Amityville: Descendants of Darkness

There are several really famous paranormal cases all over the world that´s been written about, both in books, newspapers and even inspired a lot of feature films. No matter what you believe regarding paranormal cases, if you actually think they really have happened or is just horse shit, i let everyone make up their own minds. Because i truly believe that everyone have the right to believe what they feel is right for them. For example a very famous paranormal case that´s been written several books about, is the world famous case known as The Amityville Horror. The book of the same name by author Jay Hanson, was published on September 13, 1977. Based on the horrible murders comitted by Ronald DeFeo Jr. on November 13, 1974, he shot and killed six members of his family at their home. It was later said that something evil remained in this house, some evil spirit that did not want to leave. I first came across this case when i got to see the 1979 film adaptation of The Amityville Horror, directed by Stuart Rosenberg ( director of the 1975 classic Paul Newman film The Drowning Pool ). What made this supernatural horror film so good, other than the wonderful acting performances from actors James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger, was how effective the horror scenes were on a limited budget. Since the original film there have been many Amityville sequels released ( the second film is still the best sequel in my opinion ), and even spin off films inspired by the story. They have even made silly low budget movies such as Amityville Thanksgiving, which is a terrible film in my opinion. I did buy a physical DVD of Amityville Thanksgiving several years ago, i still own it, but i will only watch it if i want a good laugh. Not that long ago i was sent a screener of a anthology horror film called Amityville: Descendants of Darkness. Since i am a fan of independent anthology horror films in general, i was curious to see if this film would be surprisingly good. Is this a film you should watch this summer, or should you watch the 2015 anthology horror film Soutbound instead?

4 different stories by 4 different director´s, all connected to the Amityville house, where all of your deepest darkest fears may rise to the surface.

Going into the film Amityville. Descendants of Darkness i basically knew nothing of this film, other than the title. And im glad that i never watched a trailer or read about the film before i watched a screener. Because this made my experience different from what i expected. At first i was thinking this might be a serious Amityville connected horror film, but it turned out to be a much more wild, and gory film experience. If you love gory horror comedies from the VHS era, then chances are that this is exactly what you are looking for in a story called The Shed. Lots of practical make up effects, very brutal killing scenes, you even have a pastor kicking demon ass. If you expect me to take segment seriously, i can´t. At least not in the first segment known as The Shed. And this is why i enjoy this specific story because it´s so over the top with so many different ideas thrown together, it becomes like a delightful desert where you find your favourite B movie ingredients mixed into a tasteful treat. Is the acting bad? Yes, but that´s the whole point with a story such as this, you are not meant to take The Shed seriously. So other than the fun practical make up effects and the gory scenes, what does Amtyville: Descendants of Darkness have to offer? I would say i like that this is made into an anthology horror film that´s connected to Amityville, different stories that somehow are connected to each other. The weakest story for me is the Spanish talking story known as the Possessed Relic. I tried to connect with the characters but i felt that this particular story wasn´t that interesting to me. However, we do have a story that´s actually told well and that is the segment known as Blood Moon Over Amityville. Some of the acting performances in this story is actually not that bad. The story called Echoes Of The Damned which is the final story, this is the most Amityville connected story that actually feels inspired by the classic case. Seeing film producer and actor Phil Herman in the lead role is fun, he have a charming screen presence. Echoes Of The Damned is clearly inspired by the paranormal case of Amityville, and i enjoyed this story. Since different director´s worked on this anthology horror film, i would say in general they did a good job. Amityville. Descendants of Darkness is an anthology horror film that will probably divide horror fans, if you either like all the stories or just some of them. I would still recommend that you check this film out if you enjoy this specific genre. Amityville: Descenendants of Darkness have a mixed bag of treats for everyone.

Rating: DDD