The Amityville Horror (1979)

Even as someone who isn’t much of a horror fan, I had hoped this would be a bit scarier than it is. After newlyweds James Brolin and Margot Kidder move with her young children into a home where a mass murder had occurred a year earlier, unexplainable things begin to happen. Disembodied voices are heard, people start feeling strangely, doors and windows act as if on their own will. One positive from the film is that they did a great job casting the kids; the three of them look like siblings. The score has the nice repetitive eerie quality that is necessary for the tension to build. The house has a menacing look to it, particularly with the two upper windows light up like glowing eyes. The fact that it is based on an actual story also adds to the scare factor, but it remains just somewhat creepy than an actual scare fest.    

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Score