Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”
Two entries ago, we discussed Thomas J. Churchill’s vampire-themed, title card only “franchise” entry, The Amityville Harvest. I knew that the writer/director had a sequel film, so going into The Amityville Moon was an interesting exercise.
As it turns out, sequel is a generous term for Churchill’s second Amityville film. It shares the same visual aesthetic as Harvest, an actor (Michael Cervantes), and may even be shot in the same location. Aside from that, however, the characters are all new and, in place of a vampire, The Amityville Moon features a werewolf as its central protagonist.
One thing that hasn’t changed: this is another in a long line of Amityville films that uses the famous title as an IP cash grab. The film could just as easily be called any other generic title without changing a thing.
With that said, however, as a low budget, indie werewolf film, The Amityville Moon is actually okay. The usual caveats apply: this is obviously a man (or a woman: Katarina Leigh Waters) in a suit, and the werewolf is lit and shot strategically for the majority of the film, but when you do see the full reveal, it’s not bad!
The greatest issue lies with Churchill’s script, which – just like The Amityville Harvest – is overstuffed with characters. The film follows Detective Robbie Kimble (Trey McCurley), a cop accused of using excessive force, as he tracks down two delinquent girls who have run away from the St. Matthias House of Rehabilitation. We see in the opening scene that Karla (Kelsey Zukowski) has been killed by something furry, while Alissa (Alex Reinhart) escapes through a basement window.
As Kimble investigates, he meets the young women who are staying at St. Matthias, including red-headed Mandi (Angie Duke), Southern bitch Jennifer (Sheri Davis), parricidal Nikki (Alexis Iacono), addict Casey (Cody Renee Cameron), bookworm Iris (Rebecca L’Amore), and combative Candy (Christina Ward). Much like the large ensemble in Harvest, few of these characters make an impression and exist principally to be murdered in the last act.
This would be less of an issue if the film developed its main characters more, but that’s not the case. Kimble makes for a bland police protagonist, never achieving a true arc before he is (surprisingly) killed in the climax. Even his excessive force charge, which opens the film, is simply an inciting incident to get him to St. Matthias. As soon as he arrives, it is immediately dropped.
Churchill also struggles to establish who the film’s female lead is: Alissa or Mandi. Both characters get significant screentime, but when Alissa emerges as the Final Girl in the climax, it is more by default than anything.
It’s somewhat disappointing because Duke is the stronger and more empathetic actor; she also has better chemistry with McCurley. It makes less sense, too, because by this time Mandi has been literally referred to by multiple characters as “Red” and just before she is revealed to be the werewolf, sick Sister Francis (Leigh Waters) speaks to Mandi using language from Little Red Riding Hood.
Despite failing to distinguish its characters or build up its central protagonists in a compelling way, The Amityville Moon is still a stronger entry than Harvest. In large part this is thanks to the wolf creature design, which is much more visually interesting than The Amityville Harvest’s vampire. This film’s set-pieces also feature plenty of slashing, a little shadow work, and even a full-blown throat grab through the door.
As an Amityville film, this entry in the “franchise” is pretty insignificant. As a low budget werewolf movie, however, it’s pretty enjoyable. If Churchill can narrow down his focus to a handful of characters that have stronger and more varied characterizations, there’s plenty of potential in his films.
As it stands, this is an entertaining diversion with a pretty decent (wo)man-in-a-suit practical werewolf.
The Amityville IP Awards go to…
- Shallow Ladies: One issue with the shallow female characters is that they are all defined by their crimes or afflictions. Seeing the women reduced to sex workers, drug addicts, or a plethora of mental illnesses, then made to scream “you bitch” at each other isn’t great.
- Religious Condemnation: There’s an inherent political message in the fact that Father Peter (David B. Meadows) and Sister Ruth (Tuesday Knight) are deliberately feeding vulnerable young women to Sister Francis. It’s explicitly stated, but considering the prevalence of religion in the film, The Amityville Moon could have leaned into it more.
- Biker Bar Fight: There’s a truly bizarre sequence where Kimble finds Alissa being threatened at a biker/strip bar when she used to work and a fight breaks out. It – again – involves a lot of characters (male this time) calling each other “Bitch” and…it’s odd!
- Lope, Don’t Run: There’s a missed opportunity when Alissa is facing down the wolf at the climax of the film and it runs at her instead of loping. The suit looks cumbersome for Leigh Waters to move in, but seeing the creature moving on all fours rather than simply running like a human would have added an extra flare.
Next Time: We’re nearly done with 2021’s crop as we dig into Trey Murphy’s Amityville Cult (2021).