Now Showing: Amityville Horror

 

Amityville Horror

Genre: Horror/Supernatural

Director: Vincenzo Natali

Writer: Jack Brown

Based on the Amityville Horror franchise

Cast: Wes Bentley, Alice Eve, Nick Robinson, Sophie Nelisse, Dean Norris, Victor Garber, David Zayas, Winslow Fegley, Skylar Betteridge, Sean Astin, Natalie Alyn Lind

Plot: Based on true events that happened at 112 Ocean Avenue.

George Lutz (Wes Bentley) pulls up in a moving van in front of the house at 112 Ocean Avenue. His wife Kathy (Alice Eve) looks at the size of the house and asks her husband how they can afford such a house. George playfully tells his wife that he talked the realtor down to an acceptable price. As George uses the key to their home for the very first time, their children Daniel (Winslow Fegley) and Missy (Skylar Betteridge) run into the house to pick out their bedrooms. Kathy observes a faded sign that reads "High Hopes" above the door. While George and the kids load boxes out of the moving truck, Kathy explores the property with the family's dog. When she goes down to the basement, the dog begins growling and barking uncontrollably near the closet door. When Kathy tries to pull the dog away from the closet, the dog bites Kathy on the arm. She calls out for George who rushes down the stairs to his wife's aid. He takes the dog outside and ties him to a tree in the back yard as the dog continues to bark and growl. Daniel asks his mother why the dog is so angry. Kathy suggests that change can be difficult for animals who may not understand what is going on.

George and Kathy share a bottle of wine as they continue unpacking late in the evening. George hears faint creaks from upstairs. He checks on the kids, but both are asleep. In the kitchen, Kathy notices a sour smell coming from the sink drain. When she asks George to check, he cannot smell the odor. George and Kathy go to bed. Kathy whispers to George that it doesn't feel like they are alone at the house. George dismisses these as normal house issues, but Kathy isn't so sure. George thinks Kathy just needs a night on the town and proposes they get a babysitter and have a date night. Kathy is a little nervous about leaving the kids so soon after moving, but George convinces her to plan a night out. As they drift off to sleep, the wind picks up outsides, and tree branches cast a claw-like shadows on the house.

The next morning, Missy surprises Kathy by talking about a new friend she made last night, Dawn, who is very pretty and used to live in the house. Kathy assumes Missy has invented an imaginary friend and plays along, telling herself it is just a phase for Missy. Meanwhile, George and Daniel are exploring the backyard. Daniel watches the family dog, still acting strange chained up outside. George finds an old axe leaning against a tree and decides to sharpen and clean it. As the day progresses, Missy continues talking to Dawn, pausing occasionally as if listening to someone whispering in her ear. Kathy notices that Missy is drawing a picture of the family with an extra female figure. Kathy asks if that is Dawn. Missy nods and replies that Dawn noticed that Daddy likes the house, and that's why she likes him.

Babysitter Amy Lee (Natalie Alyn Lind) arrives at the house to watch Daniel and Missy. While Kathy and George enjoy a romantic dinner, Amy watches old horror films with the kids. Missy is scared of the movie, covering her head with a blanket, but Daniel proclaims he doesn't think they are scary, trying to impress the beautiful babysitter. Amy tells him that even scarier than the movies is the history of the house they are in. Amy goes on to describe, in gory detail, the DeFeo murders, explaining how Ronald "Butch" DeFeo killed his entire family in this very house. Missy becomes upset, informing Amy that Dawn says Butch wasn't alone. As Amy tucks Missy into bed later, the room suddenly grows cold. Missy sits up and tells Amy that Dawn doesn't like her. Before Amy can respond, the bedroom door slams shut, and the overhead light flickers violently. Panicked, Amy struggles to open the door, finally bursting into the hallway. When Kathy and George return home, Amy refuses to explain what happened, but mutters that she doesn't think Missy's imaginary friend is really so imaginary.

Ronald "Butch" DeFeo Jr. (Nick Robinson) sits at the defense table in a courtroom. Assistant District Attorney Gerard Sullivan (Sean Astin) delivers a searing opening statement, describing how Butch show his parents and siblings as they slept. Butch states blankly at the jury, only reacting when Sullivan mentions Dawn's name. Butch's lawyer, William Weber (Dean Norris) counters with an insanity plea, claiming Butch maintains he was under the influence of supernatural forces. Jude Thomas Stark (Victor Garber) listens but seems skeptical of such a defense, pressing Weber for evidence. That night, Butch sleeps in his jail cell. He wakes in the middle of the night to see Dawn (Sophie Nelisse) standing at the foot of his bed. 

George spends the evening cleaning in the basement. While moving old furniture, he discovers a small door partially hidden behind a pile of boxes in the closet. When he opens it, he finds a cramped space with red-stained walls. He hears faint whispers but dismisses them as his imagination. Kathy calls him upstairs for dinner, and George quickly shuts the door. Later that night, George dreams of the Red Room. In his dream, the room is larger, and Dawn stands in the center. She tells George that his job is to protect the house. George wakes in a cold sweat, finding himself back in the basement with no memory of how he got there. The Red Room door stands open, and the faint sound of whispering echoes from within.

Missy becomes increasingly withdrawn, spending hours alone in her room whispering to her new friend. Kathy finally has to talk to Missy about her taking her imaginary friend too seriously. Kathy explains that nobody is really there, but that Missy's imagination is just being too active. Missy finally looks at her mother, telling her that she is wrong. Meanwhile, George continues to grow obsessed with the house. He spends more time in the basement under the guise of handling some repairs, lingering by the Red Room. When Kathy tries to talk to George about Missy's behavior, he seems disinterested, muttering that Missy will adjust and that the house is good for them.

In the courtroom, the defense calls Butch to the stand, and Weber questions him about his state of mind the night of the murders. Butch trembles as he recounts what he remembers of the evening. He insists that he was not alone and that it was Dawn directing him. Sullivan asks Butch if he had been taking drugs that night - and if so, questions if it is possible that Butch simply hallucinated his claims. Butch clenches his fists, snapping that they don't understand, and that Dawn made him do everything. Judge Stark orders the court to take a recess. 

Kathy visits the local library and finds newspaper clippings detailing the DeFeo murders. She pores over the articles, her breath hitching when she sees a photograph of Dawn DeFeo. Flipping through pages, she reads about how Butch initially claimed that voices in the house urged him to kill. One article mentions that Butch had accused his sister of being involved before changing his story. That night, Kathy confronts George, showing him the article, pointing out that Missy says she talks to Dawn. George laughs dismissively. Later, as Kathy lays awake, she hears faint giggling coming from Missy’s room. When she gets up to check, Missy is sitting up in bed, staring at the empty corner of the room, smiling. Missy tells her mother that Daddy's starting to listen.

George's obsession with the Red Room intensifies. He presses him hand against the cold stone walls of the room, feeling something pulse through the stone like a heartbeat. The next morning, Kathy notices dirt under George's fingernails and asks what he's been doing. He says he's been fixing some things.

In his jail cell, Butch DeFeo stares at the wall. Dawn kneels beside him. Butch tries to convince himself that she isn't there - he killed her. She places a hand on his chest. Butch gasps as he feels something ice-cold spread through his body. The cell lights flicker. A guard passing by glances inside, only to see Butch writhing on the floor, gasping for air. The guard moves along, unwilling to deal with DeFeo making a scene.

Kathy finds Missy sitting along in the backyard, playing in dirt. Kathy asks what she's doing. Missy doesn't look up, tracing small shallow circles in the dirt with her fingers. Missy tells her mother that Dawn says they need to dig because there are things underneath. Later that night, Kathy hears a rustling sound outside and peeks through the window to see George standing barefoot in the yard. She runs outside, grabbing his arm. She demands to know what he's doing. He is confused and doesn't know how he got outside. 

Kathy reaches out toe Father Ralph Pecoraro (David Zayas), who mentions that he only recently took over for the retiring Father Santino. She asks for Pecoraro to take a look at the house and possibly bless it. When he arrives at the house, he hesitates at the front steps, before entering. As he begins sprinkling holy water, the walls creak violently. Suddenly flies swarm into the room, their buzzing filling the air. Pecoraro steps back, claiming the house is cursed. Before he can continue, they hear the sound of Missy screaming upstairs. Kathy bolts up the stairs, finding Missy standing in her room, her hands clutching her ears. Missy sobs that Dawn is mad now. 

George continues waking up in different parts of the house with no memory of how he got there - once at the foot of Missy's bed, once in the backyard near shallow trenches he started digging. The whispers in the house now call his name, hissing instructions. One evening while chopping firewood, he sees Dawn standing in the upstairs window. She beckons him inside with a single curled finger. Kathy tries to confront him about his behavior. He jerks away violently. The next morning, she finds him in the basement, staring at the door to Red Room.

Back in court, the trial reaches its conclusion. The jury finds Butch guilty of six counts of second-degree murder. As Judge Stark reads the sentence, Butch begins to shake and lunges forward, shouting that it wasn't him - it was the house. The guards restrain him as he thrashes. As Butch is dragged away, Weber watches.

Desperate for answers, Kathy visits the local historical society, hoping to learn more about the property's history beyond the DeFeo murders. The clerk hesitates when Kathy asks about 112 Ocean Avenue, but eventually guides her to a section of old records. As Kathy flips through brittle, yellowed pages, she stumbles across a document referencing John Ketcham - a man purportedly exiled from Salem for occult practices who settled near Amityville River and built a home upon cursed ground. Intrigued and horrified, Kathy digs deeper. Ketcham was suspected of human sacrifices and dark rituals. She comes across the journal of a local priest from the 1600s who details Ketcham's last moments - fully possessed by darkness, Ketcham slit his own throat in ritual, vowing his spirit would remain. Kathy realizes that the house she and her family now live in was built directly over that same cursed ground.

Kathy knows they need to leave. She waits for George to go outside, then hurriedly packs the kids' bags. Daniel, confused, asks if they are going on a trip. Missy claims Dawn says they can't go. As Kathy zips up Missy's bag, the bedroom door slams shut on its own. Downstairs, George walks in through the front door. His face is unreadable as he slowly sets down the axe he was holding. Kathy, carrying Missy against her will, tries to leave the house, but George stops them. Kathy takes the kids, and locks herself and the kids in a bedroom, barricading the door with a chair. George paces downstairs before heading upstairs. The door knob to the bedroom begins to rattle. Then the door slams open, throwing the chair aside. George stands there, eyes wild. He tells the rest of his family that nobody is leaving the house. As George looms over his family a strange wind rushes through the room. He clutches his head as if something is pulling at his mind. Kathy quickly tells the kids to run. The children bolt out the door. Kathy tries to pull George with them, but he pushes her away. He staggers toward the Red Room in the basement. As he steps through the small door, his feet splash onto wet stone as the floor is slick with fresh, flowing blood. Dawn stands naked in the center of the room, her body glistening with an endless stream of blood pouring from her skin. She smiles as she lifts a knife and steps toward George, pressing it into his shaking hands. She encourages George to become one with the house. George, almost involuntarily, presses the blade against his own throat. As he hears Kathy's voice calling out for him, he suddenly snaps out of the trance. His eyes snap back into focus. George turns for the door as Dawn pulls at his with her blood-soaked arms. George scrambles out of the Red Room, slamming the door shut behind him. The walls convulse, cracks splintering through them as George stumbles up the basement stairs. Upstairs, Kathy and the kids are already rushing toward the front door. Without looking back, George follows them into the night.

The Lutz family speeds down the dark, empty road, the house located at 112 Ocean Avenue shrinking in the rearview mirror as the quarter-moon windows glow red in the night. Kathy mentions that they only lived in the house for 28 days - less than a month was all they lasted.