My Amityville Horror (2012) : Of Hauntings And Anger Management...

When I was ten years old, I got my hands on a book that was probably inappropriate for my age. No, no...not Valley of the Dolls (I waited till I was eleven to steal that one from under my mom's bed!) -  The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson.  Dare I say it wasn't exceptionally inappropriate, considering I'd already read The Shining, and I suppose if Room 217 hadn't kept me awake all night, then pigs with glowing eyes and swarms of flies shouldn't bother me too bad, right?  But even as a kid, my reasoning was fairly straightforward. It wasn't the made-up frights that scared me, it was the fact that something truly awful - evil, even - had happened at 112 Ocean Avenue.

The fact of the matter is, I wouldn't have moved into that house if you gave it to me. As beautiful as it was (and still is), six people were murdered in their sleep in that house. Do I really have to explain my reservations about living in a house where such a horrific act (SIX horrific acts) took place?  As entertaining as it may be to tour the house now, and I would love to do so - hell, I might even stay overnight and participate in a seance, let's just go for broke here - I WOULD NOT OR COULD NOT EVER MOVE INTO THAT HOUSE.  It's just too tainted. Not that I think the ghosts of the DeFeo family would prowl around and make my life a miserable mess, it's more like I don't think I could sleep at night knowing someone died violently right in the same room. And in the room beside me. And the room above me. That kind of thing would bother me more than a six figure mortgage. 

The Amityville Horror is a highly entertaining read, no doubt.  I am a raging fan of haunted house stories, it's one of my favorite sub-genres of horror, and as a pre-teen and going forward, I read a whole slew of those kind of books.  I don't remember thinking much about the Amityville book being a true story while I was reading it, it was more of an after-effect for me. Thank heavens there was no internet back then or I may have never joined the volleyball team or played in the band.

I also remember getting the book High Hopes: The Amityville Murders (1982) and devouring it like some kind of lunatic, though.  That book tells the story of Amityville murderer Ronald DeFeo, detailing the crimes and subsequent prosecution of said killer.  It is most certainly the book that jump-started my love of true crime (because I hadn't read In Cold Blood yet, folks) and got me interested in the details of the Defeo murders. 

Reading The Amityville Horror was a thrill. All the heinous things that supposedly happened to the Lutz family upon their arrival at the doomed house were the stuff of nightmares.  Basement rooms painted red, flies swarming the sewing room, doors slamming in the dead of night, demon pigs befriending the Lutz's young daughter, etc.  It all made for very good storytelling.
However.
As I got older and read the book a few more times, and then saw the movie, I had to question how legitimate the Lutz's story was. As much as I wanted to believe in demons, ghosts, and the like, it was pretty hard  to imagine bleeding walls and priests that couldn't even bear to go inside the house.  Eventually the book was revealed to have been a hoax and though I had a tinge of disappointment, it really didn't surprise me. I just chalked it up to decent fiction and moved on.

When talk of My Amityville Horror first started to hit the internet, I was intrigued. It promised to yield never-before heard information from Daniel Lutz, the oldest member of the Lutz family and supposed "eye-witness" to the horrors of the house. He claimed to have experienced the harrowing events of the 28 days spent at the house first-hand, and assured us that this was no hoax.  So when I finally sat down to watch the film, it was with equal parts curiosity and trepidation.

First off, I have to say that Daniel Lutz is a truly messed up individual.  He seems very much a product of abuse and publicity. The degree of anger that this man holds inside is incomprehensible. Even though his mother Kathy and his step-father George are deceased, it's obvious he harbors an inherent contempt of them, in particular George. He details how he and his step-father never got along, even going as far as saying he hated him and was happy he was dead.

Regardless of how he feels about his parents, it's plain to see after listening to Daniel discuss the events in question, that he wholeheartedly believes he experienced an overabundance of  wild supernatural events within the house. He even claims to have been possessed himself.
Just the look of Lutz, like a hardened criminal if I'm being honest, can evoke many emotions - not many of them good.  He gives off such a despondent vibe throughout most of the film, and seems so positively sure of his memories of the past, it's actually pretty depressing. Perhaps this is the filmmaker's intention, to have us - the audience - feel badly for Daniel Lutz. When the man isn't angry, he's gloomy and obviously unhappy.  He has two children of his own now, and I really can't imagine what he must be like in day-to-day life. I'd love to think his kids don't see this side of him - or that it was put on for this production - but that's kind of hard to fathom.

If nothing else, he is certainly sure of himself.  Interviewers in the film rarely get the upper hand, as Lutz is ready to bark back at the drop of a hat. To anyone disagreeing with his "truths", he slams them with insults and gets pissed fairly quickly.  He immediately places most of the blame for his unhappy childhood on George, painting him as an abusive and intolerant man who treated him and his brother and sister like possessions, yet showed them no love.  He details them moving to the Ocean Avenue house, where supernatural events promptly started.  We're all familiar with the various evil happenings in the house - such as a priest not being able to go into the home to bless it - but with Daniel, you delve a little deeper, and he goes into further detail in particular about George. Whether or not you believe anything supernatural ever occurred in the Ocean Avenue home, George has made Daniel believe it. As an impressionable ten year old when they moved in, Daniel was both berated and bullied by his step-father and it's no wonder the fears in real life made the transition to young Daniel's inner mind.  He believes George was also possessed, and claims to have witnessed things such as George making things move with his mind. 
He almost lost me there. I nearly turned the DVD off.  Unfortunately Daniel just does not come across as very convincing, probably because of his hostile attitude. The poor guy is trying so hard to legitimize the story of the Amityville haunting, and instead I think he made me feel more bewildered.

To help his cause along and get his story told, Lutz has conversations with several people, including interviewers, investigative reporters and even Lorraine Warren, the psychic who with her husband Ed originally came to the Amityville house to research the haunting.  The Warrens are infamous in many circles, as they are thought to have exploited many families with their talk of demonology and psychic awareness. Whether or not you believe in their psychic prowess and ability to talk down demons, it certainly didn't help their believability status when the film crew goes to the Warrens' home (Ed passed away in 2006) and one of the first things you see is a pair of twin roosters - in separate cages - right in the living area of her home.
Okaaaaay....

My Amityville Horror will certainly appeal to die-hard fans of the film, the book, and/or the actual DeFeo murders. Anyone with any inkling of interest about those "28 days of terror" that plagued the Lutz family after they moved into the nefarious house will get at least a moderate amount of enjoyment out of the film. Though it really is less a tale of a haunting than it is sitting through Daniel's tales of his wretched childhood and his abhorrence for his step-father that obviously left an indelible stain on his psyche.

Daniel Lutz does not consider himself "The Amityville Guy", he says he goes about his daily life without thinking about it 24/7. But it's a certainty that the juggernaut that is the Amityville "haunting" has affected every pore of this sad "survivor". I only hope getting these feelings out in the open has given him some kind of liberation from the misery and anger locked deep inside.

Quote for October 1

For the month of October, in celebration of my favorite time of the year (Halloween, stupid!), I've decided to post a quote pertaining to horror and/or death.
'Cause that's how I roll....

"I've always felt that the real horror is next door to us, that the scariest monsters are our neighbors." - George A. Romero










Ed Gein and his residence.

A Morbid Anniversary

Today in 1978 was the day that the Jonestown Mass Suicides took place.

I debated on which of my blogs to put this entry, but decided it was, in fact, more grim and disturbing than pretty much any horror movie I have ever seen.

November 18, 1978

*Jonestown is the notorious "community" of followers of the charismatic yet mentally deranged Jim Jones.
In other words, a cult. And the worst one in history. They called themselves "The Peoples Temple"...
These people wrote the book on cults. Jones established his own town in the country of Guyana, in South America, and "led" his people from California to his self-proclaimed paradise.
He really was demented and unhinged to think it was morally acceptable to have 900 people commit suicide together. Under any circumstances.

Jim Jones

On this date 30 years ago, 909 people died - only two of which were not poisoned by Potassium Cyanide in grape Flavor-Aid (no, it was NOT Kool-Aid) - most of which drank the concoction willingly. Jones called it "revolutionary suicice", and had his followers believing it when he commanded: "Stop this hysterics. This is not the way for people who are Socialists or Communists to die. No way for us to die. We must die with some dignity."

To attempt to explain his bizarre beliefs would be something I am not knowledgable enough to handle. I cannot understand socialism, communism, and all of the other aspects of his wacky ideas and axis of evil. You can go online and google it - there is no shortage of info available on the subject.

On that gruesome day, syringes with the poison in it were squirted down infants and children's throats. Jones thought that if the children died first, the parents and grandparents would have no reason to live. Everyone else followed suit.

It took about 5 minutes to die. That's actually a long time when it's your last moments.

Jones was found with a gunshot wound to the neck, apparently self-inflicted. To which I ask the question: was he too much of a coward to die by cyanide? What the hell?

The events at Jonestown constituted the greatest single losses of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the incidents of September 11, 2001.

What else can I say?

Except that it is equally as important to remember these anniversaries as those ones that bring us cheer and happiness. I was only 10 when this tragedy happened, but I remember it well.

Still do.

Info gathered from Wikipedia, as usual.

An American Crime

Just watched 'An American Crime'- which, in my opinion, is a companion piece to
'The Girl Next Door' . It is more of an honest telling of the true crime of Sylvia Likens.

You can read all about the crime at the previous link. Suffice it to say, I feel this movie is a much better made film, with better acting ALL the way around. In 'The Girl Next Door', much was added and fabricated (because the source material was from a book "inspired by true events"). This movie is a retelling of the actual court documents and testimonies of what actually happened way back in 1965. I felt a bit more sympathetic to the situation of the lousy creep of a caretaker (Gertrude Baniszewski). I felt more fault towards Sylvia's parents, who left their children with a woman they basically knew nothing about.

Ellen Page was great (as usual) as Sylvia- she had a real feeling for the role, and it is obvious how talented she is. Catherine Keener played Gertrude quite convincingly. I felt her performance (which was Emmy nominated for the role) was top notch and loads better than the awful job done by the actress playing the same role in the other film.

I won't elaborate on the plot except to say it involves the seriously disturbing child abuse, torture, and ultimate death of Sylvia Likens back in October 1965 in Indianapolis, IN.
The poor girl was beaten, stomped on, burned with cigarettes, and made to live in the dank filthy basement with very little food and water. She was made to insert a Coke bottle into her vagina, and in one of the most shocking discoveries -she had the words 'i am a prostitute and proud of it' carved into her stomach. She died of a brain hemorrhage, shock, and malnutrition.

Unbelieveable.

See this movie - that's all I have left to say.

Austrian Abomination!

This absolute freak is Josef Fritzl.

Today the world found out just how miserably cruel some people can be.

I was trying to decide which serial killer to shed some light
on and then I clicked on
http://www.cnn.com/ to find this lunatic's face all over it.

In case you haven't heard - he kept his daughter locked away in a catacomb like existence in their basement for 24 years.
YES, I said 24 years - and YES, I said his daughter.

But this is not the really disturbing part.

This is: he continually assaulted and raped her the entire time and is the father of the seven children she has had.

(!)
Can anyone say light this man on fire and watch him burn?

As if that weren't bad enough... he and his supposedly unknowing wife upstairs raised three of those children themselves.

Apparently the wife thought the daughter ran away (as daddy had
her write a note at age 18 saying as much) and at one point had kids and just dropped them off at the folks and left again.
Uh-huh. Happens all the time.

More bad news: the other four kids had it even worse.
One (of a pair of twins) died shortly after birth of neglect.
The other three (ages 19, 18 and 5), as well as the mother - never
saw the light of day in those 24 years.
Seriously!

Their eventual freedom came when the eldest daughter (the 19 year
old) became sick and had to go to the hospital. The child's mother had pinned an "SOS" note to her clothing and it was
discovered.

Hence the police made this ghastly discovery. A series of rooms under keyless lock to which Mr. Fritzl was the only one who had access to them.

The daughter, Elizabeth - age 42 now - is being evaluated and is under severe diress of course. She was only forthcoming with information after she was assured she would never have to see her father again.

Personally, I think no one should ever see his ugly ass again.
Take him out back and shoot him!

Man! People are just messed up.
My faith in humanity is seriously tested after this shit goes down.

For more on this developing story go to http://www.cnn.com/ or pretty much any news source where it is currently being plastered all over.

UGH.

Serial killers 101

It's not just fictional horror movies and books that creep me out - it's the true crime aspect of life. Hard to imagine people can be so cruel. I've decided to touch base with a few of these unimaginable criminals from time to time.
When I watched 'The Girl Next Door' I got an itch to do some research about more ghastly crimes (told you I'm morbid) and I didn't have to look further than my own bookshelf to find some sick puppies.
First up - Albert Fish.

This is one sick bastard. He came from a family wrought with mental illness. His mother put him in an orphanage where he was routinely beaten and was said to have enjoyed it. He began raping men and molesting children. Things only escalated from there. He attempted several times to abduct children.

The demise of his reign of terror began in May of 1928. He kidnapped 12 year old Grace Budd, telling her parents he had a niece having a birthday party and thought Grace would enjoy it. Budd's parents had let this maniac into their lives unknowingly - quite unaware that the elderly gentleman had a quite different agenda for their innocent daughter.

Fish took the girl to a house in northern NYC where he proceeded to strangle her, cut her into pieces, bury part of the corpse out back and take the other parts back to his home in the city. There, he continued his ghastly plan by cooking up a stew with various portions of her flesh, and feasted on it for a week. Maybe it is a moot point to mention he masturbated while consuming her body. Isn't he already sick enough?

His downfall came when he felt compelled to write a horrendus letter to the Budd's, detailing his crime. He was tracked down by the stationary he had used. Kinda like getting Capone on tax evasion, eh?

Authorities became well aware of the ghoulish atrocities he had committed in the ensuing investigation and learned Fish was even more demented than they had originally thought. He was a sexual deviant and said he heard the voice of God who told him to commit these crimes. He got off on inflicting pain on others as well as himself - when x-rayed in prison he was found to have twenty nine needles lodged around his bladder, and he admitted to enjoying inserting rose stems into his urethra as well. Say it with me now.... holy shit!

He was, of course, found guilty by reason of insanity but was still sent to the electric chair. In 1936, he died in the chair in Sing Sing, stating directly prior that he had no idea why he was there.

Info collected from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Fish
and from the book by Harold Schechter and David Everitt: The A to Z of Serial Killers.

The Girl Next Door (2007) - No Thanks.

I wish I could wholeheartedly recommend this film, as horror fans were urged by just about everyone to check this out.
I'm not saying it was a bad film.
I'm just saying I don't think it was as fantastic as it was made out to be.

The Girl Next Door (2007) is based on a novel by the great Jack Ketchum. I have read (and enjoyed, however perverse that is) the book, as well as a number of his other works. However, when it came to putting the words to a screenplay, it lacks the excitement and sense of absolute dread that the book had.

Some backstory:
Both the movie and the book are (very loosely) based on true events that happened in 1965 in Indianapolis. Sylvia Likens and her sister were sent to live with their aunt because the parents were traveling carnival workers. The unstable aunt (Gertrude Baniszewski) took an instant disliking to Sylvia and proceeded to torture her in unspeakable ways. She involved and encouraged her children and kids in the neighborhood to be her accomplices, and handed out an endless string of horrific abuse. They kicked and punched her, burned her with cigarettes, made her strip in front of the other children, banished her to the basement with little to no food and water, tied her up, made her drink her own urine and vomit, and cut words into her skin with knives. She died of these injuries and malnutrition after several months. Neighbors had heard strange noises coming from the basement at various times but typically didn't want to get involved.

The movie (and book) deviate from the truth, elaborating on certain aspects of the abuse, and outright adding sexual abuse (which did not happen in the actual case) to pump up the torture-factor.

I was not at all thrilled with this film. Not because I didn't want to see the torture - I've seen it all - Saw, Hostel, Captivity, The Hills Have Eyes, etc... I guess it is the poor acting on pretty much everyone's part.
It was also extremely slow to start. I almost felt like I was watching an after-school special for the first 45 minutes. Setting up a story is one thing, but when you don't really have much to work with, you gotta get down to it, you know?

Maybe it is because this was based on a true story I could not get into the movie.
Things that happen in real life are almost always scarier than any movie could attempt to pull off.
After seeing the movie I wanted to learn all about the case, and after using Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Likens) to investigate, I really believe this book should not have been written and the movie should have been scrapped.
If Ketchum wanted to scare people, please invent something original, instead of elaborating on the ghastly truth. Nothing could ever be as horrific as the things mankind can do to one another.

There is a movie coming out soon called "An American Crime", which stars Ellen Page (Juno) and is based on the actual events. I can only assume this will be a MUCH better movie.
But as for The Girl Next Door?
Skip it.