Growing up in Long Island, New York, stories about the Amityville house were as familiar as bagels with too much cream cheese and arguments about which parlor served the best slice of pizza. While most of the stories about Amityville turned out to be fake, the horror surrounding the property endures, with filmmakers still excited to tell their version of the house’s bizarre history. According to Deadline, Until Dawn director David F. Sandberg will direct a reimagining of the Amityville Horror for Amazon MGM Studios.
David F. Sandberg directs the latest Amityville Horror from a script by The Conjuring: Last Rites scribes Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing. Last Rites has already earned a global total of $187 million, making the duo one of horror’s hottest tickets in town. Details about the Amityville Horror reimagining are under wraps. The Safran Company’s Peter Safran and John Rickard will produce alongside Sandberg, with The Safran Company’s Natalia Safran being joined as executive producer by Lotta Losten.
The legend of The Amityville Horror began in 1974, when 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. took a rifle and stalked from bedroom to bedroom in his family’s Long Island home, murdering his father, mother, and four younger siblings. The murders happened in the middle of the night, and every one of the victims was found face down in bed. During the court case, DeFeo tried to defend himself by claiming insanity, saying he was driven to commit the murders by the voices in his head. The defense didn’t work; he was found guilty on six counts of second-degree murder and given six sentences of 25 years to life. Over the years, DeFeo would try to blame the murders on other members of his family, his mother and one of his sisters, but it didn’t earn him any leniency.
Thirteen months after DeFeo killed his family, the murder house was purchased by newlyweds George and Kathy Lutz, who moved into the place with Kathy’s three young children from a previous marriage. The Lutz family left after just 28 days when they experienced paranormal activity like “strange sounds, voices and green slime oozing from the walls.” These events inspired the 1977 novel “The Amityville Horror: A True Story” and the film that came out two years later.
Are you excited to experience David F. Sandberg’s version of the Amityville Horror? Do you think there’s any truth to what transpired inside that house? Let us know in the comments section below.
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