review for Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes on AllMovie

It was bound to happen -- not only was the fourth Amityville movie relegated to a made-for-TV schlockfest with Patty Duke, but the spooky Long Island estate is sidelined for a possessed light pole with a vengeance. The movie does start out with a bang, with a group of priests busting into the ghostly abode as they exorcise whatever demons are responsible for the fly problem, icky dripping goo, and incessant slamming doors. In another movie, that opening would be climactic finale, but not in Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes! Instead, the rest of the movie moves to a different house where another family is haunted by an evil lamp that still holds the demonic forces of the once-possessed manor. Thankfully, Patty Duke is there to save the day, though she wasn't able to help the poor sap that's attacked by the garbage disposal (a cheap gimmick that for once actually pays off!) or the guy that gets his face full of black goo while checking on possessed water pipes under the house. Tepid material plagues most of the film, though there are a few moments that are worth it for the cheese-lovers out there, who should virtually be the only ones watching this installment in the first place. Amityville 4 is notable for its connection to the deranged mannequin cult film Pin, which shared the same writer/director, Sandor Stern, who penned the screenplay for the original Amityville Horror film before moving onto a forgettable career in television.