Amityville 2.
Probably the Amityville film I keep returning to most. Directed by italian film maker Damiano Damiani (how to kill a judge) and written by Tommy lee wallace Amityville 2 acts as a sort of prequel to the original film. Loosely based around the actual defeo killings that occurred in the house where Ronald "butch" defeo killed his entire family one night with a shotgun. The family's name is changed to Montelli and some liberties are taken with the lead up to the killings and the events that followed.
Unlike the the depiction of the Lutz family in the original film, here the Montelli clearly have problems before they even enter the house. The father of the house, Anthony Montelli is a short tempered, controlling and abusive slimeball. There is a suggestion that he is raping his wife though the scene in question was cut out of the final film according to Rutanya Alda who plays the mother Dolores Montelli. There is also a closer than usual relationship between brother and sister Sonny and Patricia but then Patricia is played by Diane Franklin so when the relationship progresses to full incest its not totally unreasonable (JUST KIDDING!)
The house just seems to magnify problems that already exist and the Montelli family disintegrates pretty quickly. Much to the Alarm of the local priest Father Adamsky (played by James Olsen) who fails to act quickly enough to prevent the killings. His friend Father tom is played by Andrew prine and Moses Gunn plays Detective turner. The build up to the killings has some great effects work including paint brushes painting by themselves. The entity in the house takes a special interest in Tommy and begins possessing him. Talking to him through his ear-phones and urging him to kill. The possession effects themselves are great and uses a lot of bladder effects to present physical transformation.
Once the killings have happened the film switches gears somewhat and becomes an Exorcism movie. Plagued by guilt father Adamsky wants to perform an exorcism on Sonny. When Sonny escapes from the mental institution Adamsky tracks him back to the house for the final confrontation. This sequence includes some of the films standout scenes and has a bleak and downbeat ending.
I love amityville 2. Its somewhat trashy perhaps, and structurally a mess. The exorcism scene itself feels tacked on to cash in on a certain hugely popular William Friedkin film. Overall though its very enjoyable, surprisingly creepy and incredibly dark. For me the standout film of the franchise.
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