Film Success: Bad Reviews

This paper is about something very dear to my heart, horror films. Horror flicks rarely do well in theaters, especially horror remakes. So, I was not shocked when I looked at the composite review for the most updated version of the Amityville Horror. Many critics say that this movie has been done to death, but if you can think back to a time when scary movies, well scared you, I’m sure you will find some adaptation of this movie around. Every generation has had one seen through their eyes. This is not just a cult classic, but a rite of passage.

Do you remember when you were a child and not allowed to see the gore fest everyone was raving about at school? Did you ever sneak out to see one anyway? I’m sure you did at least once, most have. The Amityville Horror was that movie for me. In my hometown there was a little theater that showed classics cheap, this was where many of my friends and I went to escape our “horrid” parents. Well, the 1979 version of TAH was one of those movies. I remember when I saw it that I was mesmerized. What had I been missing in all those other thriller flicks had come to town? So when the new variation came out last year, I was so excited. In a simple opening credit moment, I was taken back to that summer long past when I first experienced the original.

Just think of it this way, when something does really well in the public eye, people tend to copy it for continued success. Take any era. Since the nineties, people have been bringing them back… hippies, grunge, disco even. Well, many movies are the same. Since this particular movie was such a success, a lot of thriving horror directors site it as a huge inspiration, and eventually consider a revisit. That’s why layman’s grade did not, in fact, shock me. B+. While many reviewers saw it as a weak attempt to yet again redo an old movie, viewers saw it as a chance to bring an old favorite to the new generation. And I must say, I agree.