Amityville II: The Possession -- A blatant ripoff of The Exorcist

My last blog post was about a movie franchise (the James Bond film series). So, in this entry, to continue with the theme of movie franchises, I’m going to cover a movie that was part of another franchise: Amityville II: The Possession.

The 1977 book The Amityville Horror: A True Story (written by Jay Anson) was based upon the aftermath of a 1974 multiple homicide that took place in a Colonial-style house situated within a neighborhood known as Amityville, which is located in Long Island, New York. A young man by the name of Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murdered six members of his family in that house. The following year, a man named George Lutz moved into the house with his family, but that would turn out to be a short-lived stay. After only 28 days, the Lutz family decided to move out. The reason they chose to abandon the house was that they claimed to have experienced paranormal activity during the time that they lived in the house.

The original Amityville movie (from 1979) was based on Anson’s book, and it focused on the paranormal experiences of the Lutz family. In contrast, Amityville II, despite being the second Amityville movie is actually a prequel of sorts. This movie was based on a different book titled Murder in Amityville, written by Hans Holzer in 1979. Holzer’s book delves with what caused DeFeo to murder his family -- specifically demonic possession. So, the movie showcases the murderer’s demonic possession, hence the words “The Possession” as part of the title. However, for the movie, the DeFeo surname was changed to Montelli.

The plot primarily revolves around the Montelli’s elder son named Sonny who becomes possessed by a demonic entity one night while his family is out and he happens to be home alone. As a result of the possession, Sonny’s personality becomes drastically altered in the weeks that follow. One of the shocking effects of the possession is that Sonny decides to engage in an incestuous relationship with one of his sisters. And after some time, the entity that has possessed his body orders him to kill his family.

After the murders, Sonny -- seemingly unaware of what took place -- winds up in jail. A priest who had unsuccessfully tried to bless the house shortly after the Montellis moved in decides to go visit Sonny in jail and thus determines that Sonny is possessed by a demonic entity. In the denouement, an exorcism takes place, with an unforeseen outcome and a mysterious ending.

This movie very obviously “drew inspiration” from The Exorcist. In fact, some of the scenes in this movie seemed almost like direct copies of some of the scenes from The Exorcist -- particularly the scene in which the priest performs the exorcism on Sonny, as well as a scene in which the words “Save Me” magically appear on Sonny’s forearm. And overall, this movie as a prequel falls flat in comparison to the original Amityville movie. Though, I can admit that some of the scenes are genuinely scary and creepy. Nonetheless, this is an awful movie with no famous actors other than Burt Young who plays Sonny’s father. But, the movie deserves a mention here, as it was one of the many movies that I saw as a child in the 80s.

Sophie’s Choice: The greatest performance ever by an actress?

If one were to take a poll of “Who do you consider the greatest actress alive?” most respondents would likely choose Meryl Streep. In the same vein, if there is one female acting performance that is generally thought of as the best (or the greatest) of all time, it’s Streep’s performance in the 1982 movie Sophie’s Choice. The role itself is one of Streep’s best-known roles, and I’m sure most people who’ve seen the movie would say that Streep’s performance definitely ranks as one of the best ever by any actor or actress. Streep, being the queen of mastering foreign accents, takes on a Polish accent in this movie. She plays a Holocaust survivor from Poland who lives in a boarding house in Brooklyn, New York with an unstable, abusive boyfriend named Nathan (played by Kevin Kline). The couple befriends a new boarder at the house -- a novelist who’s known as Stingo (played by Peter MacNicol) who hails from the South.

The movie, which takes place two years after the end of World War II, mainly focuses on the friendship of the trio as they go about their day-to-day lives in the boarding house and elsewhere. Sophie had been an inmate of the Auschwitz concentration camp during the war, and while there, she was chosen to work as a secretary for the camp’s Nazi commandant, due to her fluency in German. Once in the United States, and suffering from anemia, she was taken in and looked after by Nathan who works for a pharmaceutical company. As Stingo gets to know this couple better, he comes to discover that there’s more than meets the eye with them. Not only does Sophie have some skeletons in the closet, but it just so happens that Nathan harbors a shocking secret of his own.

 

The movie itself can be described as lukewarm at best. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, and having a runtime of 2 hours and 30 minutes, it's slow-paced and overlong for its subject matter (it’s primarily a story of friendship). Also, there aren't many scenes showing Sophie’s past, which is somewhat ironic, considering that the title of the movie refers to a choice she made during the war. The actual scene involving the revelation of Sophie’s “choice” is, for the most part, underwhelming.

Nonetheless, Streep delivers a spellbinding performance, and she speaks three languages in the movie: English, Polish, and German -- rumor has it that she actually spoke German with a Polish accent. One particular scene, in which she delivers a lengthy monologue, is the best scene of the movie.

This performance remains Streep’s greatest performance ever, and nothing that she's done since has surpassed the caliber of it. Her performance in 1985’s Out of Africa is perhaps the only one that comes close. Streep rightfully won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Sophie’s Choice, and it’s bewildering that despite her multiple Oscar nominations since then, the Academy did not give her another Best Actress award until this year (for The Iron Lady, nearly 30 years after her win for Sophie‘s Choice).

When it comes to determining what’s the best performance ever given by an actor or actress, it’s all subjective. I’ve seen lots of films from several decades. To me, Streep’s performance in Sophie’s Choice is, without question, the best performance by any actress during the decade of the 80s. But the best performance ever? Sorry, Meryl, but that is an honor I can only reserve for someone else. As far as I’m concerned, THIS is the greatest female acting performance of all time:

And if you're wondering, the actress is Vanessa Redgrave, and the movie is Isadora (from 1968).