The MCU just got a shot in the arm with Deadpool & Wolverine and star Ryan Reynolds is front and center. But before he was the fast-talking Deadpool, Reynolds undoubtedly wowed the horror community with the leading role in an unforgettable remake.
Yes, that’s right — long before Reynolds was taking his shirt off in the Deadpool movies and flexing his muscles, he was taking his shirt off in Andrew Douglas’ The Amityville Horror. Hey, we’ve got thirsty folks in all genres, right?
Now, I must admit, the 2005 remake is far from an earth-shattering masterpiece — after all, that title belongs to the 1979 original — but it certainly boasts its own unique set of strengths. From a die-hard horror fan’s perspective, Reynolds is incredible during his performance as George Lutz — a member of the Lutz family who experienced paranormal happenings while living in the Amityville residence just a year after Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his family in the house.
In terms of seriousness and dramatic acting, Reynolds might not appear as a first choice on the surface level, but perhaps that’s what made his performance in the 2005 horror so charming — the simple fact that he couldn’t be his typical goofy, overly handsome, fun-loving self, and that terrified and wowed us all at the same time. That said, Deadpool is quite crazed and off-the-rails himself, so one could argue that Reynolds never steered too far off track from his spooky roots once he ventured out into the colossal MCU bubble.
Years later, it’s simply hard to discount how fantastic the Deadpool series is and how much Reynolds continues to shine in the MCU, but the horror community has yet to forget how horrifying it was watching him viciously chop logs of wood in the backyard of the Amityville house while threatening the safety of his family.
If you ask me, the horror genre could certainly do with casting Reynolds in another high-profile role. Or, we could just get extra spicy and toss Deadpool into a horror collab — whatever works!