Horror Movie Review: The Amityville Legacy (2016)

After a near horrific run of terrible sequels & cheap-knock offs culminated in the one of the worst movies ever, no one could be blamed for going into The Amityville Legacy with low expectations.

There have been very few franchises that have given such diminishing results. If you want to know just how bad it gets check out all our individual reviews of the series so far below:

1979 – The Amityville Horror
1982 – Amityville II: The Possession
1983 – Amityville 3D
1989 – Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes
1990 – The Amityville Curse
1992 – Amityville: It’s About Time
1993 – Amityville: A New Generation
1996 – Amityville Dollhouse
2005 – The Amityville Horror – Remake
2011 – The Amityville Haunting
2013 – The Amityville Asylum
2015 – Amityville Death House
2015 – The Amityville Playhouse
2016 – Amityville: Vanishing Point

The Amityville Legacy is the second of four films that would be released with the ‘Amityville’ name attached between April & August 2016. Yes, that’s four Amityville related movies in less than five months. And people wonder why the franchise gets no respect.

However, in a shocking turn of events, The Amityville Legacy is not a terrible film! It’s competently made, got some decent acting & the plot actually ties into the true events of what occurred in 112 Ocean Avenue. If you’ve seen Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes, Amityville: It’s About Time & Amityville: Dollhouse then you’ll be instantly familiar with this movies similar setup.

Instead of a haunted lamp, this time it’s all about a monkey toy. Yeah, they’re not exactly stretching the level of thinking here.

The movie opens showing the Ronald DeFeo Jr. murders that occurred in the house in 1974. It’s a timely reminder of the true events of the infamous house. That opening, while in no way fresh gets the movie started on the right foot. It’s instantly clear that what is going to follow is actually related to the house.

Then the movie jumps 40 years in time & we’re in a small town in Nebraska. A father is celebrating his birthday with his adult kids who have come from all over the country to spend time with him. One of the gifts he receives is an antique toy monkey that is similar to one he had as a child. A cute idea of a gift but unfortunately this monkey came from 112 Ocean Avenue & is possessed by a demon.

It begins to affect the father who begins to see visions. Things like his gay son engaging in S&M with his boyfriend & his father urging him to punish his children. He becomes withdrawn & moody leading to a brutal finale.

The Amityville Legacy has plenty of positives, one that makes it better then quite a few others under the Amityville name. The story is solid, it doesn’t hang about & the finale is a fitting finish that satisfies. When the credits roll, you’ll find yourself nodding in agreement that it wasn’t half-bad.

If it’s lacking in any particular department, it’s the acting. A mixed bag of awkward dialogue & silly reactions. The leads stand out as the best but it’s still not going to go down as career highlights.

For those that have checked out of the franchise, The Amityville Legacy isn’t going to be the film that makes you check back in but it’s moving in the right direction & that can only be a good thing.

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