The Amityville Horror (2005 film)

Infobox_Film
name = The Amityville Horror


caption = Promotional Poster for "The Amityville Horror"
imdb_id = 0384806
director = Andrew Douglas
writer = Scott Kosar, Sandor Stern (screenplay)
Based on the novel by Jay Anson
starring = Ryan Reynolds
Melissa George
and
Philip Baker Hall
producer = Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller
music = Steve Jablonsky
cinematography = Peter Lyons Collister
editing = Roger Barton, Christian Wagner
distributor = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA)
20th Century Fox (France, UK, Germany, Australia)
Dimension Films (Italy, Spain, Argentina, Mexico)
released = April 15, 2005
runtime = 90 min.
language = English
amg_id = 1:296803
budget = $18,000,000 (estimated)
preceded_by = ""

"The Amityville Horror" is a 2005 horror film directed by Andrew Douglas for United Artists and Dimension Films. It is a remake of the original 1979 film version of the same name, which was based on Jay Anson's 1977 novel of the same name. The film is ostensibly inspired by a real life murder case from November 1974 in Long Island, New York, in which Ronald DeFeo, Jr. shot dead six members of his family.

Plot

George and Kathy Lutz (played by Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George), along with their three children, move into what they believe will be their dream home on Long Island, New York. The house had previously belonged to the DeFeo family, where Ronald DeFeo, Jr. had murdered his parents and siblings with a rifle a year earlier. DeFeo spent most of his time in the basement where later he claimed that he heard voices urging him to commit the crime. When the Lutzes move in, George frequently complains of the cold and starts spending large amounts of time in the basement.

Kathy's daughter begins acting strangely after developing a mysterious invisible friend with the same name as one of the murdered DeFeos.

She attempts to jump off the roof and becomes inseparable from a toy that Kathy later learns was buried with the DeFeo girl. A priest comes to bless the house but the holy water sizzles when it hits the walls and he is attacked by a horde of flies.

Refrigerator magnets rearrange themselves to spell "Katchem and Kill 'Em". On a dare, a baby sitter enters the closet where Jodie DeFeo was shot, and Jodie appears to her. The closet door locks itself, the walls begin to bleed and the ghostly apparition makes the baby sitter put her finger in the bullet hole in her head. The baby sitter is taken to the emergency room, severely traumatized.

After several other paranormal events, Kathy decides to research the history of her home in the library's public records. After searching for many hours, she finds records of an arrest of a mysterious cult preacher "Father Katchem" who tortured and killed Native Americans in the basement of his sanctuary. Upon encountering a picture of the sanctuary, she realizes that this is her house.

One is led to believe that the evil spirit of "Father Katchem" possesses George Lutz as a scene appears flashing between Kathy at the library and George chopping away at the basement wall. He climbs into the space behind the wall and sees numerous bodies murdered in grotesque ways and he sees "Father Katchem". Kathy rushes home, where George appears to definitely be possessed. After a game of cat and mouse, where they are nearly killed, Kathy and her children knock George out and escape with him on their boat. When they are away from the house, he is fine again.

Jodie is left standing in the front doorway. As she starts screaming, everything in the house starts resetting itself. The clocks hit 3:15, and Jodie stops screaming, just in time to be pulled through the floor by an unknown pair of hands.

Box office

The film grossed a total of $64.5 million in the United States, making it a box office success in view of the production budget of $18.5 million and the neutral critical responses to the film. The film grossed $109.5 million worldwide. The site Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 23 percent and an average rating of 4.2/10, stating that "The Amityville Horror" is a "so-so remake of a so-so original". [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=amityvillehorror05.htm The Amityville Horror (2005) (2005) ] ]

Additional information

* "Jodie DeFeo", who appears as a prominent character in the film, is a fictional character and was not one of the victims of the shootings by Ronald DeFeo, Jr. in November 1974. In the 1979 film version, "Jodie" is a demonic pig-like creature.
* This was the last film marketed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer before its 2005 merger.
* The house used as the Lutz home in the film was in Silver Lake, Wisconsin while other location work was shot in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
* Isabel Conner originally auditioned for the part of Chelsea Lutz, according to the DVD commentary. Conner ended up playing Jodie DeFeo and the role of Chelsea was given to Chloe Moretz.

Legal

* The real life George Lutz denounced the 2005 version of the film as "drivel" and was suing the makers of the film at the time of his death in May 2006. [ [http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=4ad81bbe-727b-4632-acc5-046ca3c3cb98&k=92677 Entertainment - Entertainment News, Music, Movies, TV Listings and more ] ]
* William Weber, the defense lawyer for Ronald DeFeo at his trial in 1975, has since claimed that the story that inspired the original book was a hoax concocted between himself and the Lutz family (see The Amityville Horror for more details).

Main cast

* Ryan Reynolds - George Lutz
* Melissa George - Katherine 'Kathy' Lutz
* Jesse James - Billy
* Jimmy Bennett - Michael
* Chloe Moretz - Chelsea (as Chloë Grace Moretz)
* Isabel Conner - Jodie DeFeo
* Rachel Nichols - Lisa
* Philip Baker Hall - Father Callaway

ee also

* 2005 in film
* The Amityville Horror

References

External links

* [http://www.amityvillehorrormovie.com/ Official site]
*
* [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/amityville.asp The Amityville Horror: Is 'The Amityville Horror' based on a true story?] (Snopes.com)

Box Office Leaders USA
before = Sahara
date = April 17
year = 2005
after = The Interpreter