Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘Amityville: No Escape’

Written by Scott Edwards

What frightens you the most? This is a question that has plagued people for their entire lives, and it is not going anywhere. The answer to that question, ranges from the silly, like a fear of clowns, to things more extreme, like having their family hacked to pieces. Everyone has their own fears and while some are open about it, others try to keep it close to the vest, because there are people out there that are more than willing to prey on someone’s fears. If you have followed me at all, I have the silly fear of clowns and no matter how much I try to get over it, it will probably stick with me until the day I die.

Working on his next thesis, George is ready to take it to the extreme. With fear on his mind, he wants to shoot a documentary about what scares people the most. Being able to convince his friends to join him on a camping trip that will take them into the woods, he is keeping one part of the trip a secret. Being able to find a place that will put him next to the Amityville House, he does not let anyone know of what his plans really are. With his sister Elizabeth, girlfriend Sarah, camera man Simon and his friend and ‘one with the earth’ Lisa, the group is ready to spend the night in the woods with no idea what is in store for them.

As nightfall comes early, the group hears someone or something in the woods that piques their interest. As George is more than willing to check it out, he finds that they are not the only people poking around.  A father is roaming the woods looking for his daughter that went missing weeks ago and gives the group a warning that the woods are no place to be messing around. On the other side of camp Simon is trying to find a safe place to do his business when he spots what appears to be a little girl who may be lost. Not being able to find the girl, Simon brings the news back to camp and everyone wants to try and help. But the little girl cannot be found, and the group is not comfortable with the outcome.

As daylight shines down on the group while they are getting ready to leave, George has altered their plans. Wanting the group to stay one more night for his film, he is ready to play on their fears, but little does he know what the night will have in store for them. Finding the Amityville House and showing it to Sarah, she starts to fear for what might be going bump in the night. Getting back to camp and being forced to go into the woods alone, she sees the little girl as well. Knowing that the little girl needs help, the group stumbles upon the body of the father who was looking for his daughter. Knowing that there is something out there that has the power to kill, the group tries to leave the woods, but there is no escaping the evil that is hunting them.

I like the idea of a haunted house, now I like the idea of haunted woods as well. This movie did a good job of keeping the shadows a little bit darker so you could not see what might be hiding in them. I really liked the side story of a woman who went missing in the house years before, it just added something that I did not expect in the story. With that being said, I am a little shocked that it did not seem like anyone in the group paid any attention to what happened in the video, or at least finished it before their trip, it could have saved them the headaches. With creepy sounds in the woods, a missing person who will never be found, a little girl stalking the camp and a leader who refuses to be frightened by anything other than his father’s opinion of him, it is not a bad addition to the Amityville legacy that seems like it will never come to an end. Stay Scared.

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