's always struggled to find real horror in Amityville. "The Amityville Curse" might tickle those drawn to bad movie night selections, and maybe franchise fans will approve, but for those seeking chills, there's nothing new to find here.