It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Better Late Then Never

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

It's interesting to look back at when 3D had a boom in the early 1980's and was always included in the third installment of a series. Oh yeah, 3 for 3D. I have grown tired of 3D and agree with Roger Ebert that we should stop constantly use it. The 3D in this film seems very forced and it's very easy to tell every moment that was supposed to come out at the viewer. I didn't watch this in 3D, but in modern movies that use it, I've seen the versions without the 3D and these moments were never there. As someone who didn't care for the original "Amityville Horror", I wasn't expecting much. I heard this is considered to be the worst installment in the entire series and even fans of the other movies hate it.Having only seen the original movie, this is mostly just a retread of that. I know the original was based on a book that claimed to be real that was proved to be false. I have no idea if any of these numerous sequels were based on books that were themselves supposedly based on real life events. The original film received a Pigasus award from James Randi for lying to its audience. I was disappointed to find out this film did not receive a Razzie. Paranormal claims are bad, if only because they give us crappy movies! The worst thing about this movie is that the ghosts or spirits are represented by flies. Yes, they literally swarm and kill a guy in one scene. In another scene with a fly, they somehow cut the brakes of a car and set a woman on fire (!). It's as ludicrous as it sounds and is a waste of time, even for fans. *1/2

This film is one of a slew of 3D movies from the early 1980s, many of them sequels to very successful films. But Amityville 3 doesn't even stack up to Friday the 13th part 3 or Jaws 3. It may however be better than Treasure of the Four Crows, but that is hardly a ringing endorsement. Despite what appears to be a strong cast, and an intriguing premise, Amityville 3 quickly dissolves into a tame special effects dominated rip-off of Poltergeist.Having never seen part 2 of this series, I will have to assume this story somewhat picks up where the prior film left off. We begin with a reporter investigating the house of record which is currently occupied by scam artists living off the place's reputation. Once they are gone, the reporter is offered the chance to buy the house dirt cheap. He being recently divorced, and needing a quiet space to write a novel, decides to take the chance. Take it from this writer; solitude can be helpful, provided your house is neither haunted like this one, nor a dump like my old place in Lincoln. Anyway, even BEFORE this guy moves in, people start turning up dead around the place. Still, like all horror movie morons, he moves in. He even sets up a room in the notorious attic for his teen-aged daughter when she is able to visit. By the end of the film, we might as well be calling her "Carol Ann".I won't say much more about this plot, since it moves ahead predictably, and without too many scares. Probably the most entertainment one can garner from these early 80s 3D movies is laughing at the obvious prop setups they need to remind you why you shelled out an extra buck or two for the glasses. There are several instances of objects (like the customary flies of this series) buzzing right in front of the camera. Also stationary objects such as arms and technical gear thrust out into a close-up. Oooh! Scary!! This film really does have a decent cast, though. Tony Roberts as the reporter is a talented actor, but maybe just lacks the physical screen presence to be a true star. Ben Stiller has smaller ears! Lori Laughlin and a young Meg Ryan are both competent and pretty. Candy Clark is like a poor woman's JoBeth Williams. Tess Harper has done better work than this. The conclusion will leave you dis-satisfied to say the least. Its one of those endings where it just looks like they ran out of both time and money. Overall, the whole thing certainly should have been the final nail in the coffin of this franchise. Alas, too many people must have shelled out some cash to see this instead of Stroker Ace. 3 of 10 stars.The Hound.

Some people need a lesson on spooky houses. For John Baxter(Tony Roberts), it's an experience he will never forget! John is a reporter who is out to debunk the myth about the infamous house in Amityville. During the so-called seance in that place once owned by man who would later die after giving it to the reporter. Once he got the place, his partner discovers the horror of it, and would never return. The daughter (Lori Loughlin, before "Full House") gets a room, and have her friends to a seance with a homemade Ouija board. Following that, she would later lose her life in a boating accident. And they did find the source of the evil: A demon! If the house was that evil, why didn't they destroy it in the first place. With all the skeptics running around, that's always the thing. Evil houses especially the one in Long Island, should have blocked off, not used as a tourist attraction. Better yet, not used for settling in. Its history is so bad it should have been condemned. Nice movie there, a little bit on the silly side though. 2 out of 5 stars

Expectations were low to begin with and were even lower when finished viewing. The second Amityville picture gave us its rendition of what happened...sort of...with the Defeo family prior to the Lutzes moving in and then out 28 days later. Presumably this trash takes place after both of those incidents. You know you are in trouble when Tony Roberts is your main gate attraction. Trouble indeed comes, but first a brief look at the plot: writer for a cheap magazine called Reveal buys house cheap and things happen to people he knows. people start dropping like flies...for those that sat through that..get it. Yeah, I need some levity no matter how small the dose because I sat through a real bad picture. The story has no hold on you at all as things in the house just start to happen. First character actor John Harkins gets flies all over his face and dies belly-up(for him no small feat). Tony Roberts gets in a weird elevator miles from the house. Candy Clark, his friend and photographer, stays waiting in the house for Tony. A fuse is blown and she gets air blown all over her from the basement door. Tony gets home and she screams not to be touched in a truly funny(though not intentionally) moment. Clark later is burned to a crisp in a car. Meg Ryan and Lori Loughlin, both hot, look the house over when Lori's dad Tony is out. Meg talks about ghosts having sex. Yawn. Tony'ex and Lori's mom forbids Lori to go to the house. She does...and, well, things get even more bizarre, stupid, and wretched again. This movie has no real story. The special effects are constructed in such a way that every shot, whether it be a fly buzzing in an elevator, should look 3-d. Roberts as the lead had me laughing as he has virtually no acting range whatsoever. After a couple deaths he looks exactly the same. Like he just got through trading witty barbs(though none witty here) with Woody Allen. Check out the special effects at the end of the film from the water well. Phew! Who came up with that junk? This movie is poorly scripted, poorly directed, and poorly acted. It makes the second Amityville almost look artistic. A truly bad movie all around.