You know that feeling when you're scrolling through a streaming service at 2:00 AM and you see a house with eye-shaped windows? It’s a trap. We’ve all fallen for it. The Amityville name has been slapped onto more than 30 different movies at this point, but Amityville Terror occupies a very specific, weirdly addictive space in the independent horror landscape. It isn't trying to be the next Hereditary. It honestly isn't even trying to be the 1979 original.
It’s just a gritty, mean-spirited little slasher-supernatural hybrid.
Released in 2016 and directed by Michael Angelo, this flick basically took the "haunted house" trope and injected it with a heavy dose of small-town conspiracy. If you’ve ever moved to a new city and felt like the neighbors were watching you a little too closely, this movie turns that anxiety into a literal bloodbath. The plot follows the Jacobson family—played by Nicole Tompkins, Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau, and Kim Nielsen—as they move into a rental home that, big surprise, has a nasty history.
But here’s the thing: it’s not just the house. The whole town of Amityville is in on the joke.
What Actually Happens in Amityville Terror?
Most Amityville movies stick to the "ghosts in the basement" formula. This one? It goes off the rails. The Jacobsons aren't just dealing with flickering lights or creepy whispers. They are being actively targeted by a cult-like community that needs the house to claim new victims to keep the town safe. Or prosperous. Or whatever justification people in horror movies use to let their neighbors get murdered.
Nicole Tompkins carries a lot of the weight here as Hailey. You might recognize her voice if you're a gamer; she’s Jill Valentine in the Resident Evil 3 remake. She brings a level of "final girl" energy that actually feels grounded. When her family starts acting like total lunatics—her dad gets aggressive, her mom gets weirdly lethargic—she’s the only one who notices the grease-like substance oozing out of the walls.
It's gross. Truly.
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The "terror" in Amityville Terror is less about jump scares and more about the feeling of being trapped. The house is a character, sure, but the isolation is the real killer. You've got the classic tropes: the skeptical parents, the rebellious teen, and the creepy basement. But then the movie tosses in a corrupt sheriff and a town secret that feels more like Hot Fuzz if it were directed by someone who really liked 80s gore effects.
The Weird Legal Loophole Behind the Name
Why are there so many Amityville movies? Seriously. It's a mess.
People often get confused and think every movie with "Amityville" in the title is part of the same series. They aren't. Because "Amityville" is a real town in New York, you can't trademark the name. This means any filmmaker with a camera and a spooky-looking house can title their movie "Amityville [Insert Random Scary Word Here]" and put it on VOD.
Amityville Terror is one of the "unauthorized" entries. It has nothing to do with the real-life Lutz family or the 112 Ocean Avenue property. It was actually filmed in Utah, not Long Island. Knowing that makes the "small town" vibe feel a bit more authentic, even if the geography is a total lie. It’s part of a wave of independent films—alongside Amityville: The Awakening and the bizarre Amityville in Space—that keep the brand alive through sheer volume.
Why the Gore in This One Actually Hits
Let's talk about the practical effects. For a movie that clearly didn't have a Marvel-sized budget, there's some genuinely gnarly stuff here. We’re talking acid-like substances burning skin, messy kitchen-appliance accidents, and a fair amount of stabbings.
It’s tactile.
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Digital blood usually looks like strawberry jam, but the team on this set went for the "sticky and wet" look. It makes the "terror" part of the title feel earned. If you're a fan of the Evil Dead style of "everything is covered in goo," you’ll find something to appreciate here. The movie doesn't shy away from the physical toll the house takes on the human body. It's not just psychological; it's biological.
Is It Actually "Good" or Just Fun?
"Good" is a loaded word in horror. If you're looking for deep metaphors about grief or a commentary on the housing market, look elsewhere. But if you want a movie where a house basically digests a family while the neighbors cheer, then yeah, it's great.
The pacing is a bit erratic. Sometimes it feels like a slow-burn thriller, and then suddenly, someone is getting their face melted. It’s jarring. But that's part of the charm of indie horror from the mid-2010s. It wasn't trying to be "elevated." It just wanted to make you squirm in your seat.
One of the biggest complaints people have is the behavior of the parents. They are frustratingly oblivious. Like, "the walls are bleeding and your daughter is screaming, maybe check the locks" levels of oblivious. But that’s a staple of the genre. If characters made smart decisions, horror movies would be five minutes long.
Where Amityville Terror Fits in the Franchise
To understand where this sits, you have to look at the hierarchy of the 30+ films.
At the top, you have the 1979 original and the 2005 Ryan Reynolds remake. Those are the "prestige" versions. Then you have the direct sequels from the 80s and 90s, like Amityville 3-D. At the bottom, you have the ultra-low-budget stuff filmed on iPhones.
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Amityville Terror sits comfortably in the middle. It’s a "real" movie with professional actors, decent lighting, and a coherent script. It’s a "gateway" indie movie. It’s the kind of thing that plays on basic cable at midnight and makes you stay awake until 2:00 AM because you just have to see if Hailey makes it out of the town alive.
Interestingly, the film was produced by Uncork’d Entertainment. They’ve become a bit of a powerhouse in the "high-volume horror" world. They know their audience. They know we want masks, shadows, and a little bit of mystery regarding why the local mechanic is acting like a serial killer.
Key Takeaways for Your Next Watch Party
If you're planning on sitting down with this one, keep a few things in mind to actually enjoy it:
- Ignore the "Amityville" Branding: Treat it as a standalone "Small Town Horror" movie. It works way better if you aren't comparing it to the Lutz story.
- Watch the Background: The movie does a decent job of showing the townsfolk watching the family. It adds a layer of paranoia that’s actually pretty effective.
- Practical Effects Appreciation: Pay attention to the makeup work during the "transformation" scenes. It’s the highlight of the film.
- Double Feature Idea: Pair it with The Covenant (2017) or Amityville: The Awakening. It fits that specific "slick but cheap" aesthetic perfectly.
The Actionable Verdict
Don't go into Amityville Terror expecting a life-changing cinematic experience. Instead, look at it as a masterclass in how to make a low-budget movie feel "big" by expanding the threat from a single house to an entire zip code. It’s a gritty, slime-covered slice of indie horror that manages to be more memorable than half of the big-budget jump-scare fests that hit theaters.
If you want to track down the film today, it’s frequently cycling through free-with-ads platforms like Tubi, Pluto TV, or the horror-centric Shudder. Given the sheer number of "Amityville" titles out there, make sure the poster features the red-tinted house and Nicole Tompkins’ face—otherwise, you might end up watching Amityville Christmas by mistake, and that’s a whole different kind of terror.
The best way to experience these movies is to lean into the absurdity. The Amityville "lore" is a chaotic mess, and Amityville Terror is one of the few entries that actually tries to add a new, albeit weird, layer to why that specific name carries so much weight. It’s about the corruption of a community, not just a building. That’s a trope that never really gets old, even if the house windows look a little too much like eyes.
To get the most out of your viewing, try to find the unrated version if possible. The theatrical cuts of these indie horror films often trim the very practical effects that make them worth watching in the first place. Once you finish this one, you can dive into the rabbit hole of the other 30 sequels, but fair warning: the quality drops off a cliff pretty fast once you leave this specific tier of production.