The Amityville Horror

The Amityville Horror. Dir. Andrew Douglas. Dimension Films, 2005. Film.



Set in Long Island, New York in the 1970's, George Lutz, his wife Kathy, and Kathy's three kids, all move into a beautiful home on the river. The house was being sold for a remarkably cheap price, but because of a catch. Years before, a family had been brutally murdered in the house by one of the family members. Supposedly, the son of the family, Ron, was hearing voices from the house, that lead him to killing his six family members. The Lutz's, however, never thought much of it. Soon after, they began hearing strange noises. Kathy's daughter kept ending up in potentially dangerous situations and was constantly talking about some imaginary friend she had named Jodie. Jodie was actually the ghost of one of Ron's sisters who was murdered years before. However, this seemed simple compared to the way George began to act. George began to hear "the voices," too. He became very angry, aggressive, and nearly violent. A Father even came to bless the house. After doing as much as he could, the Father was terrified and screamed, "Mr. Lutz, get you and your family out of that house! Right now!" When a Father tells you to get out, something is really wrong. On the twenty-eighth day, George almost killed the family. Right when he was about to hit Kathy with an axe, he realized what he was doing. George, Kathy, and the children were able to escape the house. They left the house, as well as all of their personal items, and never came back.

The Amityville Horror is said to be based on a true story. When it was first written as a novel, the Lutz's told their story on numerous talk shows and other public events. However, no other family to ever live in the house experienced what the Lutz family did. Personally, I am not quite sure whether I completely believe their house was haunted. I think I do, because the movie was not just based off of a story told, but the family members were able to all share the story themselves. Unless it was for attention, I think they were telling the truth. However, I am not sure how this affects my belief in ghosts compared to all my previous research. I do not think it really swayed me one way or the other. Overall, it was a great movie, and I believe the Lutz family was telling the truth.