Blu-ray Movie Reviews

One of the most talked-about haunted-house stories of all time, "The Amityville Horror" will hit you where you live. For George and Kathy Lutz, the colonial home on the river's edge seemed ideal: quaint, spacious and amazingly affordable. Of course, six brutal murders had taken place there just a year before, but houses don't have memories...or do they? Soon the Lutz dream house becomes a hellish nightmare, as walls begin to drip blood and satanic forces threaten to destroy them. Now the Lutzes must try to escape or forfeit their lives and their souls.

This is the masterpiece of haunted house thrillers and still one of the creepiest horror films of the late seventies. I remember this one giving me a few issues at bed time when I was a kid. The film excels in its mood and atmosphere and will have you wondering about those noises at night. A perfect Halloween treat!

This is one of those films that’s limited by its production and photography more than anything else. The Blu-ray image is a bit edgy at times but the dated look gives the image a somewhat dull appearance most of the time. Detail wavers in and out but the print condition is quite good. Colors are very natural and brighter sequences actually heighten the visual experience from time to time. Fine detail in close ups is great but medium to long shots look a bit softer than most HD content out there. Overall this is about what I would have expected from a film like this.

The lossless 5.1 mix does its best to open up the soundstage and present a solid effort but again the overall effort is limited by the production and its age. Atmosphere is good but dynamic range is weak and the soundtrack comes off as thin. This hurts the mood as the underlining score just isn’t as ominous as it could be. Sound effects have a very dated quality that sound a bit harsh at times. Surround use is pretty good though and helps with the mood. Dialogue sounds good enough, but slightly dated in quality.

Unfortunately MGM hasn’t included any supplemental material for this horror classic except for the trailer and trailers for two other MGM releases.

This is a great horror classic and a nice catalog pick given the season. MGM has done a pretty decent job with the presentation but disappoints a bit with the extras. I would recommend this for hardcore fans but casual viewers should probably stick to a rental.