The haunted house is one of the most prevalent horror tropes, one that has lately seen a resurgence in popularity. Movies like The Conjuring and Paranormal Activity have been raking in large profits for movie studios, because who doesn’t love a good haunting story? Family in a house besieged by evil spirits is a simple concept, but I believe the most direct precursor to the current trend of haunted house movies is The Amityville Horror. The film was based off of a book inspired by the “real life” experiences of a couple living in their very own murder-house on Long Island. This (contested) true story spawned multiple sequels, a remake, and countless imitators because it so successfully parlayed our fears surrounding the persistence of traumatic memories and the deterioration of family, into horror.
The film wastes no time hiding the tragic past of the house, and opens with the DeFeo murders that took place before our hero family moves in, so the new family is completely aware of house’s history. James Brolin’s character claims, “houses don’t have memories,” as a way to sweep away traumas of the past, but even though houses may not remember, people do. Jarring shots of the murders are intercut with scenes of the new couple touring the house, to suggest that they are complicit with the truth of their new home. Whether their knowledge of the murders influenced their behavior or not is up to you to decide, but as soon as the new family moves in, strange things begin to happen.
One of the most effective aspects of this film is the slow build of paranormal activity. More recent haunted house flicks tend to ramp up the scares quickly, and things go from zero to 60 relatively quickly, making the family seem willfully ignorant by not leaving the house. The escalation in this film is much more gradual, starting with small events —papers moving, faint laughter, etc. It takes a while for the family to begin to believe there’s something wrong with the actual house, making it much more believable that they would stay for so long.
What this film does so well is merging the paranormal horror with real life fears. As with most haunted house movies, the “spirits” reach out to the children first—Margot Kidder’s character learns of her daughter’s new “special friend.” There are many horror movies that feature a child with an invisible friend, often warning of the mayhem soon to come. Kids in the real world say all sorts of weird things like this. Most of the time parents ignore it, though sometimes they’re left with the lingering thought, “what if it’s not all make believe?”
Of course, the children’s link to the ghosts isn’t the only source of familial terror—that job is also filled by James Brolin’s character, whose slow descent into madness and aggression preceded Jack Nicholson’s role in The Shining by a year. Although Nicholson delivered a more memorable performance, The Amityville Horror grounds Brolin’s character in a more realistic way. It is important to note that the family unit in this film is not “intact,” and Brolin is the stepfather to this family. This is key, because his resulting madness not only plays off fears of the husband who suddenly snaps, but begs the questions, how well can you know someone, and how much can you trust someone you invite into your family?
Though this film at times feels its length (pushing two hours), the way that this film incorporates real-life fears and worries is masterful. Perhaps it’s because the story and characters are based off of real people and, arguably, real experiences, this ghost story feels more grounded in reality. But even if you’re not taking an analytical approach to watching, there’s enough going bump in the night to keep anyone entertained. The walls ooze blood, and toilets bubble over with evil black goop, so there’s really a lot here to like. Haunted houses go with Halloween like chocolate and peanut butter, so before you peruse Netflix for a recent entry into the genre, give the Amityville Horror a try, and enjoy an original.
M-Cubed 