Works based on the Amityville haunting

Film series

"Amityville haunting" redirects here. For the 2011 film, see The Amityville Haunting.

The Amityville haunting is a modern folk story based on the true crimes of Ronald DeFeo Jr. On November 13, 1974, DeFeo shot and killed six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, on the south shore of Long Island. He was convicted of second-degree murder in November 1975. In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz and their three children moved into the house. After 28 days, the Lutzes left the house, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena while living there. The house became the subject of numerous investigations by journalists, skeptics, and paranormal researchers, including Ed and Lorraine Warren. These events served as the historical basis for Jay Anson's 1977 novel The Amityville Horror, which was followed by a number of sequels and was adapted into a film of the same name in 1979. Since then, many films have been produced that draw explicitly, to a greater or lesser extent, from these historical and literary sources. As Amityville is a real town and the stories of DeFeo and the Lutzes are historical, there can be no proprietary relationship to the underlying story elements associated with the Amityville haunting. As a result of this, there has been no restriction on the exploitation of the story by film producers, which is the reason that most of these films share no continuity, were produced by different companies, and tell widely varying stories.

The Amityville Horror film, released in the summer of 1979, was a major box office success, and went on to become one of the most commercially successful independent films of all time.[1] A series of sequels were released throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s through various distributors; some of the films received theatrical distribution, while others were direct-to-video releases. In 2005, a re-imagining of the first film was released.

Beginning in 2011, there was a resurgence of low-budget direct-to-video independent films based on or loosely inspired by the Amityville events.

In 2017, The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films distributed the first theatrical Amityville film since the 2005 re-imagining. Amityville: The Awakening, which was filmed in 2014, was released theatrically in Ukraine on July 27, 2017, and in the United States on October 28, 2017.[2]

## Literature

[edit]

* The Amityville Horror, a 1977 book by American author Jay Anson
* Murder in Amityville, a 1979 book by Hans Holzer that serves as a prequel to The Amityville Horror
* High Hopes: The Amityville Murders
* The Amityville Curse
* The Amityville Horror Part II, a 1982 book by John G. Jones that serves as a sequel to The Amityville Horror
* Amityville: The Final Chapter
* Amityville: The Evil Escapes
* Amityville: The Horror Returns
* Amityville: The Nightmare Continues
* Amityville: My Sister's Keeper, a 2016 book by Micky Sexton

## Films

[edit]

Film  | U.S. release date  | Director(s)  | Screenwriter(s)  | Producer(s)  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Original series
The Amityville Horror | July 27, 1979  | Stuart Rosenberg | Sandor Stern | Elliot Geisinger and Ronald Saland  | based on the book of the same title
Amityville II: The Possession | September 24, 1982  | Damiano Damiani | Tommy Lee Wallace
Dardano Sacchetti (uncredited)  | Ira N. Smith, Stephen R. Greenwald and José López Rodero  | based on the book Murder in Amityville; Mexican-American co-production
Amityville 3-D | November 18, 1983  | Richard Fleischer | William Wales | Stephen F. Kesten and Antonio Rubio  | aka Amityville III: The Demon; American-Mexican co-production
Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes | May 12, 1989  | Sandor Stern | Steve White, Barry Bernardi and Kenneth Atchity | aka Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes and Amityville: The Evil Escapes; based on the book Amityville: The Evil Escapes
The Amityville Curse | May 7, 1990  | Tom Berry  | Michael Krueger, Doug Olson and Norvell Rose  | Franco Battista  | based on the book of the same title; Canadian production
Amityville: It's About Time | July 16, 1992  | Tony Randel | Christopher DeFaria and Antonio Toro  | Steve White, Barry Bernardi and Christopher DeFaria  | aka Amityville 1992: It's About Time; based on the book Amityville: The Evil Escapes
Amityville: A New Generation | September 29, 1993  | John Murlowski  |
Amityville Dollhouse | October 2, 1996  | Steve White  | Joshua Michael Stern | Steve White, David Newlon, Zane W. Levitt and Mark Yellen  |
Remakes/Reboots
The Amityville Horror | April 15, 2005  | Andrew Douglas  | Scott Kosar | Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller | Remake of The Amityville Horror (1979)
Amityville: The Awakening | October 28, 2017  | Franck Khalfoun  | Daniel Farrands, Jason Blum and Casey La Scala  | Takes place in the "real world" where the original film, and all it’s sequels, are a work of fiction
“Amityville”[3] | TBA | Joseph Winter and Vanessa Winter  | Raphael Margules, J.D. Lifshitz, Adam Hendricks & Greg Gilreath  | Has nothing to do with any previous Amityville IP. It will focus on the real-life paranormal story behind those films and offer a new look at the notorious Amityville house on 112 Ocean Avenue
Independent releases
The Amityville Haunting | December 13, 2011  | Geoff Meed  | David Michael Latt  |
The Amityville Asylum | June 3, 2013  | Andrew Jones |
Amityville Death House | February 24, 2015  | Mark Polonia | John Oak Dalton  | Mark Polonia  |
Amityville: The Final Chapter | March 28, 2015  | Forris Day Jr. and Geno McGahee  | Geno McGahee  |  | aka Sickle
The Amityville Playhouse | April 13, 2015  | John R. Walker  | John R. Walker and Steve Hardy  | John R. Walker  | aka The Amityville Theater
Amityville: Vanishing Point | April 1, 2016  | Dylan Greenberg | Dylan Greenberg, Selena Mars and Jurgen Azazel Munster  | Jurgen Azazel Munster  |
The Amityville Legacy | June 7, 2016  | Dustin Ferguson and Michael Johnson  | Dustin Ferguson, Matthew DiGirolamo and Jake Bockoven  | re-released in 2020 as Amityville Toybox
The Amityville Terror | August 2, 2016  | Michael Angelo  | Justin Jones, Philip J Day and Zeus Zamani  |
Amityville: No Escape | August 5, 2016  | Henrique Couto  | Eric Widing  |
The Unspoken | October 28, 2016  | Sheldon Wilson | Jamie Goehring  | [4]
Amityville Exorcism | January 3, 2017  | Mark Polonia | Billy D'Amato  | Mark Polonia  |
Amityville: Evil Never Dies | June 2017  | Dustin Ferguson | Matthew DiGirolamo, Jason Harlow and Jason Bracht  | sequel to The Amityville Legacy; re-released in 2020 as Amityville Clownhouse
Against the Night | September 15, 2017  | Brian Cavallaro  | Arielle Brachfeld and Brian Cavallaro  | aka Amityville Prison
Amityville: Mt. Misery Road | May 31, 2018  | Chuck Morrongiello and Karolina Morrongiello  | Chuck Morrongiello  | Chuck Morrongiello and Karolina Morrongiello  |
The Amityville Murders | February 8, 2019  | Daniel Farrands | Daniel Farrands, Eric Brenner, Jim Jacobsen and Lucas Jarach  | aka The Amityville Murders: A Haunting on Long Island. Loosely based on the books Murder in Amityville and High Hopes: The Amityville Murders
Amityville Island | March 17, 2020  | Mark Polonia | John Oak Dalton  | Rob Hauschild  |
Amityville Vibrator | June 6, 2020  | Nathan Rumler  |
Witches of Amityville Academy | October 2, 2020  | Rebecca Matthews  | Tom Jolliffe  | Nicole Holland, Kira Reed Lorsch, Donna Spangler and Brittan Taylor  | aka Amityville Witches
The Amityville Harvest | October 20, 2020  | Thomas J. Churchill  | Thomas J. Churchill, Steven Louis Goldenberg and Phillip B. Goldfine  |
An Amityville Poltergeist | May 18, 2021  | Calvin Morie McCarthy  | John Ashley Hall and Calvin Morie McCarthy  | Josh Dietrich, Airisa Durand and Calvin Morie McCarthy  |
The Amityville Moon | October 5, 2021  | Thomas J. Churchill  | Thomas J. Churchill, Steven Louis Goldenberg and Phillip B. Goldfine  | sequel to The Amityville Harvest
Amityville Cop | October 29, 2021  | Gregory Hatanaka  | Geno McGahee  | Nicole D'Angelo, Craijece Danielle, Gregory Hatanaka, Geno McGahee, Chris Spinelli, Benny Tjandra and Jason Toler  |
Amityville Cult | December 7, 2021  | Trey Murphy  | Chance Gibbs, Trey Murphy and Micha Marie Stevens  |
Amityville Vampire | December 14, 2021  | Tim Vigil  | Carlos Perez and Tim Vigil  | Ted Chalmers, David S. Sterling and Gustave Whinnery  |
Amityville Scarecrow | January 4, 2022  | Peter Jack Mundy  | Shannon Holiday  | Scott Jeffrey  |
Amityville Uprising | January 11, 2022  | Thomas J. Churchill  | Thomas J. Churchill and Phillip B. Goldfine  | sequel to The Amityville Moon
Amityville Gas Chamber | April 1, 2022  | Michael Stone  |  | parody to all the very low budget mass productions, especially those which just use the title for marketing reasons
Amityville in Space | July 19, 2022  | Mark Polonia  | Rob Hauschild  |
Amityville Hex | August 9, 2022  | Tony Newton  | Tony Newton and Shawn C. Phillips  | Michael Bilinski, David Cartledge and Sam Mason-Bell  |
Amityville In The Hood | August 23, 2022  | Dustin Ferguson  | Jerimiah Douglas and Dustin Ferguson  | Dustin Ferguson (as Dark Infinity), Rob Hauschild and Saul Mejia  |
Amityville Karen | September 13, 2022  | Shawn C. Phillips  | Julie Anne Prescott  | Shawn C. Phillips, Will Collazo, Ron Bonk and Avery Crumley  |
Amityville Christmas Vacation | September 19, 2022  | Steve Rudzinski | winner of the 2023 Fangoria Chainsaw Award for "Best Amityville"[5]
The Amityville Exorcist | October 31, 2022  | Tony Newton  |
Amityville Thanksgiving | November 8, 2022  | Will Collazo, Julie Anne Prescott  | Shawn C. Phillips, Will Collazo, Avery Crumley and Julie Anne Prescott  |
Amityville Scarecrow II | November 14, 2022  | Adam Gowrie  | Craig McLearie  | Stuart Alson, Scott Chambers, Becca Hirani and Nicole Holland  |
Ghosts of Amityville | November 22, 2022  | Jt Kris  | Danny Langston  |
Amityville Ride-Share | January 9, 2023  | Jack Hunter II  | Dann Eudy and Jack Hunter II  | Dann Eudy, Dustin Hubbard, Jack Hunter II and Heather McKnight  |
Amityville Death Toilet | March 17, 2023  | Evan Jacobs  | Ron Bonk  |
Amityville Frankenstein | April 13, 2023  | Nick Box  | Nick Box, Matt Mcnew and Chan Walrus  |
Amityville Job Interview | April 14, 2023  | Nick Box, Stuart Fitzsimmons  | Nick Box, Stuart Fitzsimmons, Matt Mcnew and Chan Walrus  |
Amityville Elevator | April 20, 2023  | Nick Box  | Nick Box and Matt Mcnew  |
Amityville Emanuelle | May 8, 2023  | Louis DeStefano  | Geno McGahee  | Geno McGahee, Gregory Hatanaka and Linda S. Wong  |
The Amityville Curse | May 28, 2023  | Éric Tessier | Dennis Heaton | Graham Ludlow and Kaleigh Kavanagh  | based on the 1981 novel of the same name, though not a remake of the 1990 adaptation[6][7]
Amityville Shark House | August 8, 2023  | Will Collazo Jr. and Shawn C. Phillips  | Will Collazo Jr., Shawn C. Phillips and Julie Anne Prescott  |
Amityville Apocalypse | August 29, 2023  | Will Collazo Jr., Brandon Farmer, Mark C. Fullhardt, William Holt, Evan Jacobs, Marc Chindemi, Steven Haar, Alan Smithee and Toby Van Der Wegen  | Marc Chindemi, Steven Haar, Alan Smithee and Toby Van Der Wegen  | Steven Haar, Cole Miner, Jose Sanchez and Alan Smithee  |
Amityville Ripper | October 21, 2023  | Bobby Canipe Jr.  |  |
The Last Amityville Movie | November 20, 2023  | Josh Spiegel  |  |
Amityville Backpack | January 6, 2024  | Evan Jacobs  | Ron Bonk  |
Amityville Bigfoot | January 23, 2024  | Shawn C. Phillips  | Shawn C. Phillips and Julie Anne Prescott  | Ron Bonk, Mem Ferda and Shawn C. Phillips  |
Amityville Webcam | February 24, 2024  | Brandon Farmer  |  | David Strege, Kyle Rappaport, Jacob Varaney  |
Amityville Turkey Day | April 29, 2024  | Will Collazo Jr. and Julie Anne Prescott  | Dino Castello, Will Collazo Jr., Phil Herman, David Perry, Julie Anne Prescott and Niko El Santo Zavero  |
Once Upon a Time in Amityville | September 24, 2024  | Mark Polonia  | Aaron Drake and Mark Polonia  |  |
Amityville AI | October 21, 2024  | Matt Jaissle  | Ron Bonk  |
Amityville: Where the Echo Lives | October 29, 2024  | Carlos Ayala  | Carlos Ayala and Al Bravo  |
Amityville Void | December 5, 2024  |  |  |  | [8]
Amityville VR | February 1, 2025  | Matt Jaissle  | Ron Bonk  |

### Overview

[edit]

The first film to be inspired by the story of the Amityville haunting, The Amityville Horror (1979) chronicles the events of Jay Anson's novel, in which the Lutz family finds their new home in Amityville, New York, to be haunted; the house had been the site of a mass murder by Ronald DeFeo Jr. in 1974. The following film, Amityville II: The Possession, is a prequel based on the book Murder in Amityville by Hans Holzer, and depicts the purported supernatural events in the home that led DeFeo to murder his family. The third installment, Amityville 3-D, is set after the events of the first film, and was released in 3D.[9]

In 1989, the fourth installment, Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes, was released as a made-for-television film, and documents hauntings stemming from a floor lamp that was in the home at the time of the DeFeo murders. The Amityville Curse, released in 1990, follows a group of teenagers who spend the night in a former rectory in Amityville where a priest committed suicide; this installment was set in an entirely different house.[10] Amityville: It's About Time, released in 1992, focuses on a haunted clock that a family from Los Angeles, California takes into their home from an estate sale in New York.[9] The seventh film in the series, Amityville: A New Generation, also utilizes a haunted object as a plot device. This time, a man purchases a mirror possessed by the spirit of his father, who, like DeFeo, also murdered his family in the Amityville house with a shotgun.[9] Amityville Dollhouse (1996) follows a family haunted by spirits unleashed from a doll house replica of the Amityville home.

In 2005, a remake of the 1979 original film was released theatrically. In 2017’s Amityville: The Awakening, which received a limited theatrical release, a family with an ill son moves into the home and find themselves tormented by ghosts who seek to possess the son's body.

Further films would follow, each released direct-to-video or with limited theatrical releases: The Amityville Haunting (2011; a found footage film that presents supposed home movies that corroborate the family's haunting); The Amityville Asylum (2013, set in a haunted Amityville psychiatric hospital); Amityville Death House (2015, featured yet another explanation for the hauntings); Amityville Playhouse (2016, focuses on a haunted theater in Amityville); Amityville: Vanishing Point (2016, focused on a haunted boarding house in Amityville); The Amityville Legacy (2016, features a haunted toy monkey from the original house), The Amityville Terror (2016, a family moves to Amityville and are tormented both by an evil spirit and the townsfolk who want to keep them trapped there); Amityville: No Escape (2016, college students encounter evil in the forest around Amityville); and Amityville Exorcism (2017, evil spirits possess the daughter of a family that moves to Amityville).

#### Continuity between films

[edit]

Only the first two films released share some continuity, although they also contain contradictions. Amityville II is a prequel to the original 1979 movie, and tells the story of the murder of the DeFeo family (renamed the Montelli family in the film). Amityville 3-D is not a sequel as stated in the movie poster to the first 2 movies, and is based on the accounts of paranormal investigator Stephen Kaplan (renamed John Baxter for the film), who was trying to prove that the Lutz family's story was a hoax. Due to legal disputes with the actual Lutz family, the events of the first movie could not be directly referenced, nor could the Lutz family themselves be referenced by name.

Of the later films, Amityville: The Awakening (2017) is explicitly a different continuity from all of the previous movies, which are depicted as films within the film; the characters watch and discuss the 1979 movie, and one of them brings DVDs of the sequels and remake to the protagonist's house. The Amityville Curse (2023) is loosely based on the 1981 book of the same name, but is not a remake of its 1990 adaptation.

### Release

[edit]

#### Producers and distributors

[edit]

The films have at various times been owned by several different production and distribution companies internationally and in the United States. American International Pictures produced and released the original film, before Orion Pictures bought the rights to the film, as well as II and 3-D. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) now owns films one through 3-D, and released them in a DVD box set in 2005. While 4 was a TV film broadcast on NBC, it has been released multiple times by independent distribution companies in recent years (one of which was Vidmark, who also released Curse (1990); Vidmark is now owned by Lionsgate). Multicom Entertainment Group owns distribution rights to Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes, It's About Time, A New Generation and Dollhouse.

### Box office

[edit]

Film  | Release date  | Budget  | Total Gross  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

The Amityville Horror | July 27, 1979  | $4,700,000  | $86,432,000  | [11][12]
Amityville II: The Possession | September 24, 1982  | $5,000,000  | $12,534,817  | [13]
Amityville 3-D | November 18, 1983  | $6,000,000  | $6,333,135  | [14]
The Amityville Horror | April 15, 2005  | $19,000,000  | $108,047,131  | [15]
Amityville: The Awakening | October 28, 2017  | —  | $8,481,997  | [16]
The Amityville Murders | February 8, 2019  | —  | $77,206  | [17]

### Critical reception

[edit]

Film  | Rating

|

Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic
The Amityville Horror (1979)  | 31% (45 reviews)[18] | 32
Amityville II: The Possession | 27% (22 reviews)[19] | —
Amityville 3-D | 18% (22 reviews)[20] | —
Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes | 40% (5 reviews)[21] | —
The Amityville Curse (1990)  | 17% (7 reviews)[22] | —
Amityville: It's About Time | 45% (11 reviews)[23] | —
Amityville: A New Generation | —  | —
Amityville Dollhouse | —  | —
The Amityville Horror (2005)  | 24% (163 reviews)[24] | 33[25]
Amityville: The Awakening | 29% (21 reviews)[26] | 42[27]
The Amityville Murders | 0% (16 reviews)[28] | 35[29]
The Amityville Curse (2023)  | —  | —

## Documentary

[edit]

* My Amityville Horror, a 2012 documentary focusing on Daniel Lutz's account of the haunting. At the time of the events, he was a child.

## See also

[edit]

* Bloodbath at the House of Death, a 1984 spoof on the 1979 film The Amityville Horror

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Miller, John M. "The Amityville Horror". Turner Classic Movies. In the Know. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
2. ^ Aronson, Alex. "'Amityville: The Awakening' Sees More Delays; The Internet Freaks Out". Movie Pilot. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
3. ^ Grobar, Matt (July 15, 2025). "Heart Eyes' & 'Barbarian' Producers Teaming On New 'Amityville' Movie; 'Deadstream's Joseph And Vanessa Winter To Direct". Deadline. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
4. ^ Lipsett, Joe (March 24, 2025). "2015's 'The Unspoken' Has a Secret 'Amityville' Connection [The Amityville IP]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
5. ^ "Winners". FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
6. ^ Armando Tinoco (September 13, 2022). "Tubi Confirms Adaptation Of 'The Amityville Curse' & Original Horror Pic 'Marry F*** Kill'". Deadline. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
7. ^ Morazzini, Jim (May 28, 2023). "The Amityville Curse (2023) Review". Voice from the Balcony. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
8. ^ Lipsett, Joe (June 16, 2025). "Teen-Made 'Amityville Void' Mixes 'Blair Witch' and 'Ghost Hunters' [The Amityville IP]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
9. ^ a b c Young, R.G., ed. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 17\. ISBN 978-1-557-83269-6.
10. ^ "Canuxploitation Review: The Amityville Curse". Canuxploitation. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
11. ^ Arkoff & Turbo 1992, p. 228.
12. ^ Smith 2009, p. 13.
13. ^ "Amityville II: The Possession". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
14. ^ "Amityville 3-D". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
15. ^ "The Amityville Horror (2005)". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
16. ^ "Amityville: The Awakening". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
17. ^ "The Amityville Murders". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
18. ^ "The Amityville Horror (1979)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
19. ^ "Amityville II: The Possession (1982)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
20. ^ "Amityville 3-D (1983)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
21. ^ "Amityville: The Evil Escapes (1989)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
22. ^ "The Amityville Curse (1990)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
23. ^ "Amityville 1992: It's About Time (1992)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
24. ^ "The Amityville Horror (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
25. ^ "The Amityville Horror". Metacritic. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
26. ^ "Amityville: The Awakening (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
27. ^ "Amityville: The Awakening". Metacritic. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
28. ^ "The Amityville Murders (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
29. ^ "The Amityville Murders". Metacritic. Retrieved January 5, 2023.

## Works cited

[edit]

* Arkoff, Samuel Z.; Turbo, Richard (1992). Flying Through Hollywood By the Seat of My Pants. Birch Lane Press. ISBN 978-1-559-72107-3.
* Smith, Gary A. (2009). The American International Pictures Video Guide. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-43309-4.

* v
* t
* e

The Amityville Horror

Books|

* The Amityville Horror
* Murder in Amityville
* The Amityville Horror Part II
* Amityville: The Final Chapter
* Amityville: The Evil Escapes
* Curse
* Amityville: The Horror Returns
* Amityville: The Nightmare Continues
* High Hopes: The Amityville Murders

Films|

* The Amityville Horror (1979)
* Amityville II: The Possession
* Amityville 3-D
* Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes
* The Amityville Curse
* Amityville: It's About Time
* Amityville: A New Generation
* Amityville Dollhouse
* The Amityville Horror (2005)
* The Amityville Haunting
* The Amityville Asylum
* Amityville Death House
* The Amityville Playhouse
* Amityville: Vanishing Point
* The Amityville Legacy
* The Amityville Terror
* Amityville: No Escape
* Amityville Exorcism
* Amityville: Evil Never Dies
* Amityville: The Awakening
* The Amityville Harvest
* Amityville Christmas Vacation

Authors|

* Jay Anson
* Hans Holzer
* Stephen Kaplan
* Harvey Aronson

Other|

* Ronald DeFeo Jr.
* Ed and Lorraine Warren
* The Conjuring 2

* Category

*[TBA]: To be announced
*[Ref.]: Reference
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template