‘The Amityville Murders’ (2019) – Movie Review

It’s a story that’s been told several times. Amityville Horror and the movies that followed told the events that happened to the Lutz’s and everyone else who has ever lived at 112 Ocean Avenue. But this version of the Amityville story is slightly different than the ones that I have seen. This film follows the journey of the Defeo family right up to the night of November 13, 1974, when Butch Defeo murdered his entire family in their beds. We might already know the that happened that night, but in this film, we focus on the journey to that escalated to the tragedy of The Amityville Murders.

Synopsis:

On the night of November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. took a high-powered rifle and murdered his entire family as they slept. At his trial, DeFeo claimed that “voices” in the house commanded him to kill. This is their story.

The Amityville Murders was written and directed by Daniel Farrands, who has a lot of horror credits under his belt such as directing and writing the upcoming film, The Haunting Of Sharon Tate and writing the script for Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995). The cast includes Amityville veteran Diane Franklin (Amityville II: The Possession 1982), John Robinson (Lords of Dogtown 2005), Chelsea Ricketts (The Hole 2009) and Paul Ben-Victor (Daredevil 2003).

What I Liked

The film is based on true events. Butch Defeo did murder his entire family on November 13, 1974, at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, NY. After Butch was arrested, he tried to make the defense that voices in the house made him do it. However, we will never know if this was the case. The Amityville story has been done to death. I think this film is a little bit different than the others. I liked how there were scenes that portrayed the real Defeo family dynamic.

Ronnie Defeo, Butch’s father, was abusive to his wife and children. His actions are seen in the film, and I think these scenes mimic how he was in real life. Paul Ben-Victor, who played Ronnie Defeo, played his role perfectly, in what I think was an accurate description of the real-life father and husband. Another aspect that tied the film to real life was showing that he might have had possible connections to the Mob, like when Ronnie hides money in the chimney.

I have to commend John Robinson’s portrayal of Butch Defeo. He shows the escalation of the young man’s descent into a  murder spree. He portrayed a soft, caring side with his sister, but showed maddening murderous possession as the film progressed.

What Could Have Been Improved

There wasn’t too much that I did not like about the film. The supernatural elements were a bit exaggerated. There were a couple of scenes dedicated to showing Butch Defeo’s drug abuse. I feel like they could have focused more on this as a reason why he killed his entire family, but also have the supernatural elements.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this film. I thought it was a well done supernatural tale that tied in to real life events quite well. The performances from the entire cast was authentic to the DeFeo family. The Amityville Murders will be in theaters, On Demand, and on Digital this February 8th.

Will you venture into the darkness that is Amityville? Let us know in the comments below!