Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Home (un)Improvement, October 26, 2004
You ever want to have a little Halloween cheer, but you're absolutely pressed to get the house tidied up, or wash dishes, or do taxes? At ease, my friend: you've found the right horror flick in "Amityville 3 in 3-D", occasionally subtitled "The Demon". If you've pressed on through the series, then you may as well don your battle armor and go hand-to-claw with the vicious undead, if only to see a very young Meg Ryan with a ouija board.
This half-hearted 1983 follow-up to its degenerate 1982 predecessor isn't half the monster "Amityville 2" is, but it's amusing if you're drunk or bored or busy, and it will put you in the Halloween spirit, guaranteed---and unlike "Amityville 2", it won't make you feel guilty for watching it afterward. Numero 3 in the trilogy of the nasty Long Island real-estate bargain introduces us to ghost-buster John Baxter (played by Woody Allen regular Tony Roberts, who plays along but still seems baffled to be here), who picks up that wicked colonial by the sea for a song after busting a fraudulent seance-ring (yeah, they were grasping by the time #3 came along). Despite the misgivings of colleague and sometime sweetie Melanie (Candy Clark, who lends dignity to the proceedings), Baxter buys the house lock stock & smoking barrel, despite the fact that the over-eager real estate agent dies soon after the deal is consummated, evidently from fly asphyxiation. Hey, if it's a steal on the East Coast---with a boat dock and a pool house, by God----you've gotta move on it!
Surprisingly, soon after demonic possession and other creepy shenanigans ensue, with innocent daughter Susan (Lori Laughlin, a bore but doing what she was paid to do) paying the price and a very young Meg Ryan (Lisa) getting to enjoy the ride. Will you enjoy it? If you're easily amused (like I am) and can be bribed with a bug-eyed gollum-esque demon, a nasty incineration death, and a spooky well/porthole-to-hell, then you'll be in good hands. And let's face it: director Richard Fleischer is an old Hollywood hand, a steely-eyed veteran director, who knows what he's doing---for Crom's sake, he directed "Soylent Green", "Doctor Dolittle", and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"---this guy is the Winston Churchill of Directors! Trust him! Ultimately, though, Fleischer was in his autumn years, and after this flick he was lucky to helm "Red Sonja" and "Conan the Destroyer". I'm not kidding.
When it comes right down to it, where the rubber meets the road, "Amityville 3: The Demon" is a decent little horror movie, and will certainly occupy you (occasionally) while you double check the tax forms. Best of all, you can go on a munchies run and not miss much. Ah true, there's a ghoulish, shivery little sequence where Tony Roberts dreams his daughter is confined as a demonic mermaid in the well beneath the house, and that's shivery---truly, nightmarishly shivery. And did I mention "Amityville 3" is a shameless rip-off, particularly when it comes to lighting, of the far superior "Poltergeist"? If you know these things going in, though, you should enjoy yourself.
And more than anything, you'll know this: if the real estate agent promises something that sounds too good to be true, it's probably demon-possessed.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Missing the third dimension...but still OK DVD, March 24, 2005
The title of the film is AMITYVILLE 3-D, but you won't find the third dimension on this DVD. Released theatrically in polarized (clear glasses) 3-D back in 1983, the US DVD is presented in flat format only.
At least the disc restores the film to the correct 2:35 to 1 widescreen ratio, and a teaser trailer I'd never seen before is included too.
They COULD and SHOULD have included a field sequential 3-D version (for use with LCD shutter glasses) on the DVD as well as the modified flat print. That would at least approximate the theatrical experience at home. It's easily done, even a low budget film like THE CREEPS is now available in that format!
Don't be sorry they didn't include a terrible red/blue anaglyph conversion like they did on the recent British DVD release; that looks awful and nothing like the original 3-D anyway. Better to watch it flat than in the inferior anaglyph form.
Buy the box set; you'll also get parts one and two and a disc of documentaries, plus a ticket to see the new Amityville remake.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic B movie is enjoyably fun!, September 23, 2001
First off, a note to the studio. AMITYVILLE 3 is in MAJOR need of a new DVD transfer. The old VHS is grainy, faded, blurry, and the colors dull. But that aside, AMITYVILLE 3-D (also known as AMITYVILLE 3: THE DEMON) is a fun B movie with moments of camp and some moments of chills. No longer taking the premise seriously, the filmmakers decided to make this sequel more fun. The 3-D effects are now laughable, but luckily the house itself is still interesting enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seat. The characters are average, nothing special, but thanks to a creepy atmosphere and some neat setpieces, AMITYVILLE 3-D is a treat.
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