I say this is the best of the AMITYVILLE movies. No, AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION (1982) isn’t particularly good, but it is superior to its overrated predecessor and the innumerable follow-ups (which have continued up to the present day)—although that’s admittedly not saying much. I’ll also admit that AMITYVILLE II’s interest is confined almost entirely to its first half, with the second containing little-to-nothing of any worth.
After the success of the original AMITYVILLE HORROR (adapted from the allegedly fact-based 1978 bestseller by Jay Anson) in 1979, and the subsequent dissolution of its distributor American International Pictures in 1980, mega-producer Dino De Laurentiis snapped up the film rights and gave us this trashy successor. Unlike the first film, this one, based on the 1979 novel MURDER IN AMITYVILLE by Hans Holzer (as opposed to 1982’s AMITYVILLE HORROR PART II by John G. Jones), didn’t pretend to be based on fact, and was lensed in Mexico by a largely Italian crew. As scripted by Tommy Lee Wallace (of HALLOWEEN III), AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION presents itself as a prequel, dramatizing what occurred in the Amityville house before the protagonists of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR moved in.
The director was Damiano Damiani, an Italian exploitation cinema veteran whose other credits include A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL (1966), CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (1971) and HOW TO KILL A JUDGE (1974). AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION (1982) is obviously not in the same caliber as those grindhouse classics, although it does prove that Damiani had a real flair for trashy horror—and it isn’t nearly as ludicrous as 1983’s Richard Fleischer directed AMITYVILLE 3-D.
In AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION the Montellis, a seemingly contented suburban family, move into a country house with eye-like windows. Things are scary from the start, with blood coming out of faucets, errant knocks on doors and mirrors that break on their own. Not helping matters is the fact that the family patriarch Anthony Montelli (Burt Young) is an abusive lout.
Anthony’s son Sonny (Jack Magner) hates his father, and finds a way to deal with the scumbag when odd voices emit from his headphones. The voices command Sonny to do things, and eventually convince him to molest his teen sister Patricia (Diane Franklin)—after which Sonny, wielding a shotgun, massacres his entire family.
From there the focus shifts to Father Adamsky (James Olson), who meets Sonny after he’s taken into custody by police. But Sonny, still possessed by the evil spirits of the Amityville house, breaks out of the mental hospital and returns home. Adamsky follows, leading to a final special effects packed showdown between the forces of good and evil.
From a technical standpoint Damiano Damiani appears to have been trying to outdo THE SHINING in this film, which makes extensive and distracting use of Steadicam visuals. The steadicam was still a fairly novel device in 1982, which explains why Damiani utilizes it the way a little kid would a shiny new toy. There are lengthy EVIL DEAD-ish tracking shots from the point of view of someone (or thing) who’s never seen, swish pans a-plenty and camera movement in every conceivable direction (at one point a tracking shot even turns upside down).
There are also some jolting scenes of violence. The graphic depictions of domestic abuse and Sonny’s eventual massacre of his family are authentically shocking and disturbing, just as they should be.
The above, however, applies only to the first hour, depicting life in the accursed Amityville house. The final forty minutes are a bust, consisting of an uninspired EXORCIST recap, complete with showy special effects and an exorcism, things that have been done many times before, and much better.
Vital Statistics
AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION
Orion Pictures
Director: Damiano Damiani
Producers: Ira N. Smith, Stephen R. Greenwald
Screenplay: Tommy Lee Wallace
(Based on a novel by Hans Holzer)
Cinematography: Franco Digiacomo
Editing: Sam O’Steen
Cast: Burt Young, James Olson, Rutanya Alda, Andrew Prine, Jack Magner, Diane Franklin, Brent Katz, Erika Katz, Leonardo Cimino, Moses Gunn, Ted Ross, Petra Lea, Martin Donegan