Amityville II: The Possession (1982) Orion/Horror RT: 104 minutes Rated R (graphic violence, scenes of intense terror, domestic abuse, incest, sacrilegious themes, language) Director: Damiano Damiani Screenplay: Tommy Lee Wallace Music: Lalo Schifrin Cinematography: Franco Di Giacomo Release date: September 24, 1982 (US) Cast: Burt Young, Rutanya Alda, James Olson, Jack Magner, Andrew Prine, Diane Franklin, Erika Katz, Brent Katz, Moses Gunn, Ted Ross, Leonardo Cimino. Box Office: $12.5M (US)
Rating: ****
It doesn’t happen often, but when it does I like to quietly thank the movie gods for their divine intervention. The sequel (or rather, prequel) Amityville II: The Possession is better than the first movie, the hit 1979 horror movie The Amityville Horror. You know I’m right, don’t even try to debate the matter.
Loosely based on the true events that took place before the Lutz family briefly took up residence at 112 Ocean Ave., the genuinely scary Amityville II: The Possession centers on the Montelli family, a clan as devoutly Catholic as it is dysfunctional. The pater familias Anthony (Young, the Rocky movies) routinely bullies and abuses his wife Dolores (Alda, Mommie Dearest) and four children- oldest son Sonny (Magner), teenage daughter Patricia (Franklin, The Last American Virgin) and the little ones Jan and Mark played by real-life siblings Erika and Brent Katz. It was bad before, but it gets worse once they arrive at the infamous Amityville house.
As indicated by the title, somebody does indeed become possessed. It goes down like this. Dolores invites the local parish priest Father Adamsky (Olson, Commando) to come bless the house hoping it will somehow make things better. Instead, Anthony drives him away after disciplining his youngest children right in front of him. Dolores threatens to divorce him unless he apologizes to Adamsky for his rude behavior. Everybody goes to the church except Sonny who says he’s not feeling well. While alone, he hears noises coming from a hidden room in the basement. He goes to investigate and ends up falling victim to demonic possession.
If you thought Regan masturbating with a crucifix in The Exorcist was shocking, wait until you hear what Sonny does to offend God. He has incestuous sex with his sister Patricia. She tries to confess her sin to Adamsky afterwards, but can’t bring herself to say the words.
Meanwhile, Sonny continues to deteriorate mentally and spiritually. The evil spirit occupying his body tells him to kill his entire family which he does. When he’s arrested, he claims he can’t remember doing the deed. Adamsky, convinced the young man is possessed, asks the Church to approve an exorcism. They refuse so he takes it on himself to expel the evil spirit himself.
I can live with the factual liberties taken by Amityville II: The Possession; that’s what artistic license is all about. What I find incredible is the difference in details. Certain things seem to contradict aspects of the original movie, the most glaring example being the secret room in the basement. It’s completely different from how it looks in the original. Also, even though the two movies were reportedly filmed at the same house in Toms River, it looks much different in this movie. Now here’s the real kicker. Amityville II: The Possession is a prequel meaning it takes place prior to 1979 when the first movie was released. Some things, like the cars and Sonny’s Walkman, are clearly from 1982. In the vernacular of teenage MG 24/7, somebody f***ed up.
Thankfully, these are only minor inconsistencies. The movie itself is a terrifying experience. The scene where the demons take Sonny over is fraught with tension and terror. The sequence of a possessed Sonny murdering his whole family is extremely frightening and especially disturbing seeing that two of his victims are young children. Then there’s the finale where Adamsky performs the exorcism after helping Sonny escape police custody. The makeup effects are incredible although the sequence invites comparison to The Shining, Poltergeist and the first two Exorcist films. I never said Amityville II: The Possession was particularly original. I only stated that it’s a lot scarier than its predecessor.
To be fair, Amityville II: The Possession isn’t without its silly moments. It’s one of the traits of the genre. One scene really cracks me up. It’s the first courtroom scene when Sonny’s lawyer (Ross, Arthur) pleads his client “not guilty by reason of demonic possession”. Just imagine the precedent that would set for future cases of mass murder.
Italian filmmaker Damiano Damiani (The Day of the Owl) has put together an effective fright flick with Amityville II: The Possession, one that benefits from a first-rate screenplay by Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III: Season of the Witch). A terrific score by Lalo Schifrin (Dirty Harry, Enter the Dragon) augments the feeling of terror.
The performances are better than once would usually expect from a horror movie. Young nails it as the abusive patriarch who doesn’t hesitate to use violence to enforce his will. He beats his wife when she refuses to have sex with him. Alda is terrific as the devoutly Catholic wife who can’t believe the evil things she is seeing around her. She is horrified when she discovers that two of her children have committed the mortal sin of incest. At times, her performance is a little OTT, but that’s to be expected in a movie like this. Olson is great as the priest who has no doubt that evil forces are at work in that house even if his superiors think he’s losing his mind.
Franklin, a talented young actress, displays the right amount of vulnerability as she falls victim to her brother’s inappropriate sexual advances. I’d also like to mention the performances of the Katz kids. Their sense of terror is palpable whether it’s their dad coming after them with his belt or their big brother pointing a shotgun at them. Magner is quite good as Sonny. His transformation from slightly rebellious young man to full-fledged psycho is the very stuff nightmares are made of.
Although Amityville II: The Possession is essentially an exploitation flick with a bigger budget, it’s totally effective. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do and that’s to scare the hell out of the viewer. I attended a Sunday afternoon matinee (September 26, 1982) at the old City Line Theater with my girlfriend at the time. Some lady in the audience was screaming like she was being tortured. If a horror movie can do that, then you have a real winner on your hands.
