Amityville II: The Possession (1982)

[baumer]

Discuss

[K1stpierre]

Normally, sequels to great films drop and generally either suck or meh. However, this film not only manages to keep pace with the first film, but even makes it even more creepy. This film gave me the creeps. Even though I knew what the ending was going to be (since obviously this was a prequel), it still left me on edge, and just gave me chills. I give this one also an A+ and a 9.5/10.

[CaptainJackSparrow]

There was incest in this film...yuck.

[baumer]

There was incest in this film...yuck.

 

Only because he was possessed.

[baumer]

I give this an 8.5 because even though the end was contrived and straight out of The Exorcist, it is still one hell of a scary film. And if you thought you had reason in the first one to yell " Get out!" then wait till you see this one.

The first hour of this film is absolutely terrifying. It has so much atmosphere and chilling scenes that I couldn't understand why people hated this film so much. The room in the basement is dark, dingy and the camera work is so spooky that you can't help but get suckered into believing that something is in there. When the mom is ironing and she feels something touch her arm and then the wind, that was a perfect scene. It was frightening. But the highlight of this film is when the family minus Sonny goes to church. It is here that Sonny gets stalked by an unseen force. And I even caught myself yelling at the TV, " GET OUT! " When he goes up the stairs and then down and then back up again into his room, it bothered me and it literally gave me chills. The camera work is so creative and haphazard that you really can't tell where the demon is. Is it on the ceiling, behind him, in front of him, where? That was a brilliant sequence in the film.

Some of the acting is pretty bad especially from the mom, but it makes up for that with its chills and tension. I really think that people that criticize this film are perhaps people that should watch it again. I saw it for the first time when I was about 16 and thought it was okay, but then I rented it today and it frightened me during the day. That is pretty good film making. And is it me or are Italian directors better at good horror than the average north American director? Because I've seen some pretty scary horror films that were directed by Italians and they seem to have a style all their own. Just a thought.

Amityville II is a perfect film to watch before the original. It is actually a prequel and it is good to watch them back to back. Give this film a chance and I'll bet it will scare you. It did a pretty good job on me.

8.5/10

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Only because he was possessed.

The sister still knew better.