What can be said for one of the most terrifying films of the late 70’s? This film goes beyond giving you a quick fright. The film, based on true 
events in the most notorious haunted house in the world provides fears sure to last. The film based on The Amityville Horror: A True Story by Jay Anson is based on factual events of real-life paranormal activity experienced by the Lutz family. The most terrifying of all movies are the ones that actually happened. There is no worse terror in the world then real life. The home located at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York was the site of a mass murder in 1974. The murders were committed by Ronald DeFeo, Jr. DeFeo killed his mother, father and his 4 siblings with a .35 Marlin rifle at 3:15 a.m. The film tells the true tale of the Lutz family’s paranormal struggles associated with the murder that occurred in the home. After only 28 days, the Lutz family were driven by fear out of their home by unseen forces.The Amityville Horror (1979) shows you the afterlife effect savage death can have on a human’s soul.
The Cast
Joshn Brolin’s equally handsome father James Brolin stars as the father George Lutz. 
Brolin also starred in the cult-horror film The Car (1977). Black Christmas (1974) co-star Margot Kidder stars as the mother Kathy Lutz. Father Delaney played by In The Heat of The Night (1967) star Rod Steiger tries to help purify the home with no avail; his holy presence only angers the home and it’s unseen inhabitants. Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996) star Helen Shaver plays Carolyn, the wife of George’s co-worker who says the house is possessed because it was built on an ancient Native American burial ground; a claim was was disproven to be the cause of the real activity in the home.
Trivia
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Brolin was hesitant when he was first offered the role of George Lutz; he was very doubtful of his story even after meeting Lutz as was Kidder. He was told that there was no script and that he must obtain a copy of Jay Anson’s novel and read it as soon as possible. Brolin started the book one evening at seven o’clock and was still reading at two o’clock in the morning. He had hung a pair of his pants up in the room earlier and at a really “tense” part in the book, the pants fell down from wherever they had been hanging. Brolin jumped out of his chair, nearly crashing his head into the ceiling. It was then that Brolin said, “There’s something to this story.” He agreed to do the movie.
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For years rumors have circulated that the movie was to be filmed in the actual house in Amityville, but the production team was too frightened to film inside the house. The reality is the town of Amityville denied American International Pictures permission to film any scenes whatsoever in Amityville in an attempt to distance themselves from any publicity. Therefore, American International Pictures found a two-story Dutch-Colonial home in Toms River, NJ to film the exteriors. A third floor facade was added, along with the crescent moon windows on both sides of the house. Almost all interior scenes were filmed at MGM studios in Culver City, CA. A few interior scenes were filmed inside the actual Toms River house, including the scene when George returns from the boathouse in the middle of the night, then walks into the sun porch to light a cigarette. In that scene you can see there’s no wallpaper and no door in the living room, where as on the soundstage the living room has wallpaper and a door near the bookshelf. Brolin and Kidder visited the real home for a publicity junket.
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The church in the movie is St. Peter’s church in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, about 20 miles north of the movie house in Toms River. They also used the park across the street from the church, Pleasure Park, for the priest playing basketball scene. They used local kids as players, and had to ask them to take it easy and let the priest get the ball from time to time.
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In hopes of creating more publicity for the film the studio would concoct stories of “weird” occurrences on the set of the film.
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The outdoor scenes of the movie were not filmed in Amityville, Long Island, but rather Toms River, New Jersey. Local police and ambulance workers played extras. The Toms River, New Jersey volunteer Fire Company Number One was used to provide the “rain” during one of the exterior scenes. If you look closely, you can see that it is sunny and not “raining” in the background, the next street over.
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Cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp lost 30 lbs because he refused to eat due to his fear of insects. Having to shot the scenes with the flies made it very difficult to film the scenes; he would look away or close his eyes and just hope he got the shot they needed.
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Honey was rubbed on Rod Steiger’s head to draw the flies to him.
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Brolin once said he could not get a job for two years because of his performance in this film.
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Because the movie was made on a relatively modest budget, James Brolin took less money up front but with a promise of 10% of the gross sales after its release. After the movie became an unexpected blockbuster (at that time it was in the top ten of all time), he eventually received about $17 million
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While shooting the scene where Kathy Lutz is startled by the red eyes in the window, director Stuart Rosenberg wasn’t impressed by Margot Kidder’s reaction. According to Kidder, Rosenberg then tried to hold up a “a day-glo orange stuffed velour pig with glass eyes” in an attempt to startle Kidder. She said the result was only hysterical laughter, not fear.
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The film was shot in 7 weeks.
Final Thoughts
Personally, I find the film and it’s two sequels truly wonderful and terrifying in every aspect. They are what real horror movies are made of. However, I think the reason that these films and many other’s of similar tales are so scary is because they really happened. Take The Conjurng for instance. The movie itself is terrifying, but adding in the fact that these terrible things really happened makes it so much worse. It makes it a lingering fear that never goes away.
Buy it on Amazon! The Amityville Horror [Blu-ray]
Get the trilogy (it’s worth it, trust me!) The Amityville Horror Trilogy [Blu-ray]
Read the whole story if you dare: The Amityville Horror
THE FANATIC 