Amityville: It's About Time

Amityville: It's About Time is a 1992 horror film directed by Tony Randel. The movie boasts of a talented ensemble including the likes of Stephen Macht, Shawn Weatherly, Megan Ward, and Damon Martin.

The story is set in the bucolic town of Amityville where the Sterling family currently resides. Against the quiet and ordinary backdrop of suburban life, it's about to take a terrifying turn into the supernatural. Showcasing its unique take on horror, the film skilfully manages to maintain an intricate balance between familial drama and unsettling spectre.

The movie's plot focuses on the Sterling family, particularly the architect father, Jacob Sterling (played by Stephen Macht) who returns home from a business trip to Amityville. He brings with him an antique clock, unbeknownst to him, carrying a curse from the infamous haunted house. The clock, a seemingly harmless antique, soon begins to evidence its malignant influence upon the family and their home.

Stephen Macht, a versatile actor, immerses himself into the character of Jacob Sterling. His performance is marked by a nuanced portrayal of a determined single father trying to keep his family together while being unknowingly entangled in a supernatural predicament. Shawn Weatherly, who plays the role of Jacob's girlfriend, Andrea, provides a commendable performance of a loving figure trying to hold the family together in the face of adversity. Meanwhile, Megan Ward and Damon Martin, who star as Jacob's children, Lisa and Rusty respectively, effectively convey their characters' progression from adolescent naivety to terror-stricken victims.

The secondary characters, too, add a degree of depth and complexity to the plot. Together, the characters intermingle their own personal human drama with the ominous and supernatural phenomena, making the movie more engrossing for the viewers. The intertwining of these characters demonstrates the film’s ability to tell a riveting tale that isn't just about horror but also about the complications of family dynamics.

Director Tony Randel infuses the film with a pervasive sense of dread, tipping the balance of the serene suburban landscape towards the uncanny. The tension is not only built through the obvious displays of spectral haunting but also through the undercurrents that lurk beneath the surface of the Sterling family. The clock's presence and its manipulative power infiltrate every moment, every conflict, and every conversation, destabilizing the family's cohesion and ramping up the sense of horror.

Furthermore, the visual and sound effects used throughout Amityville: It's About Time are efficiently deployed to augment the eerie atmosphere of the movie. The antique clock is practically a character itself, with its unnerving ticks and chimes resonating throughout the Sterling house, amplifying the viewer's anticipation of a lurking threat.

As a part of the larger Amityville franchise, lengthily composed of a series of horror movies based on the Amityville haunting, Amityville: It's About Time manages to distinguish itself with its unique narrative and aesthetic approach. The movie employs a fresh perspective in dealing with familiar tropes of haunted objects and cursed family, while providing its fair share of jolts and chills expected in a horror film. Yet, it doesn't deviate too far from its roots and stays true to the atmospheric horror and creepy aesthetic of the franchise.

In conclusion, Amityville: It's About Time is a film that will appeal to fans of the horror genre and the Amityville franchise. It manages to blend the supernatural with the domestic, wrapped together with an escalating sense of dread that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The performances by the cast are convincing and they effectively portray a family in crisis, both supernatural and personal. The film doesn’t simply rely on jumpscares, instead, it builds its horror on atmosphere, slow-burning suspense, and the creeping influence of a seemingly innocuous antique clock. Amityville: It's About Time is definitely a watch for those seeking a different shade of horror.