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The Amityville Horror (1979 film)
Encyclopedia
The Amityville Horror is a 1979 American horror film
based on the bestselling 1977 novel of the same name
by Jay Anson
. It is the first movie in the Amityville Horror franchise
.
The story is based on the alleged real-life experiences of the Lutz family who buy a new home on 112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island
, a house where a mass murder
had been committed the year before. After the family move into the house, they experience a series of frightening paranormal
events.
, which had been converted to look like the 112 Ocean Avenue home after the authorities in Amityville denied permission for filming on the actual location. Exterior scenes were also filmed in Toms River and Point Pleasant Beach. Local police and ambulance workers would play extras in the film, while the Toms River Volunteer Fire Company was used to provide the rain during several scenes. Jay Anson's screenplay, based upon his bestselling novel, was rejected by the producers, who opted for a version written by Sandor Stern
. Indoor shots were filmed in MGM studios in California.
Because promotional materials for the film showed the actual Ocean Avenue house, current owners Jim and Barbara Cromerty filed a lawsuit against the filmmakers.
James Brolin was hesitant when first offered the role of George Lutz. Told that there was no script, he obtained a copy of Anson's novel to read. Brolin started the book and read until two o'clock in the morning. He had hung up a pair of his pants in the room earlier and during an especially tense passage of the book, the pants fell to the floor. Brolin jumped from his chair in fright. It was then that Brolin decided to do the movie. Brolin became friendly with George Lutz and his family, though he was highly doubtful of their story. Brolin later said he could not get a job for two years because of his performance in this film, despite starring in both 1980's Night of the Juggler and 1981's High Risk.
However, the film received poor reviews from critics such as Leonard Maltin
and Roger Ebert
, the latter describing it as "dreary and terminally depressing".
Lalo Schifrin
's musical score was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost out to the score for A Little Romance
by Georges Delerue
. It is sometimes claimed that this score was the one rejected in 1973 for The Exorcist
, but Schifrin has denied this in interviews.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
based on the bestselling 1977 novel of the same name
The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror: A True Story is a book by Jay Anson, published in September 1977. It is also the basis of a series of films released between 1979 and 2005...
by Jay Anson
Jay Anson
Jay Anson was an American author whose most famous work was The Amityville Horror. After the runaway success of that novel, he wrote 666, which also dealt with a haunted house...
. It is the first movie in the Amityville Horror franchise
Amityville Horror saga
The Amityville Horror is a series of horror films that center around events in a haunted house in Amityville, New York.-Films:#The Amityville Horror #Amityville II: The Possession...
.
The story is based on the alleged real-life experiences of the Lutz family who buy a new home on 112 Ocean Avenue, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, a house where a mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
had been committed the year before. After the family move into the house, they experience a series of frightening paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
events.
Plot
Claiming to be based on a true story, The Amityville Horror is about a large, haunted house on the coast of Long Island. Newly weds George and Kathy Lutz, together with Kathy's three children, move into the house thinking that they've found their dream house, but they're terribly wrong. Despite full disclosure by the real estate agent of the home's history, George and Kathy buy the house. George says, "Houses don't have memories," but they turn to their family priest Father Delaney who believes the house is haunted and performs an exorcism on the house. But the evil spirit in the house causes him to become blind and makes him very ill. With the help of another priest, Father Bolen, and a police detective, George and Kathy face the fears of the house, not knowing the spirit is planning to possess George and then the children...Production
The on-location scenes of The Amityville Horror were filmed at a house in Toms River, New JerseyToms River, New Jersey
Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...
, which had been converted to look like the 112 Ocean Avenue home after the authorities in Amityville denied permission for filming on the actual location. Exterior scenes were also filmed in Toms River and Point Pleasant Beach. Local police and ambulance workers would play extras in the film, while the Toms River Volunteer Fire Company was used to provide the rain during several scenes. Jay Anson's screenplay, based upon his bestselling novel, was rejected by the producers, who opted for a version written by Sandor Stern
Sandor Stern
Born in the northern Canadian town of Timmins, Ontario; raised in the small town of Prescott, Ontario, on the St. Lawrence River; Sandor Stern was drawn to short story writing while in high school and began writing stage plays while attending the University of Toronto...
. Indoor shots were filmed in MGM studios in California.
Because promotional materials for the film showed the actual Ocean Avenue house, current owners Jim and Barbara Cromerty filed a lawsuit against the filmmakers.
James Brolin was hesitant when first offered the role of George Lutz. Told that there was no script, he obtained a copy of Anson's novel to read. Brolin started the book and read until two o'clock in the morning. He had hung up a pair of his pants in the room earlier and during an especially tense passage of the book, the pants fell to the floor. Brolin jumped from his chair in fright. It was then that Brolin decided to do the movie. Brolin became friendly with George Lutz and his family, though he was highly doubtful of their story. Brolin later said he could not get a job for two years because of his performance in this film, despite starring in both 1980's Night of the Juggler and 1981's High Risk.
Reception
The Amityville Horror was one of the most successful films produced by an independent studio at that time. It was a huge box office success, earning more than $86 million in the USA.However, the film received poor reviews from critics such as Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
and Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, the latter describing it as "dreary and terminally depressing".
Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...
's musical score was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost out to the score for A Little Romance
A Little Romance
A Little Romance is a 1979 romantic comedy film, starring Laurence Olivier and Diane Lane in her film debut. It was directed by George Roy Hill. The screenplay is written by Allan Burns and George Roy Hill, based on a novel by Patrick Cauvin...
by Georges Delerue
Georges Delerue
Georges Delerue , was a French film composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. He won numerous important awards including Rome Prize , Emmy Award , Genie Award , ACE Award and Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1979 for A...
. It is sometimes claimed that this score was the one rejected in 1973 for The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
, but Schifrin has denied this in interviews.