O, Mother of God, I'm Coming Apart!!!

 

So director Stuart Rosenberg passed away on March 15th, 2007, and I could recall watching "The Amityville Horror" (1979) not long after his death on the sister channel of Showtime, "Flix". It was a rainy, wet, somewhat cold Mississippi Monday and this film was, for whatever reason, on my mind. I also remembered watching "The Amityville Horror" on the 21st of 2007. I thought it was a sunny Wednesday afternoon after work, but I checked the calendar and I had watched the film on a Thursday. All of this doesn't really have much to do with this evening's viewing, but I just always seem to remember the 2007 revisit so distinctly because I believe Flix had mentioned Rosenberg's passing. So it was sort of a timestamp. I also chased down a 2007 review of the film as a historical marker of my own.

An entire family is murdered, with no apparent motive, by the oldest son. The Lutz family, headed by George(James Brolin)and Kathy(Margot Kidder), move in and are immediately greeted with supernatural occurrences. The house's evil presence doesn't like the company of anyone affiliated with the Catholic church as we can see by how Father Delaney(Rod Steiger, whose hysteria's at a fever pitch)is greeted rudely when he tries to bless the house. Kathy's Aunt Helena(Irene Dailey)is also given a unwelcome sickness which creates an unwillingness to stay in the house. Other happenings occur such as how the babysitter is locked in the bathroom while banging on the door in fear until her knuckles bled, a window slams on Kathy's son from another man, flies which plague Delaney and George, George's steadily declining physical and mental condition, and Jody, the ghostly best friend to Kathy's daughter. And, there's something fishy about that basement.

But, the evil gives a considerable licking to Delaney who loses his sight and slowly, bit by bit, his sanity until he's just a formal shell of who he once was. And, George can not shake off the cold he gets when in the living room or his desire for keeping his ax sharp. The Lutz's marriage also is becoming effected by all of the torment brought on by the house. They soon find out through a friend named Carolyn(Helen Shaver), into the occult, that the Amityville home is built where a Satanist, John Ketchum resided after fleeing Salem. Also located in the basement is an ancient burial ground.

Lalo Schifrin's chilling score is the best thing about this flick which is essentially about showing supernatural effects such as walls that bleed, doors that explode open, etc. At times, the flick is unintentionally hilarious such as when Carolyn is taken over by another and tells, through someone else's voice that the "well leads to hell." The film is a bit long-in-the-tooth and doesn't really ever quite get going despite building up an ominously declining Brolin who looks like he could snap any moment with that ax in tow. The score, however, provides a lingering unsettled feeling that gets under the skin. The house is also photographed quite well to bring chills particularly how the windows toward the top resemble evil eyes piercing at anyone who dares to draw near.

I was sort of considering an Amityville series revisit for 2022. I put together my current franchise list on my Letterboxd account, and tonight kicked things off with the 1979 film. I get that this is not as highly regarded as it once might have been. I've seen quite a few "this is just overrated" reactions to the film over the years. I can see that. As my Letterboxd review for this evening's viewing surmises:

Chopping that wood, oh so very cold, in debt up to his eyeballs, missing cash; George Lutz, behind the rugged, red-eyed Brolin, plays falling apart and intimidating quite well. But Steiger as the passionate priest who can't get through to Doubting Thomas Murray Hamilton perhaps is a bit too much of an absolute powerhouse...The Church is his strength speech, with his tear and spiritual anguish, is maybe too damn good for this possessed house Anson novel horror nonsense helped a lot I always felt because of the strong creepy direction by Rosenberg and magnificent scoring by Schifrin. The house exteriors have always been my weakness but the music is a HUGE benefit to the film. Kidder has never been more beautiful. The bleeding walls, basement demonic well, Shaver's breakdown, spiritual unrest causing a car crash, phone line interference, flies buzzing about, intense coughing, Steiger blindness, priests who just don't give a fuck about demonic warnings, babysitter locked in a closet, and black goo toilet spillage, this is a film loaded with a lot of hooey I have grown to love over the years.

It's a wet and cold Mississippi Monday down here and in late February, The Amityville Horror just feels right. The exploitation of the Amityville murders might have been just a wee bit in bad taste.

I get why Kidder was a bit "so what?" about the film while Brolin and Steiner ratcheted up the intensity to a whole other level. I think she's the emotional balance this film badly needed.

I did find it interesting how Hamilton's priest dismisses Steiger, and Steiger never gets the permission needed to help "exorcise the house". Instead, the evil seems to practically win. God's "soldiers" sure can't seem to withstand the spiritual might of the Big Bad in the Amityville house. 

Although, as I think about it, this film feels right for the fall, it also just feels right for the early part of the year, "The Amityville Horror" certainly has its flaws and can be a bit of a mess, but I find all of it irresistible and it still retains that 70s feel I hold dear.