Sarah O'Donell
Join Joe Lipsett twice a month as he delves into the ever-evolving world of the Amityville Horror franchise. Prepare for a wild ride as he dissects each film, revealing how the series has taken some truly outrageous turns. Welcome to “The Amityville IP.”
After a brief detour to dissect Geno McGahee’s Amityville: The Final Chapter or Sickle, we’re back in 2023 with writer/director Bobby Canipe Jr’s Amityville Ripper. At first glance, you might mistake this for a tired attempt to shoehorn a slasher narrative into an Amityville film. But don’t be fooled, this film takes a delightfully meta approach that sets it apart.
Initially, Canipe Jr’s film feels like a somewhat clumsy indie film. The characters lack depth, the premise is flimsy, and the subplots seem aimless. But then, around the 25-minute mark, a delightful twist occurs as two characters break the fourth wall, confirming the name of the film they’re in with the film crew.
This results in a playful mockery of the Amityville franchise that feels even more self-aware than previous titles (see: Amityville Christmas Vacation, The Last Amityville Film). The characters are not only aware of the franchise’s notorious reputation, but they also critique the quality of the film they’re in, including the poor script and the late delivery of it.
This clever tactic addresses the film’s obvious shortcomings, such as its low-budget aesthetic, single location, occasional “bad” acting, and thinly drawn characters. However, the constant self-referential humor eventually undermines the film itself, especially when Canipe Jr leans too heavily on this joke, risking it becoming stale.
The end product is a film that is both amusing and frustrating in equal measure.
Here’s the gist of the story: Marianne (Kelsey Ann Baker) and her best friend Annie (Angel Nichole Bradford) plan to perform a séance with a knife allegedly belonging to Jack the Ripper, which they found at an estate sale of the Amityville house. However, their plans are disrupted by Marianne’s (step) brother, Nicols (Hunter Redfern), who decides to throw a wild party while their parents are away. The partygoers, including wheelchair-bound Chapman (Ryan Martel) and cheerleader Liz (Anna Clary), soon find themselves being hunted by Jack (Josh Allman), who slashes his way through the unsuspecting crowd.
The violence is sporadic and often offscreen, but Canipe Jr wisely opts for practical blood effects over CGI, which makes the aftermath of Jack’s attacks more visually impactful. Despite the screenplay’s over-reliance on self-referential dialogue by the final act, there are still some genuinely funny moments. One standout scene occurs when the survivors refuse to recite the ridiculous dialogue, prompting the director to step in and demand they stick to the script.
The issue with Amityville Ripper is that its constant self-mockery makes it seem as if nothing in the film truly matters. This approach sometimes works, such as when Liz points out a plot hole and Canipe Jr casually admits from offscreen that he forgot about it, but it doesn’t matter. However, this approach often falls flat.
The film’s effectiveness is further undermined when it dedicates substantial screen time to subplots or character beats that do little more than pad the 80-minute runtime. One particularly grating example is the multiple references to queerness, including Chapman and Nicols’ belief that Marianne and Annie are “lezzing” out before the séance, as well as the suggestion that Chapman is queer and has feelings for Nicols. The latter subplot, in particular, is intriguing, but the film dismisses it with the suggestion that the characters are simply inconsistent and underwritten.
The film also opens with a lengthy montage of news reports about an increase in alien and UFO sightings. This ties into the finale when the day is randomly saved by a passing spaceship, which makes for a mildly amusing final joke, but the focus on aliens (instead of say, Jack, who appears past the half-way point of the film) is confusing. It’s an extra element that distracts from the film’s villain and central premise.
In conclusion, Amityville Ripper is a sometimes fun and clever meta-commentary on both the “franchise” and its lackluster sequels. However, the film often descends into self-parody, which detracts from its humorous commentary.
Still, there’s a certain charm in the audacity of the humor and the attempt to try something new after more than 50 films in the franchise.
And now, the Amityville IP Awards…
- Defining Elements: When I guested on the Mubi podcast to discuss the “series,” I highlighted incest as a defining element of the best sequels. In this film, there’s a recurring joke about Nicols being inappropriate with his sister, to the point that Marianne asks for clarification from the director about whether they’re brother/sister or step-siblings.
- There’s also a sequence in which a character loudly farts, which has happened more than once, including in Amityville Karen.
- Disability Representation (or lack thereof): There’s an odd moment when Nicols is forced to push Chapman around and the film goes out of its way to explain that the latter character has a broken leg due to a football injury (despite not wearing a cast). It’s a strange choice…until Nicols himself acknowledges that it doesn’t make sense (“Brother, it’s an Amityville film. Shit’s different here.”) This is a prime example of Canipe Jr using self-aware dialogue to explain any inconsistency or odd choice in his own script.
- Meta Humor: The single best example of the film’s humor is the first time it is used. It’s extremely jarring when Marianne and Annie turn to the camera and ask the audience if the séance is what we want them to do.
- My second favorite example is when a pizza man arrives at the party and observes that Jack’s outfit is a Dracula costume from Amazon. Allman, who has been speaking in a generic UK accent, breaks character to demand – in a Southern accent – if this is true. Canipe Jr confirms the statement from off-camera, admitting that production company SRS, who is responsible for the vast majority of the later Amityville films, doesn’t give them much money.
- Third best is when Marianne gestures at the partygoers: “Dammit, all of these people are extras; they haven’t even read the script and don’t know they’re in danger.” This is followed by Liz having a literal lightbulb moment involving a cartoon image about how to proceed. It’s all very silly.
- Confusing humor: Less successful is when Liz notes that she’s sober because “the director wrote it into the script!” Does this suggest that Liz simply doesn’t understand that a director and writer are different roles? Or is she merely conflating the two since Canipe Jr occupies both on this production?
Next time: the “franchise” finally moves into 2024 with the return of veterans Shawn C. Phillips and Julie Anne Prescott and the introduction of
