The Amityville Horror (2005)

Newlyweds are terrorized by demonic forces after moving into a large house that was the site of a grisly mass murder a year before.

Director:

Andrew Douglas

Writers:

Scott Kosar (screenplay), Jay Anson (novel)

Stars:

Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jimmy Bennett

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ryan Reynolds	...	George Lutz
Melissa George	...	Kathy Lutz
Jesse James	...	Billy Lutz
Jimmy Bennett	...	Michael Lutz
Chloë Grace Moretz	...	Chelsea Lutz
Rachel Nichols	...	Lisa
Philip Baker Hall	...	Father Callaway
Isabel Conner	...	Jodie Defeo
Brendan Donaldson	...	Ronald Defeo
Annabel Armour	...	Realtor
Rich Komenich	...	Chief of Police
David Gee	...	ER Doctor
Danny McCarthy	...	Officer Greguski
Nancy Lollar	...	Librarian
José Taitano	...	Stitch

Storyline

In December 1975, George and Kathy Lutz along with their three children move into an elegant Long Island house. What they don't know is that the house was the site of a horrific mass murder a year before. They decide to keep the house and attempt to keep the horror in the past, but are now haunted by a murderous presence. This is until, George starts to behave weirdly and their daughter, Chelsea starts to see people. What follows is 28 days of sheer, unbridled terror for the family with demonic visions of the dead. Based on the true story of George and Kathy Lutz, The Amityville Horror remains one of the most horrifying haunted house stories ever told - because it actually happened.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | basement | haunted house | priest | paranoia | 

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Taglines:

Katch 'em, kill 'em

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language, brief sexuality and drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

(at around 33 mins) In the original script, the poster on Billy's bedroom wall during the babysitter scene was of a different band. However, when the crew realized how long of a tongue actress Rachel Nichols (who played the babysitter) had, they decided to change it to a poster of the rock band KISS, because of band member Gene Simmons' very long tongue.

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Goofs

The shot of George breaking through the cement brick wall in his basement was done with bricks that were clearly only about an inch thick, allowing for a cleaner stunt.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The House: Catch them! Kill them!

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Hottest Male Horror Movie Characters (2016)

User Reviews

Lisa the BabySitter's the highlight. Good, horror fun. See it!

I liked it. Here's what to watch for:

1) Best actor: "Lisa the BabySitter". Even if the film this isn't your cup of tea, stick around to catch a glimpse of babysitting-2005 courtesy of Ms. Lisa! She's great. Ryan Reynolds (a Jason Lee lookalike) in truth gets the best actor award for his macabre transformation. He's good!

2) Most unusual moment: When the family tries to elude danger one dark and stormy night like the Von Trapps on a hot, wet roof. The scene conjured up images of the Sound of Music for me, swapping out the nasty Nazis with a Lizzie Borden-like ax man.

3) Economy: One priest gets the job of four (from the original) done. When the priest is played by master character actor "Philip Michael Hall" what would you expect.

4) Scary: ... has it's moments. Nothing unique and original . . . but Director Andrew Douglas gets the job done for newcomers to the horror genre. Enjoy.

All in all, it's a 6 out of 10. Better than the original. Truly.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Amityville Horror

Filming Locations:

1500 Busch Pky., Buffalo Grove, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,507,007, 17 April 2005

Gross USA:

$65,233,369

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$107,516,369

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Dimension Films, Platinum Dunes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1