Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”
In an unforeseen turn of events, neither of Will Colazzo Jr’s two Amityville films – Shark House or Apocalypse -are available to screen (Shawn C. Phillips, star of the former, messaged me that Lionsgate apparently hasn’t released it). As a result, we’re jumping ahead to The Last Amityville Movie (2023), which is a meta found footage entry from YouTuber Josh Spiegel.
Spiegel writes, directs and stars in the film, which bears a surprising resemblance to Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. In fact both films engage with the idea of creators exorcising their demons by making fictional movies about horrific real life events.
At the start of the film, Spiegel is a horror YouTuber, filming movie reactions and holding regular Zoom hang-outs with his online followers. They encourage his obsessive interest in Amityville films and, when he’s laid off at the outset of a new pandemic, they encourage him to make a film of his own. Josh doesn’t take the idea seriously, but when the world shuts down and he’s isolated from his wife Christy (Christy Mele) and daughter Stella (Stella Spiegel), strange events begin occurring.
It all begins when Josh receives a mysterious package sent from Amityville. Inside the anonymous box is a doorknob with an inscription in another language. After Josh opens the package, he begins seeing and hearing things in and around his house.
It’s clear that the film we’re watching is the movie that Spiegel ultimately constructed about his experiences, which include masked demons, a Smile-like manifestation of his wife, and several IRL and virtual murders. Spiegel captures all of the action via cameras set up around the house, and records Zoom calls with his horror fans, as well as “experts” like Professor Pottery (Clay Christopher) and renowned Amityville director Lars Von Floof (Jack Grisham).
The Last Amityville Movie is undoubtedly a low budget affair that Spiegel filmed in his house with his real family (possibly during the actual pandemic). But much like Amityville Christmas Vacation, the film has a self-aware sense of humor. The result is a film with a clear sense of its goals, ambitions and (importantly) its limitations, which makes it a far more palatable entry than other Amityville titles.
Take the cold open: couple Chris (Chris Costanz) and Chase (Chase O’Donnell) explore a series of graffiti-laden tunnels before they’re attacked and killed. This is revealed to be Amityville Zoo, a fictitious (for now) Amityville film that Josh is discussing with his followers. It’s a meta acknowledgement of how silly the premise and execution of many films in the “franchise” are, as well a logistical reiteration of how the “franchise” IP works for filmmakers.
The sly acknowledgement of key elements such as haunted objects from the original DeFeo murder house, as well as the broader conventions of found footage and horror films, helps The Last Amityville Movie stand out. The film isn’t afraid to reference other titles in the “franchise,” as well as the genre (Josh knows it’s stupid to investigate a strange noise…and then he does it) and filmmaking in general (around the hour mark, Josh notes that the film has nearly achieved a feature length runtime).
It doesn’t hurt that Josh is a lovable doofus. When he’s forced to live on his own, Josh struggles to maintain his composure and sanity. He sleeps in the living room, cracks jokes for the camera, and tries not to complain about his declining mental health.
Despite this, Josh never quite reacts like he’s in a horror film; as evidenced by the fact that no matter what Josh sees, including creepy apparitions and several deaths, he’s always happy to quip and joke. At one point he even acknowledges this unusual behavior, telling his horror zoom group “There’s always time for jokes.”
For long stretches, the film is more of a comedy than a horror film. This is slightly disappointing because there are at least two moments of legitimately great horror in The Last Amityville Movie. One sequence involves Josh discovering his wife’s head peeking out of the closet – an impossible feat given that he just spoke with her on the phone. Mele is strategically shot so that only her head is visible, giving it a creepy disembodied aesthetic and her smile is broad and reminiscent of the Parker Finn films.
Later the Christy-entity returns when Josh has sequestered himself in bed, complete with thundering foley work as her hands grip the door frame from an impossible height. This proves to be a moment of distraction as the demon unexpectedly rushes at Josh from the other side of the frame, prompting him (and us) to hide under the covers. It’s a sequence that evokes the best moments of the Paranormal Activity films and one wishes that Spiegel had leaned more into these genuinely scary moments.
Still, it’s hard to complain considering how effective The Last Amityville Movie is at executing its self-aware comedic beats. It’s undeniably a better comedy than a horror film, but there’s a level of care and attention that confirms that Spiegel has good instincts.
Considering how cheap and schlocky so many other low budget, found footage efforts in the “franchise” have been, The Last Amityville Movie is much better than it expected.
This is a good one, folks.
The Amityville IP Awards go to…
- Amityville Connections: In addition to a call-out by name for Amityville Vibrator, there’s a quick mention of other films such as “the clock and lamp.” Credit Spiegel for referencing iconic early entries like Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes and Amityville 1992: It’s About Time)
- Pandemic Horror: The film (repeatedly) states that this is a *second* pandemic so no one is saying COVID. And while the mentions of lockdown does immediately age the film, the pandemic works as a narrative device to justify Josh’s decision to not only make the film, but also keep him isolated in the house. At one point he even tries to flee to a hotel, but they’re all closed.
- Cats: Spiegel owns two cats – Zelda and Scotty – who are frequently caught on camera throughout the film. They even get their own shout-out in the credits because apparently they were frustrated by the production.
- Cheap FX: There are two murder set pieces, but both are tragically undone by underwhelming CGI. The first is when Josh’s Nosy Neighbor (Eric Barnard) confronts him about all the screaming and gets smushed on the front doorstep. The other, which packs a solid comedic punch, occurs when the horror zoom chat members begin to expire one after the other. The former sequence is brief and forgivable, but the latter would have been so much stronger with practical gore.
- Lars Von Floof: I truly don’t know exactly who famed Amityville director Lars Von Floof is meant to be lampooning (Lars von Trier perhaps?), but the idea that the director is routinely forced to direct Amityville films to remove cursed objects from his life is kind of hilarious.
- Ring Cam: In addition to the aforementioned creepy set pieces, there’s an early, effective moment when a shadowy figure blocks Josh’s ring cam and ominously asks first to be let in. When Josh refuses, the figure suggests they have “a friend in there” before finally declaring Josh is going to die. The whole interaction occurs on opposite sides of the door and via the covered ring cam, but – grounded by Spiegel’s reaction – it’s a tense moment of dread.
- The “last” Amityville Movie: At one point, there’s a joke that even though Josh is making the last true Amityville film, “there will always be more.” It turns out he’s not wrong: a new one, Amityville Ripper, was released six weeks after this one.
Next time: we’re circling back to cover off on a missed title with slasher film Amityville: The Final Chapter(2021) AKA Sickle.
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