EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

jocal321 I just saw this documentary and it should have been named " Danny, Portrait of a Schizophrenic." Its obvious he came from a family that has mental illness. This disturbed man grew up in a sick family full of delusions and hallucinations which created all the "paranormal demonic activity." His reality was the sick parents' delusions and hallucinations. Add to that, the intense media coverage, movies, talk shows, church involvement, books,etc which further added false "proof" that all this happened to an already young vulnerable unwell mind. Unfortunately as the kids mental illness progressed, he lost all track of all reality,he became the kid's character in the infamous movie. What you see in this film is a broken mentally ill man, nothing more.

capejasminepetals Watching this movie gave me a headache, so I am going to keep this short and uncomplicated. Danny Lutz is an obnoxious man-boy desperate to finally get HIMSELF a little attention out of the whole Amityville ordeal. He whines about his relationship to his step-dad (and implies that he was abusive, though I think it more likely he just didn't like him and wants to throw him under the bus at any opportunity), suffers the most ridiculous mood- swings, and even tries to claim a ghostly voice in the house once basically told him that he was either the cause or the center of the haunting. Attention whoring much? If his words and stories throughout the video aren't enough to convince you that he is completely full of it and probably just angry at having a blended family and a media circus around him during his childhood, his irate refusal of a lie detector test at the end definitely drives the point home. I appreciate what the creators were trying to do, but I can't imagine why they continued with filming after seeing how clearly dishonest and attention-hungry this man is. They really made a joke of themselves with this one.

horsegoggles Mom and dad get divorced. Mom finds a new hubby. Daniel starts having trouble with all the changes. Mom and new dad have leanings toward the supernatural, probably what brought them together. New dad has some financial issues that he hasn't disclosed. Soon after moving into the new home mom and dad come to the realization that they are in over their heads, need to get out of the predicament they have created for themselves. Hey, there were people killed in this house, I'll bet spooks could help us out of this predicament. They may have picked this particular house specifically because people were killed in it, their plans may have had deeper roots. We haven't been given enough info to know for sure. Dad sets up an already disturbed Daniel by feeding him ghost stories, Daniel finds them a great release for his unresolved anger. It's working out for everyone. Mom and dad start making some bucks off of the notoriety and ghosts have gotten them off the hot seat. Daniels anger builds and after a while he has started believing his own stuff. Bring in someone who wants to make a documentary, lets squeeze some more cash out of this if we can. Daniel picks up a few bucks by embarrassing himself in front of the camera and his inability to separate fact from fiction becomes known to the world. The siblings are tired of the fiasco and would probably like to get as far from this mess as possible. It's about disturbances, but not the supernatural kind. Actually a pretty sad affair.

gavin6942 For the first time in thirty-five years, Daniel Lutz recounts his version of the infamous Amityville haunting that terrified his family in 1975...What this film does not do is solve the mystery of the Amityville house and whether or not it was haunted. So if you are already familiar with that and hoped for proof of ghosts or a debunking, this will not change your mind one way or the other. (Although, if like me you knew very little of the true story, this will fill in a lot of gaps.) This is not a film of the haunting, but rather the effects on the boy who lived in the house, Daniel Lutz, now around fifty years old. He believes the house was haunted and that he was possessed. Are we to believe him, or is he crazy or is his memory faulty from years of abuse from his stepfather? Different viewers will take away different things from this documentary. Some might go away saying that Lutz is sincere an therefore the haunting was real. Others will say he is completely off his rocker. This ambiguity actually shows how good of a documentary it is -- the film is not concerned with convincing you one way or the other, it just wants to show you the facts and let you decide for yourself.Some parts are a bit slow and repetitive, but the film as a whole is short enough that this can be overlooked. There is also a great cast of characters. Lutz is front and center, but we also meet up with investigative reporters and paranormal researchers who were at the house in 1975 who are reflecting on their experiences decades later. One woman, Lorraine Warren, who raises roosters and claims to have a piece of the cross that Jesus was crucified on is quite interesting (and again, how you interpret this scene will depend on your views of the paranormal and supernatural).The biggest disappointment is that Daniel Lutz's two siblings declined to be involved with the project. Although they were probably too young to have any coherent memories of the Amityville house, they could offer valuable insight into living with George Lutz, as well as give their impressions of Daniel's state of mind. A sequel documentary, perhaps?While not the most socially or politically important documentary to come out in recent years, it is a film that should be viewed by both paranormal enthusiasts and those who have appreciated the horror genre. One looks at the "Amityville Horror" film series differently when you know -- or think you know -- the true story.