Editorials
[Retro Nightmares] ‘Amityville’ Double Feature Revisits Surprisingly Clever Sequels
The second entry in the Bloody Disgusting presents Retro Nightmares series is a double feature that likely raises eyebrows at first glance. October 4, 2018, brings Amityville: The Evil Escapes and Amityville: It’s About Time, the fourth and sixth entries of an uneven and fairly lackluster horror franchise. Aside from being underseen, these particular sequels cleverly took their cue from the destruction of the iconic Amityville house at the end of Amityville 3-D, giving the plot the freedom to go to some surprising, wacky places without the shackles of the house’s limitations. What happens when the evil within Amityville escapes via furniture? Some fun schlock, surprising makeup effects, and a whole lot of Amityville weirdness makes for a fun double feature meant to be seen with a group.
Amityville: The Evil Escapes
Based on the novel of the same name, this fourth entry was a made for television movie that aired on NBC in 1989. The opening sequence backtracks to before the Amityville house was destroyed in order to introduce us to the source of this film’s evil; a lamp. Yes, a lamp. Cut to that same lamp being sold at the house’s estate sale, where an older woman purchases it and ships it off to her sister, Alice, in California as a birthday present. It arrives the same day her widowed daughter Nancy arrives with her three children in tow. What could go wrong?
Being that this is a made for TV movie, there’s more gore than you’d expect. The sister who sends Alice the demonic lamp cuts herself on its sharp edges and contracts one gnarly infection as a result. The biggest surprise, though, is that Amityville: The Evil Escapes actually follows through with a cringe-worthy shredding by way of appliance that a lot of horror films only like to tease. It’s the bloodiest moment of the film.
Patty Duke is the lead as widowed daughter Nancy, and hardcore horror fans might recognize the eldest daughter Amanda (Zoe Trilling of Night of the Demons 2 and Dr. Giggles). The screenplay was written by director Sandor Stern, who also wrote the screenplay for the original film and helmed the underrated ‘80s gem Pin. Stern brings balance to the otherwise campy premise of a demonic lamp. There’s really no way to make a lamp scary. Lucky, there’s enough here to distract from that.
Amityville: It’s About Time
This sequel sees architect Jacob Sterling (Graveyard Shift and The Monster Squad’s Stephen Macht) bring home an antique mantle clock that he found in the remains of an old house in Amityville (yes, that one). Right away that clock embeds itself into the house and begins to affect Jacob, his ex-girlfriend Andrea, and his two teen kids Lisa and Rusty in adverse ways. And by that, I mean that Amityville: It’s About Time goes off the rails in the best possible way.
Directed by Hellbound: Hellraiser II’s Tony Randel, Amityville: It’s About Time becomes a ‘90s descent into special effects madness as Jacob deals with a vicious dog attack turned gooey gross-out infection, Rusty delves into the clock’s centuries-old French necromancy origins, and Lisa deals with some disgustingly goopy side effects of the clock’s presence. This may have been a direct-to-video sequel, but it doesn’t hold back on the effects, fun, and zany plot that a haunted clock presents. Time travel, hallucinations, and an expanding mythology means that this sequel may very well be one of horror’s most underrated. Even better? The death count is higher, and there’s a fun cameo by Dick Miller (Gremlins, The Howling, Demon Knight).
Both Amityville: The Evil Escapes and Amityville: It’s About Time took the concept of a haunted object removed from the iconic Amityville house and used it to create a sequel better than expected in a less than stellar franchise. Demonically possessed clocks and lamps are impossible to make scary, but the sequels themselves are fun despite this. Fans of special effects and campy horror fun, be sure to grab tickets for this double feature.
Amityville: The Evil Escapes and Amityville: It’s About Time will both be playing as part of Retro Nightmares in theaters Nationwide Thursday, October 4th. Get tickets at www.retronightmares.com.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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