Amityville II: The Possession

The film was an international co-production film between The United States and Mexico. George Lutz wanted the sequel to the 1979 film to be based on the book The Amityville Horror Part II by John G. Jones, but the producer Dino De Laurentiis secured a deal with American International Pictures for a sequel based on Murder in Amityville by Hans Holzer. Lutz sued De Laurentiis and ultimately lost, but succeeded in having posters placed in theaters stating "This film has no affiliation with George and Kathy Lutz."[5] The film was later acquired by Filmways, which in turn was acquired by Orion Pictures shortly before release.[2]

Production was originally set to begin in September 1981 with a screenplay by David Ambrose and under the direction of John Hough. However, production was pushed back and they were both replaced. Principal photography began March 8, 1982 at the same residence in Toms River, New Jersey that the previous film used.[2] After two weeks on location in New Jersey, studio shooting was completed in Mexico City for eight or nine weeks at Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.[2] The production's decision to shoot interiors in Mexico was largely due to economic reasons.[6]

After director Damiano Damiani's original cut of the film was shown to test audiences, several scenes had to be cut out for various reasons, one of them being the negative reaction of the audience to a scene in which Anthony anally rapes Dolores and another scene in which Sonny and Patricia have incestuous sex. This scene was added into the script by Damiani who wanted to really upset the viewers. The original scene was much more graphic and sexual, while in the movie it cuts to the next scene almost immediately after Sonny starts kissing Patricia. Some other deleted scenes were shown on lobby cards and stills for the movie, such as a scene in which Anthony is sitting outside the house drinking and cleaning a gun and a scene where Jan is pushing Mark's head under the water while he is in the bathtub. The theatrical trailer also shows a shot of Jan and Mark looking at the window and holding hands. The only deleted scene which was ever released in some form is the so-called "Lost Souls" scene, originally from near the end of the movie, in which souls that are within the house appear in front of Adamsky and he blesses them. No actual footage was released but a UK special collector's edition DVD includes several stills from this deleted scene.[7][8]

Amityville II: The Possession was distributed theatrically in the United States by Orion Pictures on September 24, 1982.[1] It earned $4,104,277 during its opening weekend,[9] and grossed a total of $12,534,817 over the course of its initial theatrical run.[1]

The film received marginally favorable reviews at the time of its release.[6] As of May 2023, internet review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 24%, based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10.[10]

Dann Gire of the Chicago Daily Herald thought the film used excessive effects, and found the storyline not as interesting as what it could have been.[11] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who gave the first film a negative review, claimed the film "is actually slightly better than The Amityville Horror" and mentioned some good technical credits and performances and gave the film 2 out of 4 stars.[12] Both he and Gene Siskel selected the film as one of the worst of the year in a 1982 episode of Sneak Previews.[13] Variety complained that there are "actually two films meandering in this mess — one a second rate horror flick about a family in peril, and another that is a slight variation on the demon-possessed Exorcist theme."[14] Likewise, Boxoffice called this attempt to cash-in on the success of The Amityville Horror an "embarrassment."[15]

Richard F. Shepard of The New York Times noted that there is "some reasonably competent acting here, but it has a supporting role next to the stars, which are the camera and the special effects department. The director, Damiano Damiani, conjures up the malevolent spirit of the house in shots that show the camera creeping up on people and in scenes of things crashing about in the house."[16] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a marginally favorable review, writing that it "stands quite sturdily on its own...  Rather than seeming derivative, Amityville II: The Possession seems to incorporate motifs from everything from The Exorcist to Poltergeist in an original and unexpectedly spiritual way. Damiano Damiani has exceeded in his bravura."[17]

Rutanya Alda was nominated for a Razzie as Worst Supporting Actress for this film, her second consecutive after the previous years' nod for Mommie Dearest in the same category.

Writing for Bloody Disgusting, Meagan Navarro argued in a 2017 editorial that Amityville II: The Possession is a superior film to its 1979 predecessor, featuring better pacing and special effects,[4] a sentiment similarly stated by Roger Ebert at the time of the film's original release.[12]

MGM Home Entertainment released Amityville II: The Possession on DVD on April 5, 2005.[18]

Scream Factory released the film on Blu-ray in 2013, as part of The Amityville Trilogy set, which also included The Amityville Horror (1979) and Amityville 3-D (1983).[19]