Amityville: The Haunting

History's Mysteries: Amityville The Haunting (2000)

*** (out of 4)

This History Channel documentary only lasts 41-minutes so you shouldn't go in expecting a detailed look at the controversy and history of that famous house in Amityville but the thing at least gives you a good rundown on the events that happened there. Unlike several documentaries, this one here starts at when the house was actually built and discusses some of the early legends that dealt with the Salem witch trials as well as a possible Indian curse. We then move throughout a few owners until we get to the DeFeo murders and then the hauntings, which stalked the Lutz family. George and Kathy Lutz are both interviewed here and they share stories that most fans have probably already heard. These new interviews are mildly interesting but the real highlight is just hearing about the entire history of this house. At the end it's known that no other hauntings has happened to anyone after the Lutz family so one almost really wants to believe that it was made up just so they could get out from under the large payments. It's clear that no one will ever know the truth and while a much more detailed documentary would certainly be nice, this here is certainly good at giving you the basic points of the history.