Amityville Poltergeist

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

The Amityville horror film franchise has more than twenty-three films in its lineup, with at least one disparate installment hitting streaming platforms each year. Unfortunately, the movies in the Amityville Cinematic Universe share very little continuity and have trouble finding new ways to milk the now-debunked haunted house situated on the south shore of Long Island. Such is the case for cult filmmaker Calvin Morie McCarthy’s latest tale, Amityville Poltergeist. The story, characters, and even the actors in this film do a serviceable job trying to bring this tired tale to life, but it often falls short. An Amityville Poltergeist is hindered by its ties to Amityville and would be better served as an independent tale about a haunted house, a troubled boy and sinister forces.

Calvin Morie McCarthy is no stranger to the hustle and, at the age of thirty, has over sixty acting credits, seventeen director credits and fifteen writer credits under his belt. Best known for his forays in the B through D movie underbelly, McCarthy has made a name for himself taking on ambitious projects with bootstrap budgets. Amityville Poltergeist, which he wrote, directed and briefly appeared in as a pizza boy is a testament to his potential as a creator, despite failing to live up to its potential.

Jim (Parris Bates) is strapped for cash and out of ideas. He’d donate plasma for an extra buck, but is fearful of needles and blood. With the selling of bodily fluids out of the question, Jim continues searching the internet for ways to make a supplementary income. Eventually, he stumbles upon an ad for a housesitting gig. All he has to do is meet with the family to ensure he’s trustworthy.

Jim goes to meet Eunice (Rebecca Kimble) and her son, but something is awry. Eunice, allegedly senile, is strangely lucid and warns Jim of strange happenings in the home he’s about to stay at. Desperate and dubious of an older woman with questionable faculties, he takes the job. The events that follow are crawling demonstrations of what it’s like to exist in a haunted house – minus the scares. Horror films rely on tension building and release, but Amityville Poltergeist fails at creating the needed tension, resulting in a meandering pace that’s more frustrating than horrifying. There are creepy elements, including the voice of the poltergeist and a competent score, but the film itself does little to manufacture scares.

Rebecca Kimble as Eunice is the breakout performance of the film, despite it centering around Jim. Kimble balances Eunice’s role as red herring and helpless harbinger perfectly throughout. However, the problem with Amityville Poltergeist isn’t so much in its writing or the performances – but in the way that it is nearly impossible to tell a fresh story about a property that has been done to death. The mythology of the Amityville house has been top of mind since the late 70s and few have ever succeeded at deriving novel frights from it. While I look forward to seeing more work from a cast of relative newcomers and unknowns, I hope that their next film is something more original. The same goes for the work of Calvin Morie McCarthy – who has created a career based on his originality.

Amityville Poltergeist isn’t a bad movie, it’s simply a story that we’ve seen countless times before – with a smaller budget than we’re used to. If you’re looking for a good time and a few scares, this film might not satisfy your needs but it’s still a noble entry into horror filmmaking by the cast and crew. Making movies is hard and it’s a win in itself to watch one hit streaming platforms. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for our actors and director. I know it’ll be a haunting good time.