Based on a best seller novel of the same name,The AmityVille Horror, this 1979 movie stars Margot Kidder (Superman) and James Brolin. The story follows a family who purchased the home of an extreme crime scene 13 months after Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr. killed both his parents, two brother and two sisters with a shot gun in the house. The Lutz family bought the home to start their new life together. George Lutz had married Kathy a divorcee with three kids. But shortly after moving in things start to happen…they fled the house leaving everything behind before a month had passed. The novel on which the film is based was written from recorded transcripts
The movie brings to life things that go bump in the night; a mixture of psychological thriller, and supernatural horror. We feel the family’s desire to make things work in their new dream home, while sharing their fears when those dreams turn into nightmares. There was a great deal of controversy over the validity of the claims their book made. Eventually the couple took a polygraph test, which they passed. So no matter what your personal beliefs about the paranormal may be, for the Lutz family at least, their horrific experiences in Amityville were a real life threatening nightmare. Subsequent movies are based in part by the continued curiosity that this book and the homes’ existence have played in the minds of people. Investigations have continued and tales have been shared.
Points to note: Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr. died just this year, aged 69 on March 12, 2021. The official address of the Amityville home in question is 108 Ocean Ave, but it was originally 112 Ocean Avenue at the time of the murders and the writing of the book for this film. The address was also changed to 412 in the movie to confound tourists.
