For some horrors fans, the past few years have proven to be a long, strange journey – especially if you have a vested interest in a certain Long Island haunted house. Basically, Amityville: The Awakening was hit with delay after delay after delay, something we don’t see often outside of the video game medium. Believe it or not, it was originally supposed to be released in January of 2015, but was only recently made available for mass consumption.
Now, the simple numbers state that the latest entry in the enduring franchise opened with a paltry $742 – which is true – but you have to take into account that it was shown on only ten screens nationwide for one day. Not only that, but the film has already been available for free on Google Play since October 12, so that may have had something to do with it. Well, that and a complete lack of promotion. Plus, there’s also a looming Blu-ray release to consider, and it could be argued that most people are playing the waiting game.
Truth be told, some outlets can’t help but point out that The Weinstein Company is attached to the project, but it’s hard to say for certain if that can be factored into any of this, especially given the points made above. Sure, it’s been a very bad month for one Harvey Weinstein, but when I think “Amityville,” I don’t necessarily think of him. After all, this series has been around for quite some time, and most casual moviegoers probably don’t even pay attention to whomever is given a producing credit.
Still, it’s hard to ignore that critical reception for Amityville: The Awakening hasn’t been all that great, with our own Matt Donato condemning it to the pit in his recent review. Regardless, I may have to check it out for myself at some point because not only do I have an appreciation for the franchise itself, but the visual effects are vaguely reminiscent of Silent Hill.
Tell us, have you managed to see the flick yet? If so, what did you think? As always, let us know below.
