After exposing an elaborate hoax at the infamous Amityville House where a series of murders took place, a sceptic reporter moves into the location. Soon supernatural events and mysterious deaths turn his life upside down when he comes face to face with evil.
Credit to director Richard Fleischer, Amityville 3-D drops an unscrupulous hoax seance, creepy photos and Meg Ryan in the first twenty minutes. Aside from some fake flies, theatrics and stage-like lighting this third overlooked instalment delivers enough chills not to bore, thanks to the setting, Howard Blake's score, with notable performances from Tony Roberts and Candy Clark. Ryan as Lisa gives a good innings in a small role. Reliable Tess Harper appears as Nancy with familiar face Lori Loughlin as her daughter Susan.
The scenes that aren't confined to the house lift the story and give more scope. The paranormal investigation aspect with the memorble Robert Joy as jargon jostling Dr. Elliot West offers echos of The Exorcist 2 (1977) and Poltergeist (1982). There's a few effective supernatural setups including orbs, ghouls in the basement, the mother following a spectre to name a few. Although many optical effects fall short, there's some solid FX, pyrotechnics and makeup in the final act. Also an effective car crash scene (even if the effects are a little shoehorned). The 3D gimmicks (that don't transfer well to 2D) littered throughout serve as a distraction; but there's enough surprises deaths in the story to stop it being all paint by numbers.
Essentially, with a cast of of new characters this third outing delivers enough things that go bump in the night shenanigans to make Fleischer's addition worth while.
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