The Amityville Horror (1979 film)
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| The Amityville Horror | |
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 Promotional Poster for The Amityville Horror |
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| Directed by | Stuart Rosenberg |
| Produced by | Samuel Z. Arkoff Elliot Geisinger Ronald Saland |
| Written by | Jay Anson (novel) Sandor Stern (screenplay) |
| Starring | James Brolin Margot Kidder Rod Steiger Don Stroud Murray Hamilton |
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
| Cinematography | Fred J. Koenekamp |
| Editing by | Robert Brown Jr. |
| Distributed by | 1979-1981 American International Pictures 1982-1997 Orion Pictures Corporation 1998-present Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) |  July 27, 1979 |
| Running time | 117 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Amityville II: The Possession |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Amityville Horror is a 1979 American horror film based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Jay Anson. The film was directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starred James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger. After purchasing and moving into their new home on 112 Ocean Avenue, a house where a mass murder had been committed the year before, the Lutz family experiences a series of frightening paranormal events, causing them to flee the house only 28 days after moving in. The story is reportedly based on the real-life experiences of the Lutz family, though these events have been the subject of much controversy.
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[edit] Production
The on-location scenes of The Amityville Horror were filmed at a house in Toms River, New Jersey, 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. 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.
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.
[edit] Reception
The Amityville Horror was a huge box office success (earning more than $86 million in the United States), despite being given poor reviews by critics such as Leonard Maltin and Roger Ebert, who described it as "dreary and terminally depressing." [1]
Lalo Schifrin's eerie musical score for the film was nominated for an Academy Award. It has been spoofed many times, most recently In the Ginger Kids episode of South Park, where the characters hum the theme.
The film was followed by two sequels Amityville II: The Possession (1982) and Amityville 3-D (1983). These films were followed by five direct-to-video sequels released from 1989 to 1996. In addition to being remade in 2005, the film was parodied in Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984) and Scary Movie 2 (2001). The British film starred comedian Kenny Everett and featured Vincent Price.
[edit] References
- ^ Roger Ebert, Film Review for The Amityville Horror. suntimes.com (January 1, 1979). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
[edit] See also
- The Amityville Horror
- The Amityville Horror (2005 film)
- Bloodbath at the House of Death
- Scary Movie 2
[edit] External links
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