The Watch Party movie was Amityville 3-D, mostly because it’s due to leave Prime in another couple of days. It’s an odd duck. It’s probably the most expensive Amityville film, although it just looks like a TV production. Star Tony Roberts, mostly known at the time for costarring in early Woody Allen movies, was weirdly cast. I’ve never seen the other Amityville films, but my impression is they don’t mesh with the overall feel of this one at all. I really didn’t like how the house could kill people offsite; it made no sense. The biggest problem is that for most of the film they want to take things seriously, although the result is a C-grade The Changling. However, you can’t do ‘seriously’ when you need a plethora of inherently schlocky 3-D effects. Finally the film gives up right at the end and goes full Treasure of the Four Crowns for five or ten minutes. Kudos to the casting director, though, who cast both a young Lori Loughlin and Meg Ryan in supporting roles.
Next Watch Party a week from Friday.
