8. He Couldn't Even Get The Amityville Horror Right
If youre in it for the money, then remaking The Amityville Horror is one of those ideas that cannot possibly fail. Even if you churn out a mediocre, cliché-ridden new version, itll look fantastic next to Amityville Dollhouse and The Amityville Asylum. The movie was a smash hit, grossing $108 million worldwide on a $19 million budget and shouldve given Platinum Dunes another franchise, but the indifferent reaction caused the idea to be shelved. The movie wasnt that bad but it wasnt that good either, it was just... there. Its not scary, just busy, wrote critic Pete Travers. For the real thing, watch Psycho, The Shining, The Haunting or The Innocents. What those films have in common is precisely what the new Amityville Horror lacks: they know its what you dont see in a haunted house that fries your nerves to a frazzle. Don't expect the film to acquire a cult reputation: it currently has a 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
