Hyperfixed – “Amityvilleville” (Amityville 3-D Watch-through) April 2, 2026 — Host: Alex Goldman, Guest: Caroline Thompson

Episode Overview

This episode of Hyperfixed is a crossover presentation of “Amityville Ville,” Alex Goldman and Caroline Thompson’s side project in which they undertake the harrowing task of watching every single Amityville movie—there are currently 92! In this installment, the pair deep-dive into 1983’s Amityville 3-D, offering a scene-by-scene walkthrough with copious tangents, horror movie history, and new discoveries about the real-life personalities who inspired the series. The tone is irreverent, skeptical, self-deprecating, and full of deadpan horror fandom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Bizarre Legacy of Amityville Films (02:04 – 04:05)

• Alex explains the explosion of Amityville movies, from the true crime origins to Asylum Pictures realizing “Amityville” can’t be copyrighted: “There are now 92 Amityville movies. Some are standard horror, and some have titles like Amityville Outhouse, Amityville in Space, Amityville Death Toilet, and coming full circle, the 92nd Amityville movie, Amityville NATO.” (02:40)
• Alex and Caroline introduce “Amityville Ville” as their chronicle of subjecting themselves to every single Amityville film, horror-fan gluttons for punishment.

Amityville 3-D: Initial Reactions & the Lost 3D Experience (04:05 – 09:02)

• They lament watching a non-3D version, humorously debating if the 3D effects (frisbees, a swordfish, a boom mic) would have made it any better (“There’s a moment where a frisbee gets thrown at the screen and it’s really intense. I’m really sad I missed it.” – Alex, 06:13).
• This installment is described as the most competently acted of the first three, yet “not scary,” with surprisingly solid writing and story (07:39).

Plot Recap and Scene Analysis (09:02 – 47:00)

Opening Seance & Hoax Reveal (09:02 – 16:41)

• The film opens with a seance as a sting by Reveal magazine journalists posing as bereaved parents. A glowing “loofah sponge” as a ghostly child is exposed as a hoax (A: “Seance, their son looks like a glowing loofah sponge.” – 13:46).
• Personal tangent: Caroline shares her own teenage seance experience, where a Ouija board allegedly predicted her death at 69 (09:02 – 11:15).

Real Haunted House Shenanigans (16:41 – 31:08)

• Skeptical journalist John impulsively buys the house—an ethical and narrative oddity: “Would you call it bad journalistic practice to purchase a home from someone you are planning to write an expose about?” —Caroline (17:37)
• Noting the film’s marked lack of religious symbolism compared to prior entries (“There’s not a cross to be seen,” 19:09) and instead, a focus on paranormal investigators over priests.

Fly Attacks, Creepy Attic, and Unjustified Deaths (24:13 – 47:00)

• House owner Sanders’ death by a supernatural fly attack is dissected, and the film’s penchant for making people mysteriously die is repeatedly mocked.
• Melanie, previously a skeptic, is traumatized by the house and presents eerie “ring face” photos (distorted, half-skeleton snapshots) to paranormal experts.
• Sequences highlighting the horror’s MO: confining victims, chilling cold blasts, supernatural fly attacks, and a heavy emphasis on locking doors—frequent, genre-bending jump scares.

Teen Hijinks, Seances & The Haunting Escalates (47:00 – 55:54)

• Susan (Lori Loughlin), her best friend (Meg Ryan), and friends conduct a seance, which ominously singles her out (“the cup goes toward the letter S for Susan before the glass flies toward the wall”—49:45).
• Notable scene: The horror kills Melanie in a car accident via a fly distraction and supernatural flames—one of several moments both hosts found genuinely unsettling (“There’s just probably 15 seconds of her screaming and hitting her arms and banging on the window...” – Alex, 45:03).
• After Susan’s death by drowning, her ghost returns home and is seen by her mother Nancy, leading to a deeply disturbing moment of denial and grief.

Poltergeist Parody and Climax (56:12 – 74:55)

• A full pseudo-“Poltergeist” paranormal investigation takes over the house (“...there are probably like 50 to 100 paranormal investigators set up around this house.” – Caroline, 57:00).
• The orb/ghost motif from the seance reappears, leading Nancy to the basement well, where a “fire-breathing alien water monster” attacks, burning and drowning the lead investigator.
• The climax: The house freezes, explodes, and the swordfish-on-a-rope 3D effect goes flying, with only John and Nancy surviving.

Behind the Scenes, Lore, and Tangents (61:17 – 78:02)

• Alex shares trivia: Director Richard Fleischer (son of Betty Boop’s creator), filming difficulties after the house was remodeled, and the interiors being shot in Mexico for budget reasons.
• They discuss the real-life inspiration for the film’s “skeptical investigator”—Stephen Kaplan, founder of the Vampire Research Center, who also spent decades denouncing the Amityville haunting as a hoax while still believing in literal vampires (“...in the book, he is like, I fully believe, though I have never met, I fully believe that there are, like, Bela Lugosi can turn into a bat style vampires.” – Alex, 65:33).
• Caroline muses on the “lore” of the series: Each film changes its rules, the “horror” manifests in increasingly wild ways, and the lack of religious themes in this installment shifts the dynamic.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On 3D Gimmicks:
  “There’s a moment where a frisbee gets thrown at the screen and it’s really intense. I’m really sad that I missed it.” (Alex, 06:13)

• On Journalistic Ethics:
  “Would you call it bad journalistic practice to purchase a home from someone you are planning to write an expose about?” (Caroline, 17:37)

• On the “Horror”’s modus operandi:
  “The horror is very good at locking doors in this movie. That’s one of its main attributes.” (Caroline, 45:29)

• On existential dread:
  “I would say that the fear here is more ambient than actual scares. There’s not—the fear is more like, ‘I’m scared of dying, and I’m scared of my loved ones dying.’ I would say, like, a two.” (Alex, 74:55)

• On Amityville Lore:
  “The house blew up. How are you gonna make another Amityville movie?” (Alex, 74:22)

Timestamps for Significant Segments

• 02:04 – Introduction to the Amityville franchise’s wild expansion
• 04:05 – Amityville 3-D: Premise and key cast
• 07:39 – Caroline’s review: “by far my favorite of the movies so far”
• 13:46 – The “glowing loofah sponge” scene at the fake seance
• 24:13 – Discovery of “ring face” photographs; Amityville meets The Ring
• 34:09 – Hilarious Dolores jump scare (“He’s not here now!”)
• 45:03 – Melanie’s flaming car death scene
• 53:38 – Ghost Susan walks in as her own corpse is found outside
• 57:00 – Paranormal investigation parody; full “Poltergeist” setup
• 61:17 – Caroline: “It’s kind of a cute Parent Trap love story. Like how my parents fell back in love after my divorced dad moved into a haunted house that killed me and then exploded.”
• 65:33 – Alex describes Stephen Kaplan’s deep belief in vampires despite debunking Amityville
• 74:55 – Final scare and quality ratings discussion (“I’d give this one a 6.5…”)

Humor, Tone, and Style

• The episode’s mood is a blend of gallows humor, pop culture expertise, and genuine horror fandom. Alex and Caroline riff relentlessly on plot holes, 1980s horror cliches, their own teenage ghost stories, and the miseries and delights of being a completionist.
• The show exhibits a “friends on the couch” energy, packed with off-hand pop culture references and digressions (e.g., comparing ghost scenes to Bugs Bunny, riffing about the real Amityville house, and even Looney Tunes character debates).

Final Ratings and Series Ranking

• Scary rating (1-10): Both give a 2 (“just for the existential dread of existence” —Caroline, 75:07)
• Overall enjoyment (1-10): Both rate it 6.5; it’s their favorite so far (76:10)
• Caroline ranks the first three Amityville films: 3D (best), Possession (second), original (third).

Preview and Closing

• Next up: “Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes” (NBC made-for-TV, 1989): “I’m excited to see how the continuity works with a series that already has no continuity between the first three. And especially since the house blew up.” (Alex, 77:52)
• The episode closes on a note of mock-exhaustion, mutual support, and the promise of continuing their masochistic Amityville journey.

For Further Exploration

• Listeners interested in the real Stephen Kaplan and his Amityville Horror Conspiracy are urged to help the hosts find rare copies.
• “If anybody who listens to this knows anything about Stephen Kaplan, I would love to know more about him… Please feel free to purchase that [book] for Alex.” (Alex & Caroline, 64:18–64:31)

Summary prepared for listeners who love horror history, cult films, or just want great company on a journey through the weirdest corners of pop culture cinema.