"The Amityville Horror" is one of the definitive haunted house films, a classic tale about paranormal activity terrorizing a suburban family with swarming flies, mysterious voices, and sudden illness. Even the windows resemble ominous eyes peering down on the unsuspecting victims. The movie taps into the religious undertones popularized by other 1970s releases such as "The Exorcist" and "The Omen," suggesting there is a Satanic force at work that must be destroyed.
Eventually, the new owners George and Kathy Lutz discover the horrifying history of their new home: Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family with a rifle one year prior, a Satanic worshipper named John Ketchum once lived on the land, and the house itself was built on a Shinnecock burial ground.
Despite receiving mixed reviews for elements like the cheesy portrayal of a possessed George, "The Amityville Horror" ended up having a significant impact on the horror genre.
Eventually, the new owners George and Kathy Lutz discover the horrifying history of their new home: Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family with a rifle one year prior, a Satanic worshipper named John Ketchum once lived on the land, and the house itself was built on a Shinnecock burial ground.
Despite receiving mixed reviews for elements like the cheesy portrayal of a possessed George, "The Amityville Horror" ended up having a significant impact on the horror genre.
- 11/19/2023
- by Caroline Madden
- Slash Film
Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions.
At this point, the Amityville “universe” of films is something of a running joke in horror circles. It is borderline ridiculous that there’s so many entries (for those who are curious: 2022 has seen the release of no less than 10 new films!). As Paste editor Jacob Oller explains in his piece “Why Are There So Many Absurd Amityville Horror Movies?”, there appear to be two main reasons why there are so many movies with Amityville in the title.
After the Lutzs lost their suit against The Possession and 3-D producer Dino De Laurentiis, Amityville titles became open season so long as they didn’t skew too closely to the real-life story. As Oller explains: “The nuttier the twist, the less worried anyone has to be about getting sued.
At this point, the Amityville “universe” of films is something of a running joke in horror circles. It is borderline ridiculous that there’s so many entries (for those who are curious: 2022 has seen the release of no less than 10 new films!). As Paste editor Jacob Oller explains in his piece “Why Are There So Many Absurd Amityville Horror Movies?”, there appear to be two main reasons why there are so many movies with Amityville in the title.
After the Lutzs lost their suit against The Possession and 3-D producer Dino De Laurentiis, Amityville titles became open season so long as they didn’t skew too closely to the real-life story. As Oller explains: “The nuttier the twist, the less worried anyone has to be about getting sued.
- 11/8/2022
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
Image Source: Everett Collection
Based on a well-documented story of paranormal hauntings, the 1979 film The Amityville Horror instantly became a cult classic, despite its poor critical reception. It's no surprise, though, because the movie took root in a terrifying and sensationalized real case. The actual house in Amityville might just be the epitome of a haunted house. The story starts as many a ghost story does, with a family moving into a creepy new abode with a horrifying history. In 1975, George and Kathleen Lutz brought their three children to a lovely Dutch Colonial home on 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island. But just a year before the family moved in, six people had been brutally murdered in the house. Now the residence is an iconic haunt - which may or may not be a total hoax.
What Is the House's Origin Story?
Let's rewind to November 13, 1974. 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr.
Based on a well-documented story of paranormal hauntings, the 1979 film The Amityville Horror instantly became a cult classic, despite its poor critical reception. It's no surprise, though, because the movie took root in a terrifying and sensationalized real case. The actual house in Amityville might just be the epitome of a haunted house. The story starts as many a ghost story does, with a family moving into a creepy new abode with a horrifying history. In 1975, George and Kathleen Lutz brought their three children to a lovely Dutch Colonial home on 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island. But just a year before the family moved in, six people had been brutally murdered in the house. Now the residence is an iconic haunt - which may or may not be a total hoax.
What Is the House's Origin Story?
Let's rewind to November 13, 1974. 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr.
- 10/31/2019
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
Sarah looks back at the Amityville films, and finds a lot of scary things, not all of which were intentional…
112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island is probably the most famous haunted house in the world. Not that you’ll necessarily recognise the address – it’s far better known as the Amityville Horror house. Back in 1975, George and Kathy Lutz moved their family into the house… and then 28 days later, they moved back out, claiming to have been driven out by supernatural forces. Their story made the news, was turned into a book, and then made into a movie, in 1979.
It’s hard to imagine now that a family claiming to have encountered the devil in their basement could cause such a massive fuss, but I’m not here to interrogate the truth of their statement. What I am here to do, though, is to watch all of the Amityville Horror movies made to date,...
112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island is probably the most famous haunted house in the world. Not that you’ll necessarily recognise the address – it’s far better known as the Amityville Horror house. Back in 1975, George and Kathy Lutz moved their family into the house… and then 28 days later, they moved back out, claiming to have been driven out by supernatural forces. Their story made the news, was turned into a book, and then made into a movie, in 1979.
It’s hard to imagine now that a family claiming to have encountered the devil in their basement could cause such a massive fuss, but I’m not here to interrogate the truth of their statement. What I am here to do, though, is to watch all of the Amityville Horror movies made to date,...
- 9/30/2014
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Earlier this week, Filminute — the short film competition which Filmmaker partnered with last month — announced the winners of this year’s awards. On the site in September, we featured five one-minute films: Christian Fischer’s Indian Mystery, Stijn Ghijsen and Tara Fallaux’s Sarina, Rafael Morais and Vijessna Ferkic’s Still Here, Ant Blades’ Wildebeest and Jeanne and Louise Traon’s Colloque Sentimental.
Here’s the release:
London/Bucharest/Toronto, October 10, 2012 – Awards for the 7th edition of Filminute, the
international one-minute film festival, were announced today. UK director Ant Blade’s dramatic and
hilarious animation Chop Chop took top honours with the jury, while fellow Brit Ben Jacobson’s
comic thriller, Candy Crime, was the favourite selected by Filminute’s voting public.
The 7-member international jury which included Prasoon Joshi, Radu Jude, Arjun Basu, Lenora Hume
& Gyorgy Karpati, gave animation its strongest year ever at the festival with Best Filminute...
Here’s the release:
London/Bucharest/Toronto, October 10, 2012 – Awards for the 7th edition of Filminute, the
international one-minute film festival, were announced today. UK director Ant Blade’s dramatic and
hilarious animation Chop Chop took top honours with the jury, while fellow Brit Ben Jacobson’s
comic thriller, Candy Crime, was the favourite selected by Filminute’s voting public.
The 7-member international jury which included Prasoon Joshi, Radu Jude, Arjun Basu, Lenora Hume
& Gyorgy Karpati, gave animation its strongest year ever at the festival with Best Filminute...
- 10/12/2012
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
If you only had a minute to tell a story, what would you say? Would it be enough time to express great human sorrow? A gut-punch of a laugh? As it turns out, filmmakers from all over the world achieve this feat every year at the Filminute International One-Minute Film Festival. Currently in its 7th year, executive director John Ketchum is once again issuing the challenge to everyone to deliver a strong movie in only a minute. It seemed only fair to give him a single minute to pitch his film festival. We go slightly over, but maybe that’s just more proof of tough the challenge is. The online festival will run during the month of September, and you can check out the entire proceedings at Filminute’s website, but for now, here’s Ketchum with a bit about their philosophy and what you can expect. Check out the incredibly brief interview below: Download This Interview...
- 8/15/2012
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
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