Amityville II: The Possession (1982)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1982
Running Times: 105 mins
Length: 9407 ft
Format: Technicolor
Ratio:
Sound: stereo

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica/Media Technology
Executive Producer: Bernard Williams
Producers: Ira N. Smith, Stephen R. Greenwald
Associate Producer: José López Rodero
Production Manager: G. MacBrown
Production Supervisor: Michael Dryhurst
Production Coordinators: Wendy G. Glickstein, Sherri Taffel-Brown

SCRIPT
Script: Tommy Lee Wallace, Dardano Sacchetti (uncredited)
Book: Murder in Amityville by Hans Holzer

DIRECTION
Director: Damiano Damiani
Assistant Directors: David Ticotin, Aaron Barsky

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Franco di Giacomo
Camera Operator: Daniele Nannuzzi
Assistant Camera: Stefano Coletta
2nd Assistant Camera: Francesco Damiani, Crescenzo Notarile
Gaffer: Michael Burke
Best Boy: Ken Finlay
Key Grip: Dennis Gamiello
Dolly Grip: John Mazzoni
Laboratory: Technicolor

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Sam O'Steen
Supervising Assistant Editor: Nicholas C. Smith
Assistant Editor: Lori Blounstein

MUSIC
Music: Lalo Schifrin
Songs: Mildred J.Hill, Patty S. Hill (Happy Birthday To You); Henry Bishop, Howard Payne (Home Sweet Home); Phil Demise (White Out)
Music Editor: Norman Hollyn
Music Consultant: Gilbert Marouani

SOUND
Sound Recordists: Neil Fallon, Kim Ornitz
Boom Operator: Kevin Meehan
Sound Re-Recordist: Dick J. Vorisek
Supervising Sound Editor: Stanley Bochner
Sound Editors: Dan Lieberstein, Thomas A. Gulino, Robert Hein, Hal Levinsohn
Dialogue Loop Editor: Harriet Fidlow

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Make Up: Joe Cuervo
Hair: Werner Sherer
Costume Designer: William Kellard
Wardrobe Mistress: Rose Trimarco

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Effects: John Caglione Jr
Special Make Up Effects Assistant: Stephan DuPuis
Make Up Lab Assistant: Ed French

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects Supervisor: Glen Robinson
Special Effects Assistant: Gary Zeller

VISUAL EFFECTS
Title Designer: R/Greenberg Associates

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Pier Luigi Basile
Art Director: Ray Recht
Set Decorator: George DeTitta Jr
Property Masters: Richard Adee, Wally Adee
Scenic Chargeman: Richard Hughes
Construction Grip: Arne Olsen

OTHER CREW
Script Supervisor: Sheila Paige
Production Auditors: Michael Menzies, Martha Schumacher
Transportation Captain: Michael Hourihan
Religious Consultant: Father Thomas Bermingham
Demonology Advisors: Ed Warren, Lorraine Warren
Animal Wranglers: Humberto Gurza, Miguel Gurza

LOCATIONS
Locations: Jersey City, New Jersey, USA; Mexico City, Mexico D.F., Mexico; Toms River, New Jersey, USA
Studio: Estudios Churubusco Azteca SA, Mexico City
Location Manager: Jeffrey Silver

STUNTS
Stunt Coordinator: Victor Magnotta

CAST
James Olson (Father Adamsky)
Burt Young (Anthony Montelli)
Rutanya Alda (Dolores Montelli)
Jack Magner (Sonny Montelli)
Andrew Prine (Father Tom)
Diane Franklin (Patricia Montelli)
Moses Gunn (Turner)
Ted Ross (Mr Booth)
Erika Katz (Jan Montelli)
Brent Katz (Mark Montelli)
Leonardo Cimino (chancellor)
Danny Aiello III (removal man 1)
Gilbert Stafford (removal man 2)
Petra Lea (Mrs Greer)
Alan Dellay (judge)
Martin Donegan (Detective Cortez)
John Ring (Police Chief)
Peter Radon (assistant chancellor)
Lawrence Bolen (funeral director)
Tony Boschetti (elderly man in church)
John Clohessy (police officer 1)
Hollis Granville (police officer 2)
Frank Patton (police officer 3)
Kim H. Ornitz (police officer 4)
Lindsay Hill (police officer 5)
Rudy Jones (gardener)
Todd Jamie (guest at birthday party)
Ken Smith (prison doctor)
Anita Keal, Sondra Lee, Alice Playten (voices of demons)
Tony Devon (the coroner)

In 1974, the Montelli family move in to their new home in Amityville and are soon assailed by all manner of strange phenomenon. The centre of the haunting appears to be moody teenager Sonny who picks up strange messages on his Walkman, encouraging him to go to bed with his sister Patricia and planting thoughts of murder in his mind. Father Adamski decides that Sonny is possessed and sets out to save him. But back in Amityville, obscene messages are appearing in the nursery, excrement is leaking out of the basement walls and Sonny is physically mutating as the evil force takes hold. Adamski, disturbed by a dream, returns to the Amityville house and prepares to face the evil without official sanction from the church.

An unneccesary sequel to a film that really wasn't that hot to begin with. Actually, sequel is something of a misnomer as this, in fact, presents itself as a 'prequel' of sorts, purporting to show the events that caused the now world famous Long Island residence to be haunted in the first place. Italian director Damiani is slumming it here (for a truer account of his talents try ¿Quien sabe? (1967), Il giorno della civetta (1968) or the excellent Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della repubblica (1971)) but he does stirling work nontheless with a script that really didn't deserve so much. Olsen is rather too placid and wooden to be truly effective as the crusading priest and the rest of the performances are equally uninvolving.

Italy
Video Distributor: Domo Video

Sweden
Video Distributor: Thorn-EMI

UK
Theatrical Distributors: Columbia-EMI-Warner
Video Distributors: Thorn-EMI; Warner Home Video; Castle Communications

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Orion Pictures Corporation
Video Distributors: Embassy Home Entertainment; Nelson Entertainment; Sultan Entertainment
Laserdisc Distributor: Nelson Entertainment

Australia
Rating: M

Finland
Rating: K-18

France
Rating: -12 (cut version); -16

Germany
Rating: 16

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: X; 18

USA
Rating: R

1983
Razzie Awards, USA
Worst Supporting Actress (Rutanya Alda) - nominated

1982
September
21: USA - press screening at Filmways Pictures, Century City, California
24: USA - theatrical release

December
25: Sweden - theatrical release

1983
January
5: France - theatrical release

March
18: Finland - theatrical release

1987
May
2: UK - television broadcast (on ITV (London Weekend Television))

1992
October
Day Unknown: UK - television broadcast (on ITV)

1999
April
10: UK - television broadcast (on Channel 5)

2001
January
1: UK - television broadcast (on Channel 5)

Don't forget to check under the bed...

In 1976, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children fled from this house in Amityville, New York. They got out alive! But a year before them their was another family living in this house. They weren't so lucky! This is their story of The Amityville Horror!

Amityville II - Der Besessene - German title
Amityville - paholaisen piiri - Finnish title
Amityville 2 : Le Damné - French title
Amityville II, le possédé - French title
Amityville Possession - Italian title
Amityville II: Opetanie - Polish title
Huset som gud glömde 2 - Swedish title

SEQUEL TO
The Amityville Horror (1979)

SEQUELS
Amityville 3-D (1983)
Amityville: The Evil Escapes (1989)
The Amityville Curse (1990)
Amityville 1992: It's About Time (1992)
Amityville: A New Generation (1993)
Amityville: Dollhouse (1997)
Amityville 2000 (2000)

MAGAZINES

Cinefantastique vol.13 no.2/3 (November /December 1982) p.91 (USA)
review (by Steve Dimeo)

Delirium no.5 pp.21 - 22 (UK)
credits, review

Films and Filming no.339 (December 1982) p.35 (UK)
review (by Martin Sutton)

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.49 no.586 (November 1982) p.257 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review (by Nick Roddick)

Motion Picture Product Digest vol.10 no.9 (20 October 1982) pp.34-35 (USA)
review

Screen International no.368 (6 November 1982) p.18 (UK)
review

Sight and Sound vol.14 no.12 (December 2004) p.74 (UK)
DVD review

Spaghetti Cinema vol.1 no.3 (December 1984) p.51 (USA)
illustrated review (Damiani Directs Demons! by William Connolly)

Starburst no.53 (1982) p.19 (UK)
illustrated review (by Alan Jones)

Starburst no.63 p.41 (UK)
review

Variety 29 September 1982 p.18 (USA)
credits, review (by Berg)

NEWSPAPERS

Daily Mail 29 October 1982 (UK)
review

Sunday Mirror 31 October 1982 (UK)
review

BOOKS

Elliot's Guide to Films on Video p.25
credits, review

Hoffman's Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991 - 1992 p.23
credits, review

Spaghetti Nightmares p.163
credits

Virgin Film Yearbook 2 p.8
credits, review

OTHER SOURCES

British National Film & Video Catalogue vol.22 (1984)
note

KEYWORDS

book into film, haunted houses, sequels, demons, possession, the supernatural, priests, exorcisms

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008