IMDb > The Amityville Horror (1979)
The Amityville Horror
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The Amityville Horror (1979) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.0/10   18,960 votes »
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Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Stuart Rosenberg
Writers:
Sandor Stern (screenplay)
Jay Anson (book)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Amityville Horror on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
27 July 1979 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Horror See more »
Tagline:
Houses Don't Have Memories See more »
Plot:
Newlyweds move into a house where a murder was committed, and experience strange manifestations which drive them away. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 nominations See more »
NewsDesk:
(30 articles)
Writer/Director Matt Farnsworth Talks The Orphan Killer Past, Present and Future…And How You Can See it for Free!
 (From Dread Central. 3 December 2012, 3:48 PM, PST)
Music in the movies: the finest horror scores
 (From Den of Geek. 24 October 2011, 5:39 AM, PDT)
How The Blockbuster Ruined Hollywood
 (From SoundOnSight. 1 May 2011, 9:47 AM, PDT)
User Reviews:
Effective chiller about a strange house located in Long Island that causes creepy goings-on in a family See more (265 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

James Brolin ... George Lutz

Margot Kidder ... Kathy Lutz

Rod Steiger ... Father Delaney

Don Stroud ... Father Bolen

Murray Hamilton ... Father Ryan
John Larch ... Father Nuncio
Natasha Ryan ... Amy
K.C. Martel ... Greg
Meeno Peluce ... Matt
Michael Sacks ... Jeff

Helen Shaver ... Carolyn

Amy Wright ... Jackie

Val Avery ... Sgt. Gionfriddo
Irene Dailey ... Aunt Helena
Marc Vahanian ... Jimmy
Elsa Raven ... Mrs. Townsend
Ellen Saland ... Bride

Eddie Barth ... Agucci
Hank Garrett ... Bartender

James Tolkan ... Coroner
Carmine Foresta ... Cop at the House

Peter Maloney ... Newspaper Clerk
Charlie Welch ... Carpenter
J.R. Miller ... Boy
Patty Burtt ... Girl
Michael Hawkins ... New York State Trooper
Richard Hughes ... 2nd New York State Trooper
James Dukas ... Neighbor (as Jim Dukas)
Baxter Harris ... Cop #2 at the House
Michael Stearns ... Policeman
Jack Krupnick ... Dead Father
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Directed by
Stuart Rosenberg 
 
Writing credits
Sandor Stern (screenplay)

Jay Anson (book)

George Lutz  story (uncredited)
Kathy Lutz  story (uncredited)

Produced by
Samuel Z. Arkoff .... executive producer
Elliot Geisinger .... producer
Ronald Saland .... producer
 
Original Music by
Lalo Schifrin 
 
Cinematography by
Fred J. Koenekamp (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Robert Brown  (as Robert Brown Jr.)
 
Casting by
Jane Feinberg 
Mike Fenton 
Judy Taylor 
 
Art Direction by
Kim Swados 
 
Set Decoration by
Robert R. Benton  (as Robert Benton)
 
Makeup Department
Stephen Abrums .... makeup artist
Christine Lee .... hair stylist
 
Production Management
Salvatore Billitteri .... post-production supervisor
Jere Henshaw .... executive in charge of production
Russell Saunders .... unit production manager (as Russ Saunders)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Benjamin Rosenberg .... second assistant director
Edward E. Vaughan .... first assistant director (as Ed Vaughan)
 
Art Department
Donald B. Nunley .... property master (as Donald Nunley)
 
Sound Department
Stephen Hunter Flick .... sound effects editor
Robert W. Glass Jr. .... sound re-recording mixer (as Robert W. Glass)
Maury Harris .... sound mixer
Bill Henderson .... sound re-recording engineer
Christopher Ramsey .... boom operator (as Chris Ramsey)
Richard Tyler .... sound re-recording mixer
John Wilkinson .... sound re-recording mixer (as John K. Wilkinson)
 
Special Effects by
Dell Rheaume .... special effects (as Delwyn Rheaume)
 
Visual Effects by
William Cruse .... visual effects
Allen Blaisdell .... visual effects (uncredited)
 
Stunts
Bruce Paul Barbour .... stunt driver
Brian Bruderlin .... stunt double
Roger Creed .... stunt coordinator
Conrad E. Palmisano .... stunt driver
Rick Seaman .... stunt driver (as Richard D. Seaman)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Benson .... camera operator (as Michael Benson)
Edward Morey III .... camera assistant
John Murray .... key grip (as Johnny Murray)
Gene Stout .... gaffer (as Eugene Stout)
Hal Trussell .... electrician
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Cynthia Bales .... wardrobe: women
Richard Butz .... wardrobe: men
 
Editorial Department
Bill Berry .... negative cutter
Dee D'Orazio .... additional editing (as Etter 'Dee' D'Orazio)
Stanley Frazen .... associate editor
Dennis Galling .... assistant editor
Barbara Gandolfo-Frady .... apprentice editor (as Barbara Gandolfo)
 
Music Department
Kenneth Hall .... music editor (as Ken Hall)
Aaron Rochin .... scoring mixer
John Graves .... music preparation (uncredited)
 
Transportation Department
Johnny Dias .... transportation
 
Other crew
Susan Anker .... production secretary
Samuel Z. Arkoff .... presenter
Thomas Bermingham .... religious supervisor (as Reverend Thomas Bermingham)
Gary Gillingham .... production controller
Connie Greenwood .... unit controller
Karl Lewis Miller .... animal trainer
Mary Ann Newfield .... script supervisor
Barbara Pieters .... production coordinator
Steve Warner .... location auditor
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
See more »
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
117 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Iceland:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:16 | UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Netherlands:16 | USA:R (No. 25653) | South Korea:12 | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | Peru:18
Filming Locations:
18 Brooks Road, Toms River, New Jersey, USASee more »
Company:
American International Pictures (AIP)See more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
James Brolin said he didn't get a job for two years after doing this movie because of the cruelty of his character.See more »
Goofs:
Continuity: Lightning smashes through one of the attic windows (during the axe attack), but subsequent exterior shots (the escape) show both windows still intact.See more »
Quotes:
[first lines]
Cop at the House:Jesus Christ, it gets worse all the time.
See more »
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Amityville Haunting (2011) (V)See more »

FAQ

Whose face appears on the wall when George chops the hole into the red room?
Did the Lutzes ever admit it was all fake?
How does the movie end?
See more »

User Reviews

   (Review this title)
14 out of 15 people found the following review useful.
Effective chiller about a strange house located in Long Island that causes creepy goings-on in a family, 23 November 2010
Author: ma-cortes

This is the classic version about the infamous Amityville house with lots of screams and weird deeds in which a family falls into supernatural terror . The story starts with a grisly mass murder ; years later , a family moves to Long Island where is purchased a Victorian home , their house of dreams but they find only devilish horror and full of nightmares . Longtime ago, there occurred a grisly mass killing based on an allegedly real life occurrence in Amityville that turns out to be a haven for demonic forces . And now a possessed father (James Brolin) is plunged by demonic forces into supernatural attitude driving him to mistreat and beat the kiddies . The wife (Margot Kidder) begins experiencing frightening and vivid dreams of killings . Meantime ,the father is attempting to find out the bottom of events by ways of the cellar . While , an exorcist priest (a hysteric Rod Steiger who steals the show as scene-chewing ) tries praying to vanquish the malignant spirit , staggering from room to room with the doors mysteriously slam . And soon the poltergeists make their nasty appearance originating a lot of unusual rattles and creaks before deciding to utilize its powers to possess the father and attack the family .

The film contains restless terror and great loads of gore and blood and usual poltergeists phenomenon caused by the curse and the usual ghastly shenanigans result to be the cracking pipelines , wall ooze icky stuff, flies swarm manifest as attackers, and doors suddenly slam , among others . It is produced with acceptable budget by Samuel Z Arkoff (AIP)and well recreated with high grade special effects that are frightening and horrifying to spectator . It's actually halfway decent terror movie that achieved big success at the box office and it will appeal to ghostly and eerie events fonds. The picture packs a colorful cinematography by Fred Koenekamp and eerie musical score by Lalo Schifrin that will be used in the innumerable sequels . The original ¨Exorcist¨ film (by Friedkin) spawned a wave of demonic possession movies that continues unabated today as ¨Changeling¨ (by Peter Medak), ¨Amytiville ¨(by Stuart Rosemberg) are two further examples of this sub-genre . Following a great number of clumsy, stupid sequels directed by Damiano Damiani , Richard Fleischer ,Sandor Stern ( screenwriter of Amityville), Anthony Hitchcock.. And the bad followings just go on and on attempting to cash in on the success of the first movie . However , recently is made a good new adaptation by Andrew Douglas with Ryan Reynolds (James Brolin role ) , Melissa George ( Margot Kidder character) and Philip Baker Hall (Rod Steiger), though this is a new take on from previous film, it's one of the highest earning horror movie of the last years and like the¨ Amityville ¨ original became a box office biggie . Rating : Aceeptable and passable .

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Amityville Horror (1979)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Margot Kidder hated it? CiniDent
this sucked (spoilers) ommik
'Find the well. It's the passage... to hell! COVER IT! (question) Sidney-uh-Jenkins
Wierd neighbor sandilandry
Is this really such an awful movie?(Spoilers) dellascott2004
This or the new version dinemellon
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