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Transcript

The Amityville Horror (1979) · Citizen Frame

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Music.
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I am a trained psychotherapist. I went into that house, and what I saw there was real.
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What I felt there was real, and what I heard there was real.
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Now, gentlemen, I have a family in my parish that's at great risk,
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and they are facing real danger.
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Get out! You know, we do this podcast for the love of film.
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That's who we are. We're just film boss first. first we might like some of it
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and we might be kind of mean-spirited but it's all good fun right,
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yeah we don't mean any harm yeah exactly we've got we've got love in our hearts,
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wow well i do anyway i don't have any of that shit i'm like i'm not going that
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far fuck that but you know this whole time we've been only asking for feedback
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we like to hear back from the listeners what are we doing wrong is something
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we can improve on am i an asshole You know,
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We all know the answer to that I paused because I knew you were going to jump in there.
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But it really Tugs at the heart strings When we get some really glowing feedback,
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From our podcast And I didn't think we ever would But it really Shows you why we do this,
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And we got a message from one of our Listeners He listens to us all the time
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And he has a good laugh laugh, and he said something that really pulled the heartstrings.
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And I'm not a sentimental guy. We all know that, right, Trevor?
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Yeah, absolutely. Well, yes, I would definitely agree with that.
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You're definitely not a sentimental guy, yep.
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But when you get such a wonderful comment,
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so the story is, he says, I listen to you guys when we're in the car,
2:04
you know, driving or whatever, and his partner finally got in the car one day
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and says, well, I can't even get this out without, you know, really tearing up.
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Can you please turn those two fucking idiots off?
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You know what? You know what? It's, you know, there's actually a tear in my
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eye. I can't. There is, you know.
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You're touching. Yeah. Words can't express how I'm feeling inside right now.
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I feel like we've done it. We've accomplished something. We've made it. Yeah.
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All that hard work leading up to this point, you know. Exactly.
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And with glowing comments like that, I just, where's, I can't,
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you know, we peaked. I think we peaked. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
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You know? So because of those kind words, we went back to the listener and it
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was Mark, that's his name.
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And I go, Mark, you listen, thank you for that wonderful feedback and try not to tear up.
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And please ask her, we would like to do a film on her behalf. half.
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So I was hoping to kind of get her back.
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Yeah. If she picked like Steel Magnolias
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or Pretty Woman, I would have had something to go with in that one.
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But no, she's asked us to do Silence of the Lambs.
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Good on her. Great choice. Yeah, I know. But damn, maybe I have to hate it just to get her back.
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But we will be doing that. Actually, maybe actually fitting for Halloween a
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month and a half coming up here so but we'll get to it in november and again
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thank you for that wonderful shout out and mark especially to you thank you
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for bringing that wonderful,
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feedback with a smile on your face all feedback
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is good feedback you know even when we're getting even when people are being
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brutally honest and calling us two fucking idiots that's okay we can tickets
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all right on that note that's right people it's that time of the month it's October 1st,
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It's time for Halloween month and a half. Woo. Yeah, we have.
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What should that be? Woo.
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Wow. I still, we really need to get like sound guys or something.
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Yeah, we're having the improvise here. It's not good. Maybe we are two fucking idiots.
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All right. Yes. So I'm very excited. We're going to start off Halloween month with the 1970 classic.
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1978, I believe. or yes. 79 possibly. I don't know. 79. The Amityville Horror.
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This has been one of those horror franchises that's been built on and built
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on and built on and got terrible and terrible and terrible and terrible as it went on.
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Like most horror franchises, they kind of become their own. They've grown out
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of ideas. Yeah, they become their own worst enemy.
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So, but it always starts with the pretty positive note and that's certainly the Amityville Horror.
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Now I've seen this film numerous times and I've saw it in theater just two years
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ago for, for one of its anniversaries and the Halloween horror nights or something
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like that at the Odyssey there.
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And it was nice seeing it first time seeing on the big screen, good crowd.
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And so. For watching this for the podcast, it was the first time I'd watched
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it since I was very young.
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But I do. So my memory wasn't that clear on it, but yeah.
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Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it was something that I was obviously very aware of,
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you know. Yeah. But it was very young when I saw it. And I believe it was not on video.
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It would have been on a TV showing of it.
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Yeah. But it's obviously, you know, very famous, you know. Yeah,
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that's where I was introduced to it.
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It was one of those matinees on Channel 9 on a Saturday afternoon.
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There's really not much to edit. It's not too, you know, it's pretty tame by today's standards.
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Now, this was directed by a man called Stuart Rosenberg. talented man.
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His big claim to fame will be one of the greatest films ever produced called Cool Hand Luke.
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Yes. So right there you've got pretty much an A-lister behind the helm and then you... Paul Newman.
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Yeah, Paul Newman. And then you...
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Pepperin, James Brolin, Rob Steiger, and of course, Margaret Kidder,
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gone too early. Sad what happened to her. Yes.
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Murray Hamilton, Don Stroud. Just a fun group of actors here.
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Now, how the Amityville Horror works, this is technically a prequel.
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Not prequel, sorry, a sequel. So the Amarillo Horror is based on the Lutz family
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who moved into this house just about a year or two after a murder happened.
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The DeFeo family, their son went on a rampage and killed the entire family, all little children.
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That's true. That is true. The DeFeo family, this man did go in and kill his family.
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Now, he says he was possessed, the house made him do it, and this is where we'll
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get the Amityville to the possession, would be that story, okay?
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So, this takes place after that, and this is about the Lutz family, which is true.
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They moved into the house, got it for a good deal, which is true,
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because obviously what happened in the house.
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And they said that the house was demonic and caused George to almost pretty much kill his family.
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Which wasn't true. They made that up. Yes. They made the haunted house stuff
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up. This whole thing has been pretty much proven as a lie.
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There's a new documentary with one of the Lutz kids produced it. It's so bad.
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It just, they interview him and he can't even really answer the questions properly.
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It's just, it's all bullshit. shit. So, this Amityville Horror,
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it says it's based on a true story.
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At the time, yes, it was.
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But now, we could put this laid to rest. This whole film is just a horror film.
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But Amityville 2 Possession would be more based on the original source material.
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Well, I think it's a great marketing ploy, you know, for back to the end.
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Oh, no, no, no, no. I disagree with that. I don't think this was marketing ploy.
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No, no, no. I think that's what. No, no, no. I disagree completely.
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I know. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Maybe not intentionally.
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The problem is. Maybe not intentionally.
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The problem is this, I, that film is based on a true story over something fucking,
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that's like a half a second feature in the film. And then they base that around the whole film.
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That's what they're doing now. Now, this was not proven, the Lust family to
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be kind of frauds until 80s, maybe within the 90s, where things started coming
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to light and not making sense.
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So at the time, they thought they had, I'm not saying the whole thing's true,
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no movie is, but I do think they actually thought it was based on something real.
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Yes but what i'm saying is my point is
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more that perhaps word of mouth because you
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know around the time this was released the sort of the
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the lutz story what became quite popular and it was like i think maybe maybe
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not coming exactly from the studio but i think a lot of word of mouth helped
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this film a lot to sell tickets it was hugely successful and a lot of people
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went to see it it made a lot of money and it does deserve it and you got to
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realize too like you said The Elie Lahore,
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people know the story before this came out.
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So they know the, obviously the massacre and the DeVale family.
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So the story is known, especially the original source material, which is the murders.
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So yeah, people are going to go see it. And not to mention the house is fucking creepy.
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Well, the book that the film is based on, which was written around the Lutz
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family. I'm like, apparently the guy, apparently I think he's got some legal
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background or something. Jay J.
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Empson wrote the book. Yeah, apparently he came out in later years and said,
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yeah, we'll just make this up.
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You know, in terms of the house being haunted and all the stuff that allegedly
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happened to the Lutz family.
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Yeah, so it was complete fabrication. Yeah. You know, but the murders were real, the original murders.
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Yeah, yes. A guy went in and murdered a strong woman. Yeah, exactly.
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Let's just jump into it. Okay. We got George and Kathy Lutz.
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We got Father Delaney, Father Bowen, Father Ryan. We got a lot of fathers here.
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What about, we also have Strickland from- I saw that.
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He's in the opening scene. James Tolkien. and yes
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and to keep in the back of the future thing we have save the
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clock tar woman she's an estate agent at the start you
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know who basically sells them the house oh i see
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back to the future yes she's the one that goes up into
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marty and jennifer's face when they're kissing and go you know to start and
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goes save the clock tar you know yeah yeah yeah well there's also and also the
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mirror from jaws but we'll get to that yeah we'll get to that one yeah i love
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the opening the credits they do a very nice job and utilizing the creepiness
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look of the house as obviously the the roof area looks like eyeballs,
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eyes staring at you yeah a face it looks like a face looks like a face you know
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they fucking whoever moved into the house because house has been lived in since
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and nothing like he's ever happened and,
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the people who bought it changed the change the glasses it doesn't look like
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they changed the windows,
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and that's actually the back of the house too I suppose you
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know it's not the front which I properly sort of realized this time watching
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it because whenever they enter into the front of the house I'm like whoa whoa
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whoa that's not is this a different house and then yes and then it's sort of
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I realised yes no the iconic look is actually the back of the house well they
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got rid of it whoever owns it now it's just stupid yeah,
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Well, they could have made an absolute fortune. Maybe they wanted a quiet life
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and they didn't want tourists coming.
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Yeah, if they didn't want a quiet life and they didn't want tourists,
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don't move into a murder house.
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All right? Well, this is true. Yeah, I just love the credits.
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I love how the house is in the very background.
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It's fairly faint. You got the creepy little music. Of course,
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any good horror movie in the 70s had like choir in the background. Oh!
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Yeah. Yeah, and then it's just the image of the house.
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You see the redness of the glass, of the windows, and then as day approaches,
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it gets more calmer and relaxing.
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It's a nice little opening, just a simple opening shot, but done so,
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it's a nice introduction to the house.
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And it's very well edited, the way, you know, we'll each murder and stuff.
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It is a very effective opening scene.
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And it's quite brutal. I mean, they- It sets a tone.
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Yeah, and what I like about it, when we opened up with the two cops who were
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there for the actual original murders.
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And then one year later, the Lutz moves in. What I liked about it,
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when she's showing them the room per room, it quickly cut to one of the people
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getting shot in that room.
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Yes. And the film is a slow burn, kind of like with Burnt Offerings.
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And what I do like about this is that it's loud when something cuts to something
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to kind of throw the audience, it's a jump scare, but it's done, it's not cheat.
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They do it well and it's very disturbing.
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And you do see kids getting shot. Like we talked about the 70s and the 70s never pulled any punches.
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Hence why there's longevity in these films.
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They're honest, they're uncensored, they're gritty.
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The producers back then, the Xanax and so forth, they all trusted their directors.
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Now directors are just going for higher, unfortunately. And that's why I think
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the 70s sticks with us so well. Yeah, totally.
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Whenever I was sort of a bit younger, maybe in my 20s and stuff,
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I had a lot of nostalgia for 80s films, and I would have considered it because
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of my nostalgia, the great era for film making.
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But now that I'm a bit more mature and, well, essentially since my 30s and I've watched a lot more,
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I think the 1970s was the greatest era for cinema,
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cinema quentin tarantino says the same actually and that's
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not just me just i'm like jumping on his bandwagon yeah it
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was just a golden era for cinema you know i believe
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i piggyback on a comment it's funny to say that because i watched a lot of these
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70s movies and matinees like i said in the afternoon on saturday i was introduced
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to the warriors that way i was introduced to halloween that way i was introduced
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to the old man that way i was introduced this movie this way And it's funny,
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cinema has become like my music selection.
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Now, obviously, you guys know I'm well-versed. I love all genres.
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I love all era of cinema, period.
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But as I got older, I used to love 80s rock, hair bands, still do,
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Def Leppard, greatest band of all time, and all Van Halen, and I love all those bands.
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But when I started getting older, I started listening to the Eagles and CCR and Zeppelin.
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Like in the era I technically grew up in, it was the seventies,
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but I didn't appreciate it back then because I was just a kid.
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Now listening to it, I think seventies is my favorite music.
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I would agree with that. I found that, I find more me listening to that now
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as I get older than the stuff I still love in my eighties, but I think the seventies
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are dominant and I'm starting to see that with cinema.
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Are rose tinted glasses aren't as, as rose tinted, let's just say as they were
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perhaps Perhaps whenever we were maybe in our 20s and early 30s,
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especially when we're seeing more stuff and listening to more different music from different eras.
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Big fan of the 60s music here as well. Even 50s music, you know, exactly.
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You know, but yeah, I would definitely agree that some of the greatest music
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and the great eras for both music and film was the 70s.
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We're here to talk out of your horror. Yeah. Yeah.
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It's all relevant, people. It's all relevant. Exactly. So let's talk about this
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nosy bastard, Father Delaney, who just walks into a house.
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Well, yeah, but to be fair, it is established later on that he was there to
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bless the house, and he was actually a family friend. Yes, yes.
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Of Kathy Lutz. Her name's Kathy, isn't it, or Catherine?
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It's Kathy, yeah. Yeah, because they would be quite, or she is anyway,
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she'd be quite strict Catholic as it's established, and you know,
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she has the crucifix and stuff, and she has married George Lutz,
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and he has taken on her three children from a previous relationship.
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And you? They're little fucking brats. Oh, fucking God.
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This is where we go back to hating
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kids in cinema. Well, I can totally understand why he loses the plot.
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It's nothing to do with the ghosts of the house. It's those little shits. Little fuckers.
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Yeah. You mentioned, you nailed it on the head there.
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You mentioned earlier about why he's relevant to Father Delaney at one of your initial viewings.
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And that's why, because, and there's something that Margaret Cathy says about
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to Father Bolin when she's trying to track Father Delaney down.
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I need to speak, he helped me through a really bad tragedy when I was younger.
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So yeah there's a history between them too so it does explain his presence there
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and why the house treats him as poorly,
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as he gets it but it was also prearranged it's
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later established that he was meant to call round and bless the house because
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they're saying to each other George and Kathleen or Kathy are saying to each
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other you know well where's the priest he was meant to come round here and bless
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the house you know well he did he was round and the flies got him the flies,
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In close up Pretty creepy shots actually Of the flies in close up Yeah you got some nice shots.
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The film was really shot a little long.
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Get that out of the way now. It's a little long, especially for a film that
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is pretty much right away, George gets the cold and he already starts to turn.
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So a film that's pretty much minutes into it, the things start happening pretty quick, a little long.
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It's whenever he gets up at 3.15, which was obviously the time of the previous
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murders, and decides to take the dog for a walk.
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And it was the cold, but it's a supernatural cold that the priest has also got, Rod Steiger.
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I do like it's a haunted house door that gives you a ghost pretty much right away.
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And when Rob Steiger is in the flies and the door opens up and you hear, get out.
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You know? That always reminds me of the Eddie Murphy skit.
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You ever seen Eddie Murphy's skit? I don't know if I've seen it.
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I've seen some of his early stuff.
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I won't do it justice, but I'll make it quick. He goes, why is it that white
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people never leave the house when the house is haunted in movies?
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Why? They'll see blood coming up from the sink, and they'll be like, wow, that's peculiar.
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And they'll be given every scare that a ghost can give, but they still won't
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leave the fucking house.
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And he goes, but you see black people in there?
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Black people would move in, and they'd go, Oh wow this is really beautiful This
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is really really nice the kids are outside Playing on the swing The house is
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all cleaned up This is really big and spacious This is really really nice We're
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going to raise a really nice family here Get out Too bad we can't stay baby.
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Eddie Murphy was good He still is Eddie's
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the best And Raw he
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did as well Raw was the other one I remember growing
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up he was you know when he was a big thing with beverly hills cop
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and stuff you know but to be for
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the whole why the fuck didn't they just fucking run away from
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the house as it rest later on they can't afford it well well not only that there
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it's what she says kathy lutz says you know come on let's just go let's just
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leave but whenever george is he he's like saying we're not because he's sort
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of semi-possessed he's saying we're not going anywhere this is our house you know So, yeah,
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to be fair, that's addressed.
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I do like how James Bronwyn –.
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I think we talked about this with Burnt Offerings. Yes, this one has more of
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a haunted house feel than Burnt Offerings did.
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But like Burnt Offerings, this has the cool haunted house kind of stuff going for it.
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But it also has the character drama.
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You've got this single mother who's just married now, George.
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And she's brought on these three kids with her.
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He's got a business that's slightly struggling. and then you throw this mix
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into it so it's nice to have that family dynamic going on,
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they're very much working class yeah exactly exactly and whereas a lot of especially
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hollywood films it's always about middle class people you know moving to houses
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and stuff but you can yes there is a good sort of backstory there and i'm assuming
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that that's based on the situation of
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the Lutz family in real life, you know, before the,
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well, you know, became, you know.
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Storytellers extraordinaire, let's just say. Yeah.
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I do think in seventies films when the love scenes are always terrible,
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oh soft focus soft focus and she's going with all the like the Seattle music yeah and then she's like.
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Fondling his hair like she's trying to rip his scalp open and then she's you
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know and those kisses with those little pecs it's just and then there's mirrors
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where the fuck mirrors there's mirrors somewhere.
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Yeah and you're like oh
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my god and there's the harpsichord playing in the background fucking the
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harpsichord it's cheesy it's so bad
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i know i know but it's actually it's actually
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a bit awkward you know what i mean it's just a bit i don't know
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you know what i mean don't get me wrong i'm far from a proud but
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it's just a bit it's cheesy it's it's
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cheesy 70s it doesn't really stuff like
22:42
that doesn't really fit well and what's supposed to
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be an intense horror film i i get that they're doing it for you know it's like
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you know the juxtaposing them and and you know all the terrible things that
22:53
It will happen and also to set them up as a loving couple before George decides
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to go Jack Nicholson and The Shining before Jack Nicholson and The Shining.
23:02
You know, you mentioned The Shining. I'm going to tell you right now,
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we talk about Burt Dauphrings too.
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I actually believe Burt Dauphrings and The Amityville Horror.
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A lot of filmmakers, especially two big ones, Spielberg and Tobey Hooper,
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and of course, you just mentioned him, Stanley Kubrick.
23:20
There's no way they're going to see these two films. there's no
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fucking way they did it especially ellie the
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horn poltergeist well i would say as well though
23:29
that you know um stephen keen wrote the shining obviously i think it was um
23:34
released in 1977 but we discussed it on the burnt offerings podcast or you know
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keen appears to have been inspired by burnt offerings you know when he wrote
23:45
the shining yeah yeah at least in some part.
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Yeah, the film definitely influences other films, that's for sure. A lot of 70s films do.
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A lot of people emulate 70s cinema because, or they take from it,
23:58
because it's groundbreaking cinema at the time, or it still is.
24:02
Yeah, I would say this also borrows heavily from The Exorcist with the two priests,
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which are actually unnecessary to the plot.
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While they don't really have proper character arcs, but it feels like a studio
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note where the studio said to the director,
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yeah yeah the old priest and the young priest yeah you know
24:20
what brilliantly and the exorcist and also with the
24:23
detective you know the detective i didn't why
24:25
was he here yeah he just disappears at
24:28
the end of the film he feels like an imitation lee jacob from the exorcist yeah
24:32
no i yeah he should have been written out but i disagree with you in the priests
24:36
and we'll get to the scene i'm talking about why i think it's important but
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you have like i said it's a slow burn but i like every Every scene, if something happens,
24:46
the guy I love right now is Mike Flanagan, the director of The Haunting of Hill House and so forth.
24:54
And every scene, if something happens, you have to pay attention.
24:57
Well, they kind of do this with the Elmville Horror.
24:59
Yeah. And little things like Amy, little fucker, wakes them up when they're
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trying to have yum-yum time or when they're trying to have yum-yum time.
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And he brings her to bed and brings her to bed.
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And then as she's leaving, you see the rocking chair in the corner moving yes
25:15
imaginary friend yeah judy and little things like that they even do the classic
25:21
cat jump scare but they do it even better when he goes out to steal a smoke
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at the boathouse he opens up a window and there's a big cat's face with his huge fucking eyes,
25:31
scared the shit out of me i didn't and it wasn't and then later on of course there's a ghost pig.
25:37
Demon pig at the window as well i thought
25:40
that was stupid i'm telling you right they should have they
25:43
should have wrote that out corny they should have wrote that out they
25:45
should know the best stuff they should have just had like two
25:48
red eyes yeah flashing or something
25:51
something you could have done with flashlights would have
25:54
been scarier than a fucking pig man i was like hey i was like hey it's long
25:58
legs and also his work colleague's wife who just happens to be a clairvoyant
26:05
it's very 70s you know what i mean because we'll be sort of clairvoyants and
26:09
psychics and these types of films in the 70s, but what I would say,
26:12
what really worked for me,
26:15
actually involving that clairvoyant woman,
26:17
is whenever they knock the wall down in the basement and they literally find
26:21
the gates to hell, very Fucci.
26:24
Like, Fucci has beyond and stuff that he came after, so I think maybe Fucci
26:28
was possibly inspired a bit, but very Lucio Fucci, and it really worked for me, really effective.
26:34
I do like the fact when you're introduced to Carolyn.
26:38
And that's the psychic you're talking about. When she wouldn't go in the house,
26:42
when he's going to talk to his boss there.
26:45
And she wouldn't go in the house. I can't go in there. No way. No fucking way.
26:48
And then like four scenes later, I want to get into the house. I'm ready to go.
26:53
Wait a minute. What the fuck? Now you're willing to go into this house?
26:56
Two seconds, you wouldn't stay in the car.
26:59
Yeah. Actually, the stuff where she starts, you know, talking in all the sort
27:03
of weird voices and stuff, that's very creepy as well. I'll tell you why.
27:06
Because it's basically, I read up on it, which makes it even more creepier because
27:10
she is at the gates of hell in the basement when they knock the wall away.
27:14
That's the strange voices talking through her are basically the damned souls
27:21
in hell screaming out in eternal agony and pain.
27:25
That's pretty hardcore, you know.
27:28
There are some nice, like when the sister she's kind of just peppered in the
27:34
sister comes in and she's going to say, you know, walk to the house And she's
27:38
giggly, she's, she's fun.
27:41
Well, the sister, I meant none. Okay. Yeah. But you know what I meant?
27:44
Yes. But she had her, it's both. Yeah. Yeah. So she's walking through the house
27:47
and she's very friendly with the kids, very bubbly and fun and kind of,
27:52
you know, good, like, you know, good sense of humor.
27:54
And then I liked how she just turns and she, I gotta go. I can't, I can't stay. I gotta go.
27:59
And she doesn't oversell it. She doesn't undersell it. She just plays it quite well.
28:03
The acting here, especially by the priests is really fucking good.
28:07
Rod Steiger's performance is brilliant in this. Rod Steiger is very good.
28:13
It's bordering on the homie, but it's very strong. It's very,
28:16
you know, it hits hard. I actually think he's the best in it. Yes.
28:20
Brolin's very good. Him and Brolin. But they all are. Margaret Kidder is actually.
28:24
Kidder, yeah. You know. She's always been very reliable. Yeah.
28:27
Sad what happened to Margaret Kidder. Fucking sad. Yeah.
28:32
Yeah. That's why I like those, like, again, little
28:35
subtle those scenes that come in or little booze
28:38
in the corner or rocking chair peppered in
28:41
just to keep you What about when the
28:45
little brat demonic daughter decides to
28:48
lock the babysitter with the big brace on her face decides to lock her in the
28:53
room Yeah that was awesome That was on you little bastard I love when they have
28:57
those braces outside the mouth Jesus It took me a second to twig what she was
29:03
wearing on her face. I mean, yes, that's an old school brace.
29:05
Yeah. You know? Yeah. Yeah. And she's kind of annoying anyway.
29:09
So you're sort of like, I love the daughters, a little brat.
29:12
You're sort of, yeah, you're sort of, you can sort of understand.
29:16
You know, whenever she locks her in the room.
29:19
But I thought it was a bit cheesy the way it turns out that Roland is.
29:24
Looks exactly like the young lad who murdered
29:28
his family you know where she checks the news paper but
29:31
again you know that you know that's a bit of reincarnation suggestion
29:35
there before the shining you know so yeah
29:39
I did I had that in my notes I do think that's kind
29:42
of stupid because she sees the picture of the
29:45
original DeFeo member that did
29:48
the killings and it literally is just you
29:50
know James Brolin and like come on they could have tweaked it
29:53
like a guy looks like him i mean actually
29:56
it looks like his fucking twin yeah well
29:59
it's him you know but also whenever
30:03
as we're talking about there whenever the gates of hell
30:06
are open basically in the basement and all of
30:08
a sudden he captures he catches sorry a glimpse of
30:11
his own face in it so that's sort of connected to
30:14
that as well partly played by boland's brother but even
30:17
that image wasn't really him but this guy looked like him which is
30:20
the image they should have used in the the paper why use the same
30:23
you know i mean if you're not if you're going to use a different actor
30:26
when he sees that different face guy looks like him but
30:29
he's supposed to he's one of the fails but then when you see him in the newspaper
30:32
it is james brolin it kind of yeah didn't really it didn't fit so it was kind
30:36
of a little mick you should have kept the actor who played him in that scene
30:39
and put him in the paper i do find the finale you know the actual finale white
30:46
week and a bit of a sort of disappointment.
30:48
Well, we'll jump there in a second because I want to talk about why I think
30:53
the priests were very effective here. Go ahead.
30:56
There's a scene where you meet Father Ryan and you got Father Delaney,
31:01
Father Ryan, and Father Boland and some other priesty guy.
31:04
And they're arguing, this is what I liked about it, Steiger's performance is brilliant.
31:09
And actually you're right, the dialogue's hokey, but he sells it, so you believe it.
31:14
And he's trying to tell Father Ryan that these These people,
31:17
and he's crying. He's fucking, you really feel this guy's pain.
31:20
And he knows, because he loves this woman, because he's been there for her since day one.
31:25
He wants to help her, please, for love. And Father Ryan's not a believer, technically.
31:30
He even says he doesn't really believe in the devil, to see the devil in him.
31:33
He believes in a parapsychologist or something.
31:36
Yeah. Not a parapsychologist. He's some sort of psychologist anyway.
31:40
Yeah. Again, a call back to Father Karras and the exorcist, who was a psychiatrist.
31:44
But to piggyback on what he said, it's kind of reverse exorcist where they're not believing him.
31:51
You got the one person who does, but the others aren't buying into it. It's kind of funny.
31:54
Father Ryan doesn't believe in the devil or sharks.
31:58
The price. I mean, you won't shut down the beaches and now you won't do the exorcism? Come on, man.
32:07
What a hopeless bastard. So much blood in his hands as well.
32:11
I know. All those sequels. I know. If he had just got them in there and got
32:15
the exorcism, wouldn't he have had to have all those amenable sequels, you know?
32:19
You know, Murray Hamilton is probably the biggest asshole in 70s cinema, God rest his soul.
32:24
I know. But he does it well. Yeah. And I
32:27
hear it's a brilliant scene with him and stagger where it
32:30
is it and when he finally loses and swears at
32:33
him it's cool i mean i really like because it's like it's
32:37
very well played it's very well played both of them and it's not one of these
32:40
quiet little sitting in a confession booth and they're trying to talk no these
32:43
guys are going at it and they're both actually have good points totally yeah
32:50
yeah neither one is right or wrong essentially the the both from their point
32:55
of view and their experiences,
32:57
you get what each of them is saying. You know?
33:02
Apparently those two other just on the, you know, we're talking about,
33:07
you know, the house being investigated and stuff, but apparently those two other
33:12
frauds, the Warrens actually investigated the house in real life. Yeah, yeah.
33:17
Ed and Lorraine. Yeah, they said they weren't they did that,
33:21
they did a cameo, they did that scene in Conjuring 2.
33:27
I can't wait for the next Conjuring film, the last one. It's going to be good.
33:30
Are you serious? I love it.
33:32
We're doing the Conjuring franchise just to piss you off. I'm going to fucking enjoy them.
33:37
No, we'll eat more lunch. We'll eat more lunch. Oh, Jesus. We're done with lunch.
33:40
I thought that was pretty nice of me. Pretty nice of me to give you three lunch films.
33:45
And a Doctor Who special. That's pretty nice of me.
33:48
I didn't love them. I love, I liked, I like Mahindra.
33:53
Okay. Tony Pigg's fucking nuts. Are you fucking kidding me? Fucking cut my arm
33:58
off, he becomes the midget man, whatever. What the fuck?
34:02
Let's go back to good horror here. Let's go back to- By the way, right, right.
34:04
On the subject of the Amityville sequels, there was a remake with Ryan Reynolds
34:10
and Melissa George in 2005.
34:14
Now, Melissa George, you know what she's more famous for?
34:17
She played the character of Angel in Home and Away for many years.
34:20
She's Australian. the classic australian soap opera we're
34:25
not even talking about that fucking movie i fucking hate you
34:28
would you stop i'm waiting you up fucking
34:31
hell it's true but yeah okay
34:34
anyways yeah but so that's why i
34:37
i believe that i i do like the fact it's a
34:40
reverse exercise so yeah they might be playing on the priesty thing
34:43
but and killing us with kindness with them but they they
34:46
sell their scenes and and i i love them and i
34:48
really felt sorry for him when he was blind god he
34:51
sells it again and yes and bowling
34:54
has pretty much become his carer and i
34:58
wish we had a little more closure with him because that's the problem i have
35:02
because i do i think he's the strongest character actually in it yeah i agree
35:05
100 but the problem is it's just not elaborated on enough whereas you know the
35:10
basically father caris and father mernon father cars especially the exorcist is not about
35:16
reagan the exorcist is about father caris yeah you
35:19
know whereas the devil is just a bad side story exactly
35:23
and the girl being possessed exactly this is about a young man losing his faith
35:27
and trying to regain his faith essentially but here in the amityville it's just
35:33
not elaborated on enough and that's i think a disservice to rott steiger but also to the audience.
35:42
I think if you're going to do a film like this and it's going to be technically
35:46
a slow burn and you're going to give us two hours of all these characters and
35:53
the actors are giving it 100%,
35:55
I think the ending could have been tweaked and not necessarily,
35:58
okay, maybe we won't get closer for Father Delaney,
36:03
but why can't we use Father Bolin?
36:07
You got this character's good actor, Don Stroud, and I'm like,
36:10
why don't you get him? Maybe because he's his bestie.
36:12
Why can't you just go please, when he sits down with him he's blind,
36:17
he's going to have lunch with him and he's going to read his mail to him why couldn't you just say,
36:23
Rocksteiger go, please if you want to do anything for me, check on them and let him be the final,
36:30
piece of the puzzle let him go
36:33
up against Pig Demon along with James
36:37
Brolin George Lutz who has eventually seen
36:40
to um you know come back to the good side the
36:43
light side you know and you know we could have had something
36:46
like that instead of just it just sort of sort of fizzes out
36:49
yeah i think i just think when he's finally
36:53
leaving the house and all the shit's going down it's a nice effective scene he's
36:56
taking him out of there and wants to get him out but he decides to go back to
36:59
get the dog and that's fine i get that and when when he does it's just a couple
37:05
little i do like when he falls off the stairs in the blood and the dog realizes
37:10
who he is and helps him out. And I, I'm okay with all that.
37:13
But at some point that house need to grab him and not let him go.
37:17
This is way. Oh, you shut the door on me. Well, I'll just break a window. Okay. See ya.
37:22
So they should. It basically turns into Lassie at the end, you know,
37:25
with the whole dog plot. Yeah. They, they, what he should have happened is Bolin should have showed up.
37:30
Yep, that's what should have happened. Even if it's for a minute,
37:33
he's the reason he gets out.
37:35
Because the whole time, this house has been pretty much toying with Father Delaney,
37:43
making him choke when he's trying to talk to her on the phone.
37:45
When he's trying to pray for her at the church, he goes blind.
37:49
So anytime he tries to help, it gets his claws into him.
37:55
So it would have been a nice ending if Bowman becomes his extension,
37:58
mansion how's that knowing he's coming and ends
38:01
up saving the day and the house sweetness is the
38:04
priest that would have been better yeah and we're actually given proper point
38:10
to the inclusion of the priests because apart from you know they're essentially
38:15
just there to be attacked by flies and then go blind you know there's no proper
38:20
character resolution for them you know yeah Yeah,
38:23
so it does let me know. It's still fun. I still love this movie.
38:28
But again, when I do see it through the podcast eyes and seeing a lot of films
38:33
now, you can kind of see what, God, I wish they did this.
38:36
And I hate insulting it because, guys, I really enjoy this film. It's a wonderful film.
38:42
But I see a lot more missed opportunities when I do this for the podcast.
38:46
I think that's the perfect word, missed opportunity.
38:48
For me, I would say there's a lot to like about it, and but
38:52
it is flawed as we've just talked about essentially yeah
38:56
i would have issues not to
38:59
do with the film but with the bullshitting of
39:03
the you know what what was the basis of the film you know these made-up stories
39:07
and then the warrens and all that there i do have issues with like fake fake
39:11
psychics or you know people just essentially telling lies but that's got nothing
39:15
to do with this film in and of itself yeah this movie this movie is a fictional
39:18
film at this point yeah we We know what that,
39:21
and that's fine to take it like that.
39:24
Yes, yes, absolutely. But it's a winner of itself. There's a lot to enjoy and
39:29
like about it, but it does have its flaws.
39:31
And it's not as good as burnt offerings.
39:33
Oh, no, burnt offerings is better, but still solid.
39:39
I love when Kathy sneaks up behind George and he's cutting the wood.
39:46
Never sneak up with a man holding an axe while he's chopping wood.
39:50
He's like, well, pardon me. And then there's a bit later on where he throws
39:55
the axe against the tree.
39:56
I think that's when his dipshit fucking work colleague comes along and says,
40:00
hey, the guys aren't happy. You're not paying them or something.
40:02
Yeah. That's actually later on. There might be an earlier scene when he comes
40:05
actually, you know, whenever his girlfriend won't go into the house at all before
40:10
she just instantly changes her mind and decides to go into the house after all. Yeah.
40:14
And then he meets him at the bar and that's where he hits him.
40:17
That's actually a good scene. I like that. Yeah, that's the scene where he starts
40:20
realizing something's not right in his head.
40:22
Yeah it was now we're gonna talk then you know and that's just a good way of resolving it.
40:28
But yeah so it was john ketchum was he sacrificed people and devil stuff is
40:36
that john ketchum was the guy responsible for digging the it was something with
40:41
the witch trials or something that was with the house it was a burly ground
40:43
yeah they sort of tie it back to witch trials,
40:48
you know, many centuries before and how the house is basically built,
40:54
on, you know, basically a.
40:58
Cursed ground you know and and
41:01
yeah it's a sense but it's all connected to the witch trials and
41:04
basically satanism and all that sort of thing and so it's always been cursed
41:08
and you know it's what it's to do with the ground and where it's buried which
41:11
is which is essentially the gates to hell big sort of fuchi thing there for
41:16
me but yeah fuchi fuchi did the beyond after this but i love shit like that
41:22
you know what i mean so there's a lot of good sort of creepy yes a lot
41:24
of it's become cliche over the years you know the haunted house tropes the 70s
41:28
tropes but it wasn't a cliche well it was a bit no that's my point though that's
41:32
my point yeah it wasn't back then so we can't yeah i can't i will never take
41:36
the film down a peg because of that it's not the film's fault in fact we just
41:40
talked about it this paved the way for other films yes and even has a,
41:45
yeah music and all and i and i can see this film borrowed a lot from the fall
41:50
of the house of Buster, Fall of Buster, and they also borrowed from The Haunting.
41:53
So they've all taken from each other, but I think the end of the horror nails
41:58
it all apart besides some character flaws and story arcs they could have really
42:02
played on. And the finale.
42:04
Yeah. They could have went much further and sadly they didn't.
42:08
Yeah, but it is what it is.
42:10
Still a fun movie. I just got it on 4K.
42:14
It's a nice little director's cut and all about the whole backstory of the family
42:18
and what where the film idea came from and all. So that's pretty neat.
42:23
I'm not going to promote it where I got it because they're not paying us to say it, so fuck them.
42:29
All right, guys. Yeah, this has been a cool one. I like talking about classic horror.
42:34
Next up, we are going to have Founder's Day and Demons coming up,
42:39
and then we got both Beetlejuices and so forth and so forth.
42:43
That's all we've got right now. But listen, give us a shout at citizenframe underscore podcast.
42:48
If you have a partner that wants us to go fuck ourselves if you want to abuse
42:54
us and call us fucking idiots,
42:56
we are open to that we're just happy to get the listeners even if they think
43:01
we're fucking idiots there's no such thing as bad press we will sell our souls abuse us basically,
43:09
so Andy you can reach out to us on Facebook call us fucking idiots on there
43:14
you know I'll give you Ciaran's phone number or you could phone him and call
43:18
him a fucking idiot. There you go.
43:19
But I have all, I get to, I reserve the right to put that on the podcast.
43:25
Exactly, exactly. In fact, if we ever do a new Citizen Frame poster,
43:30
we're going to use that in quote marks.
43:31
Oh, that's right, that's right. If you got some good ones, we'll put them on
43:35
like a new poster. We'll get them on shirts.
43:38
You guys suck and stuff like that.
43:41
Two fucking idiots. Two fucking idiots.
43:46
All right. Uh, cool.
43:49
Music.