Olivia (Junie Liv Thomasson) is a little girl who is still grieving the sudden loss of her mother. Hoping for a fresh start, her father (Jonas Thomasson) moves them into a creepy new house in Amityville. When he is unexpectedly called into work, he is forced to leave Olivia home alone. Before long, she begins seeing a creepy clown who pops up when he’s least expected and terrorizes her wherever she goes.
Things kick off with a not-bad opening title sequence full of vintage creepy clown footage. The first act, in which our pint-sized heroine is stalked by the supernatural clown killer, is rather decent too. There is some genuine tension in these early scenes, and I give director JT Kris credit for adequately conveying the anxiety a child feels when left home alone. Thomasson also does a fine job as the child in peril and carries the film about as far as anyone could’ve, given the circumstances.
Unfortunately, once it is revealed that the first act has all been a (SPOILER) dream, it takes a lot of wind out of the movie’s sails. To make matters worse, the script keeps playing the same “It’s All a Dream” card over and over again. Every time it’s revealed that what we’ve just seen has been a dream… AGAIN, it just gets more and more tiresome. Before long, the film becomes an endurance test of the audience’s patience. (This also happens to be one of those fake Amityville flicks where everyone talks with the thickest brogues you ever heard.)
Even at a relatively scant seventy-four minutes, it still feels bloated and overlong. When the movie should be over, it isn’t. When it finally does decide to end, it’s at the most arbitrary spot imaginable. It’s a shame too because the first act could’ve been a solid self-contained short film. Had the rest of the picture been as strong, Ghosts of Amityville had a ghost of a chance being worthwhile. As it is, this ghost is rather busted.
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