Thisis on Sy Fy TV Uk now - it's dull and not scary (unlike "Amityville 2" which is a fine sequel). One question: on the video cover, cinema poster and the credits it states this is not a sequel to the first two "Amityville" movies - why did the producers have to state this? Was the Amityville name not registered or something allowing different filmakers do their own version/take?
shareI watched this last night on SyFy UK. For the most part there is no specific mention of the events of the first 2 films and so it comes across more as a generic 'Haunted House' flick than a sequel. When Meg Ryan's character does a 'tour' of the house she mentions the DeFeo family. So Amityville 3 refers to real-life events and not the characters of the second film (the Montellis). Then there's the Indian burial ground scenario which was mentioned in the second film (and the first one too, I think).
I agree that the film was dull and not scary. The only parts of the movie that worked were when characters would hear footsteps elsewhere in the house; simple but effective. The death of the daughter was quite spooky but for the most part the 'chills' were directed with staggering ineptitude.
Did you notice that during the opening titles the film was billed as 'Amityville 3-D' but listings have it as 'Amityville 3 - The Demon'. I wonder at what point the 'Demon' tag was attributed? Maybe the first VHS release? It makes sense because I'm sure the vast majority of viewers of this film have only ever seen it in 2-D.
I know this is late, but the whole "Demon" title change occurred after, i believe it was Anchor Bay, started re-releasing all the stuff a company called star marker (?) either went out of business or lost distribution rights. This was all in the 1990s when you could find these movies on VHS (in LP/SLP mode, no less!) at stores like Kmart and Walmart for like $1.99-$3.99.
I remember the 3-d being in the title up until this point and then it was The Demon until MGM started releasing them again on DVD.
"Amityville III: The Demon" was the title of the movie when it began to play on television (when I first saw it). They changed the title because on home video and VHS, the movie was not in 3-D, so the "Amityville 3-D" title made no sense.
I never saw the movie on VHS, so I don't know if those retained the "3-D" title, but it was definitely "Amityville III: The Demon" on television (with a new title card, of course). That version seems to have disappeared after the movie was remastered for DVD.
I think it was not officially a sequel because it was a fictional adaptation, having nothing to do with the previous two films, or the real people. The original apparently being a true story. It is unofficially the third film, just as THE HORROR SHOW is unofficially HOUSE 3.
http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/
Actually the owners of the real ocean ave house insisted that the producers advertise that it was not a sequel or a true story to parts 1&2 because of the publicity they were receiving
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Interesting. I thought it might have been so they wouldn't have to pay the owners of the "Amityville Horror".
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