Amityville II: The Possession (1982)

[gory daz]

always thought this was uncut in the uk but was wrong.old thorn-emi print was cut and so was every release ever since.the version on tv a few times was uncut!cut in question was the part when the dad was shot in the bedroom.any 1 know why this was cut?was it the bbfc or pre-cut going back to the old thorn-emi release?had to get the uncut r1.also amityville-3 uk release ment to be loger than us 1? any answers guys?

[Someone Weird]

It was pre-cut. It annoyed the hell out of me when I picked up the first DVD release and found it cut, as that bit when he shoots pop's is great.

However, the UK Collector's Edition from Sanctuary is UNCUT. It's a nice package with an audio commentary etc. By the way, when Channel 5 showed this, they kept the shooting of Dad but cut the bit when the little sister puts a plastic bag over her brothers head! Twits.

Here is a link to the uncut UK release:

Amityville 2 Uncut UK (Amazon)

[vincenzo]

The BBFC have never cut Amityville II (or any Amityville film).

Some early releases seem to have been taken from an edited print. According to the IMDB.....

The initial UK Castle video and Prism DVD releases were missing around 7 secs of footage from the climax. Namely shots of Sonny creeping up behind his father with a gun, Patricia picking up & replacing the phone when she hears a gunshot, and the father falling backwards against a door after being shot. The later Sanctuary Collector's Edition DVD is complete.

[mark meakin]

I always used to prefer this to the first film.I had the cut Castle disc but now have the Sanctuary Special Editions of 2 & 3.

[cloud]

Even if someone held a gun to my head I still wouldn't sit through Amityville III again so I purposely avoided the SE as tempting as it was (for completion purposes). I did pick up the SE of II and despite liking it as a kid it left me cold. I wasn't impressed with the Kim Newman commentary either when he tried to point out that the haunting had been exposed as a hoax... errrr do your homework Kimberley because it has never been exposed as that, not even close. That aside good DVD but the film didn't hold up well at all. I do think the first Amityville is still a good film that to date has been the most faithful to the Jay Anson book, the SE DVD of that is a real must with its documentaries and that.

[gory daz]

i wont mention the other sequels they were dire! the changeling a good haunted house flik tho.

[mark meakin]

I have the Amityville horror special edition & as you say Cloud it's an essential purchase .I watched it a couple of weeks ago & I think the critics were unfairly harsh about Rod Steiger's performance.A classic score too that deserved an Oscar IMHO.

[mark meakin]

Originally Posted by gory daz

i wont mention the other sequels they were dire! the changeling a good haunted house flik tho.

Yes I have the Changeling & it's a nice old fashioned ghost story.Sadly there are few good ones made now (Fragile & Wind Chill were okay though).I recommend the 1945 film The Uninvited starring Ray Milland.It was one of the first Hollywood haunted house movies but is sadly unavailable on dvd.others I like:-
Legend Of Hell House
The Haunting
The Entity

[cloud]

Regarding Rod Steiger, he was a firm believer in the Lutz family's story and risking ridicule actually appeared on TV and the like supporting what they said. He had a big interest in the paranormal so for that alone I will always love Mr. Steiger .
Margot Kidder has always been quite vocal in the fact she doesn't believe it was haunted - but then does anyone care? It's Margot Kidder for ****'s sake! - and James Brolin has had conflicting opinions. He's gone on record before saying he believes it but on the latest DVD admitted that he now thinks it was a hoax. It's not been proven but on George Lutz's Amityville forum there are more than a few rumours that MGM put Brolin up to saying that to piss off George - at the time MGM and George Lutz were in court over their depiction of him in the 2005 remake.

I watch the documentaries on Amityville SE more than the actual film. The commentary is a must as well by Hans Holzer, he investigated the history of the house and did experiments there etc. He repeats himself a lot but he is getting on a bit now but - especially if you're a believer - the commentary is a must because he goes into what he found out there regarding an Indian Burial Ground and that, the house has a long history.

I agree about the sequels btw, all were dire though the one with the lamp came closest to being half decent.

[Someone Weird]

The original Amityville Horror is very camp and cheesy, but I quite enjoy it. Amityville 2 has a nice sleazy streak running through it that makes it more interesting. It's my favourite of the series. Great infact. The ones that followed are piss.