Amityville Horror, The (Blu-ray)

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"The Amityville Horror" doesn´t succeed in much of anything. It lacks any great sense of terror and emotion. You have a young couple who is very much in love and strapped by the cost of their new house, but they are afraid of the house and seem reluctant to leave. Eventually, they face death and that is the great thrilling climax of the picture. It never gets exciting, but there is no denying that "The Amityville Horror" has a certain campy charm to it that keeps the viewer entertained during the entire length of the film. The revealing red eyes, the swarming flies, the demonic voice of the house and the familiar curved windows are things you won´t easily forget after watching this film. It comes from a time when audiences didn´t require as much to be captivated by a film and the minimalistic approach of "The Amityville Horror" makes this a beloved underdog that doesn´t have the big name of the larger horror films of its era, but many people love this and I can understand why.

Video:

The iconic curved windows and swarming flies look pretty good in high definition and the 2.35:1 film is nicely presented in AVC encoding in 1080p resolution. I was pleased with how nice this classic picture looked and while it isn´t the most detailed catalog title, it has some very nice moments where I knew I was watching a Blu-ray title. The hues used in the film feel washed out and "The Amityville Horror" is not overly colorful. The palette is natural looking and works well with the campy feel of the picture. Source materials used for this film were quite clean and while film grain is abundantly present, it provides a film-like look that should please those that don´t feel they are watching a movie unless there is a little grain. "The Amityville Horror" is a camp classic and looks every bit the part on Blu-ray. It isn´t anything flashy and looks dated, but I was pleased.

Audio:

"The Amityville Horror" comes fully equipped with three English soundtracks. The DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless Audio soundtrack is the heavy hitter, but it is a minor upgrade over the English 5.1 Dolby Surround track that is also included. The problem lies in the fact that "The Amityville Horror" is culled from a mono source and doesn´t easily upgrade to a full multi-channel surround mix. The mono mix is the third English track on the disc. French and Spanish Dolby Digital tracks are also included. Most of the audio in this film are confined to the front channels and "The Amityville Horror" sounds just like a mono film that was expanded to the front three speakers. I found the mix was a little harsh on the higher frequencies and didn´t have a lot of depth down low. Dialogue is clean and the musical score by Lalo Schifrin is technically sound, but doesn´t expand the mix.

Extras:

No extras are included on the Blu-ray release of "The Amityville Horror." This seems almost inexcusable and I would have loved to have seen some of the documentaries that were produced to argue the truthfulness of the purported true-life events in the film.

Closing:

I always enjoy watching "The Amityville Horror," but the title is about the only place you´ll find horror in this film. It isn´t scary and borders on humor instead of horror. This is a camp classic and while I´ve probably used the word ´camp´ a little too much in this review, it is the best way of describing this classic picture. The red eyes just aren´t scary in 2008 and neither are loads of flies. However, there is no denying that an indescribable charm exists in "The Amityville Horror." This is a fun picture, although it was intended to be scary. The Blu-ray release is limited by the age and limited nature of the original source materials and the video and sound are both good, but far from great. The only real sad thing about this Blu-ray release is the complete lack of supplements. The film deserves a little something more. If you love the film, this is the best it will ever look and sound and that may be reason enough to pick up a copy.