Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
Belle, her little sister, and her comatose twin brother move into a new house with their single mother in order to save money to help pay for her brother's expensive healthcare. But when strange phenomena begin to occur including the miraculous recovery of her brother, Belle begins to suspect her mother isn't telling her everything and soon learns they moved into the infamous Amityville house.
Amityville: The Awakening is a deeply formulaic entry in the long-running haunted house franchise, offering little that hasn't been seen before in the Amityville series or haunted house horror generally. The plot borrows heavily from prior entries and generic supernatural horror tropes — the comatose sibling's miraculous/sinister recovery is its lone hook but is underdeveloped. Acting is serviceable but unremarkable from a cast that includes Bella Thorne, who struggles to elevate thin material. Cinematography is competent but bland, failing to generate real atmosphere or dread despite the iconic setting. Novelty scores very low as it is a by-the-numbers sequel in an already exhausted franchise with no distinctive voice or fresh perspective. The ending resolves in predictable fashion without meaningful payoff or surprise, consistent with the film's overall lack of ambition.