Amityville Dollhouse (1996)
- Cody Iden
- Oct 26, 2021
- 3 min read
Release Date - October 2, 1996
Synopsis:
An old dollhouse modeled after the infamous Amityville residence is found by a family in the shed behind their new home and soon bizarre occurrences begin to plague the family.
Directed by - Steve White
Written by - Joshua Michael Stern
Produced by - David Newlon, Zane W. Levitt, Steve White and Mark Yellen
Cinematography - Thomas L. Callaway
Music by - Ray Colcord
Distribution Company - Republic Pictures
Cast:
Robin Thomas - Bill Martin
Starr Andreeff - Claire Martin
Clayton Murray - Jimmy's Father
Lenore Kasdorf - Marla Martin
Allen Cutler - Todd Martin
Franc Ross - Tobias
Lisa Robin Kelly - Dana
Jarrett Lennon - Jimmy Martin
Rachel Duncan - Jessica Martin
Run Time - 1 hr. 36 min. Rated - R
Budget - Unknown Gross - Unknown
Review:
Here we have yet another haunted object Amityville film, this time around a family discovers a dollhouse replica of the Long Island residence in the shed behind their new home and after moving it into the house bizarre occurrences begin to manifest. The previous entries featuring haunted objects that came from the Amityville house were all enjoyable and they had interesting stories but this time around the whole thing feels stale and uninteresting and there is really no link to the Amityville house as we get no explanation as to who built the dollhouse or how it got in this old shed to begin with. It presumably came from the Amityville house but we are never really told the origins of the item this time around. The cast is rather boring as well and despite the crazy goings on they seem to be relatively calm for most of the picture, partly because nothing truly exciting really happens. That's not to say the characters are unlikable, they are just not very memorable and the acting is fine from all involved with no major stars involved this time around. The cinematography, music and special effects are all decent but none of them are exceptional. As far as the special effects are concerned a sequence featuring several demons at the climax of the film is the only real highlight, the rest of the stuff is pretty tame and banal. The direction from Steve White is competent and it really all boils down to a boring story that should have explored more of the origins of this dollhouse rather than the typical haunted house jump scares and possessed family members that this franchise had delved into too many times before.
My Score: 68
Plot - 6 Cinematography - 8
Attraction - 7 Editing & Special Effects - 7
Theme - 5 Sound & Music - 7
Acting - 7 Directing - 8
Dialogue - 7 Enjoyability – 6
Trivia:
Much of the movie was filmed at a real newly-built home in Santa Clarita, California whose owners had not yet moved in.
Despite the title dollhouse looking the infamous 112 Ocean Avenue residence in Amityville, New York there is no connection to any of the previous films in any way and the word Amityville is never spoken in the movie.
Originally the story was to have mentioned that this new home was built on the site of the original Amityville house, though this idea was later abandoned when they decided to shoot in Santa Clarita which in no way looked like Long Island.
The poster art for the film actually features the young girl from Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes (1989) looking at that film's haunted lamp in the attic with the Amityville Dollhouse photo-shopped into the image. Sharp eyed viewers can just make out the lamp in the shadowy background.
This was the final entry in the long-running Amityville franchise until the series was rebooted with a remake, The Amityville Horror (2005).
Availability:
Watched October 25, 2021
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