Amityville II: The Possession (1981)

Directed by:

Damiano Damiani

If you want to see some pretty well-known character actors delivering overwrought performances they should be embarrassed of, then don’t miss this movie! Otherwise, it’s a pretty loud, nasty, boring and unenjoyable prequel to the big AIP hit of 1979, complete with all the expected haunted house clichés. Here, devoutly Catholic dad Anthony Montelli (Burt Young, best known for the ROCKY films) starts berating and beating up his children, dedicated mom Dolores (Rutanya Alda - who actually received a Razzie nod for this film) mopes around like your typical abused housewife and eldest son Sonny (Jack Magner) is contacted by a demon on his Walkman, becomes possessed, develops some bubbly facial lesions, beds his own sister (Diane Franklin) and does us all a favor by blowing holes in his thoroughly obnoxious and stupid Italian-American family with a shotgun at the very end. Sleaze movie staple Andrew Prine has the Rod Steiger role as a man-of-the-cloth trying to warn everyone (in vain, of course) to get the hell outta Dodge. The tone of the whole film is pretty bleak and dreary, and it has some tasteless moments, so that elevates it slightly above the lousy original. Why the hell is that film considered a horror classic again? This one was scripted by Tommy Lee Wallace, (based on the book "Murder in Amityville" by Hans Holzer), who would go on to direct HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982), FRIGHT NIGHT 2 (1988), IT (1990) and others. THE INQUIRY (1987) was the next film (non-genre) for the Italian director.

★1/2