Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Amityville Horror 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

The Amityville Horror is an entertaining entry in the long-running horror franchise. Inspired by a true story, The Amityville Horror is the 9^th film in the ongoing legacy of The Amityville Horror film series. The 2005 film unexpectedly acts as a sort of segway between the original The Amityville Horror film released in 1979 and The Conjuring film series. Based on true events involving the Lutz family, The Conjuring film was developed in part as inspiration from The Amityville Horror (2005) and the story of the Lutz family.

In part a remake and in part a new take on the horror franchise, The Amityville Horror is notable for being the debut feature-film of Chloë Grace Moretz. Based on the novel by Jay Anson. Inspired by the writings of George Lutz and Kathy Lutz. Produced by Michael Bay (Armageddon, The Rock), Andrew Form (A Quiet Place, The First Purge), and Brad Fuller (A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part II), The Amityville Horror features lead performances by Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George. An entertaining, fast-paced, and worthwhile 2000s horror film.

The Amityville Horror is a house of horrors. Back in November 1974, The Amityville Horror house was the home where a brutal series of grisly murders happened with several left dead and the home becoming vacant with secrets left in the house walls. One year later and a new family is moving in to the home without any knowledge of the house of horrors or its violent and deadly past.

George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds) and Kathy Lutz (Melissa George) move in to the home with their family. Kathy has three children from a previous relationship: Chelsea Lutz (Chloë Grace Moretz), Billy Lutz (Jesse James), and Michael Lutz (Jimmy Bennett). The new family unit has strong family bonds. Yet things are put to the test in the house of horrors.

As the mystery unravels, ghostly torments have awakened. The killer who slaughtered innocent victims in the previous bloodbath had claimed he heard voices in the walls of the house speaking to him and persuading him to kill. Can the new family survive the horrors of The Amityville Horror house and its eerie realm of terror?

The performances are one of the key strengths of The Amityville Horror. The ensemble cast does a terrific job with the film. The Amityville Horror has one of the earliest memorable performances by a younger Ryan Reynolds in his pre-Deadpool era. Reynolds is surprisingly solid in the role and does a good job balancing the terror and family element. Melissa George plays well off of Reynolds and is likewise impressive as the mother. The young cast of actors comprising of the kids did a good job, especially Chloë Grace Moretz in her debut.

The production of The Amityville Horror features a lot of noteworthy design elements. The production design by Jennifer Williams (White Bird, Christopher Robin) is well-done and one of the highlights. A worthwhile design effort and one that capably showcases the house-of-terror. The design aspect certainly helps to make The Amityville Horror more well-rounded as a horror production.

The Amityville Horror also features solid art direction by Marco Rubeo (Quantum of Solace, The Rundown). The art direction is compelling and adds to the eerie atmosphere of the filmmaking. Perfect? No. Yet the art direction is solid and certainly makes The Amityville Horror a more entertaining horror feature.

The costumes by David C. Robinson (The Equalizer, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) impress and are well-done for the cast. Robinson did a solid job here and helped to emphasis the family element – an element of normalcy tossed into horror and terror at the house. A solid job well done by the designer.

The cinematography by Peter Lyons Collister (Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, The Replacement Killers) is one of the best aspects of The Amityville Horror. The Amityville Horror perfectly showcases the aesthetic one expects from an early 2000s horror feature-film. The cinematography has that specific aesthetic more common to the time-period and this applies to the emphasis on certain colors and hues to the cinematography. The style works well and provides some extra visual wonder.

Edited by Roger Barton (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, World War Z) and Christian Wagner (The Suicide Squad, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It), The Amityville Horror has a fast-paced and frenetic editing style. The editing style feels true to the era of filmmaking and also provides an MTV era sensibility. The style is fast and the ebb and flow of the editing works well for the style of film.

The score composed by Steve Jablonsky (The Island, Deepwater Horizon) is enjoyable and provides both eerie atmosphere and terror for the filmmaking. Jablonsky is a solid composer and adds a horror style which is a good accompaniment to the production. The music works well for the jump-scares and the end result is a solid 2000s horror score.

Written by Scott Kosar (The Machinist, The Crazies), The Amityville Horror has a better script than one might expect. The script is solid for a film that audiences might expect to simply repeat previous film installments in the franchise without adding anything new or interesting. Instead, the script is solid, providing decent characters and family dynamics.

Directed by Andrew Douglas (Mindhunter, Strokes of Genius), The Amityville Horror is an entertaining horror film. The Amityville Horror is not on the same level as the original classic but it finds new ways to explore the franchise and bring something different to the table. The Amityville Horror entertains and is worthwhile. The fast-paced filmmaking style is quite a bit different compared to the original, which has considerably more slow-burn horror filmmaking. Though The Amityville Horror isn’t a perfect film it is well worth watching and fans of 2000s horror and genre filmmaking won’t want to miss it.

The Amityville Horror 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on 4K UHD by Shout Factory, The Amityville Horror is presented in 2160p HEVC / H.265 in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The Amityville Horror is presented with a native 4K resolution scan of the original DI camera negative. The native 4K presentation provides a considerable step-up in resolution and picture quality. The release looks great in 4K and there is a solid increase in detail and depth due to the quality presentation. Colors are robust and well preserved on the release. Encoding is well-done and capably highlights the terror of the film.

The Amityville Horror 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The release has crisp and satisfying lossless, high-resolution audio. With an impressive soundstage and 24 bit depth encoding, the presentation is incredible for home theater enthusiasts. The surround sound soundstage is top-notch and the surrounds are actively used. An impressive 5.1 sound mix and one that does an incredible job utilizing the entire surround stage. Outstanding.

The Amityville Horror 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD & Blu-ray combo pack edition includes new and legacy bonus features. Both the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray disc include the NEW 4K scan from the original D.I. film negative.

The first print run of the release includes a wonderfully designed o-card slipcover. Shout Factory is dependable with their horror/genre line providing slipcovers with quality cardstock and the slip is something that adds considerably collectability to the release. A nice looking slipcover.

Th 4K UHD disc includes the following:

Audio Commentary with actor Ryan Reynolds and producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller

The Blu-ray disc includes the following:

NEW – Houses Don't Kill People: Revisiting The Amityville Horror (HD, 44:36) explores The Amityville Horror remake with new interviews featuring director Andrew Douglas and composer Steve Jablonsky.

Archival Supplements:

Deleted Scenes (SD, 7:42)

Deleted Scenes with Audio Commentary (SD, 7:42) featuring actor Ryan Reynolds and producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller

The Source of Evil – Making The Amityville Horror (SD, 26:28)

On Set Peeks (SD, 21:12)

Home Movies (SD, 3:46)

Scare Reel (SD, 1:46)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:26)

The Amityville Horror 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Amityville Horror is an entertaining and fast-paced horror-thriller from the 2000s era of horror filmmaking. Though the filmmaking isn't perfect, it's solid fun and audiences will find the film thrilling and exciting. With impressive performances by Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, and Chloë Grace Moretz, there's plenty to keep audiences entertained. The Amityville Horror is notable as the debut film of Chloë Grace Moretz.

The 4K UHD features an impressive 2160p native 4K resolution scan of the original DI negative and crisp lossless audio encoding. The release also comes with an impressive assortment of supplements – and some of these extras are new and exclusive to the Shout release. The first print run also includes a slipcover. Highly recommended.