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Director David F. Sandberg is taking a swing at reviving The Amityville Horror franchise. The horror tale as old as time, or at least since the mid 1970’s, will be produced by Amazon MGM studios. Instead of a direct remake, the approach has been announced as more of a re-imagining.
The original movie is based off of Jay Anson’s 1977 book of the same title. The film starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder dramatizes Anson’s work. The two brought the Lutz family’s horrifying story to life on the big screen in 1979. In the midst of America’s era of Satanic Panic, audiences were scared witless.
David F. Sandberg is known for his directing work, including Lights Out (2016,) Annabelle: Creation (2017,) and Until Dawn (2025.) He is a very talented storyteller, but it was never the story that failed with the critics. The story is what keeps bringing people back. However, it’s the delivery that has disappointed time and time again.
With the financial success of The Conjuring: Last Rights (2025) writers Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing have been recruited for the project. Sandberg, Peter Safran and John Rickard will produce. No actors are attached to the project as of yet.
Ghosts of Amityville Past
The story of the haunted house on Ocean Drive has a long and sordid history ever since the media first caught wind of the paranormal happenings.
Dozens of movies have been made with the name Amityville included in one way or another. In fact, according to Wikipedia there are 25 films based off of the Amityville title. Furthermore, 69 movies have been made with the name Amityville in the title on IMDB.
Ranging from Amityville Christmas Vacation (2022) to Amityvillenado (2025,) these movies span the range from bizarre to flat out ridiculous. In the grand scheme of things only the first two movies, Amityville and Amityville 2: The Possession, are related to each other. However, even among these two movies there are inconsistencies.
Bringing Amityville Back to the Mainstream
The story was brought back in 2005 with The Amityville Horror, written by Scott Kosar (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). This movie features Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) and Melissa George (30 Days of Night) as unlucky homeowners George and Kathy Lutz.
2005’s Amityville Horror had a mediocre reception, mostly swooning about Reynold’s fantastic abs and beard combo. The New York Times attributed the upgrade from the original “…from acting to bloody effects, it is better executed, and partly because the filmmakers have downgraded the role of the priest…”
A “Real” Life Look
Since 2005, a handful of new documentaries have been released as well. More importantly, two of the Lutz children who are now adults began to speak their truth publicly.
When Daniel Lutz spoke on the 2013 documentary entitled My Amityville Horror, he maintains the paranormal happenings really did happen in his childhood home.
Christopher Lutz, who changed his last name to Quaratino, spoke publicly in 2023’s documentary Amityville: An Origin Story. While he does believe the hauntings in the house on Ocean Avenue were real, he also thinks the happenings were exaggerated in the book and movies.
The Conjuring Success pushes Amityville back into the Spotlight Again
The success of The Conjuring films featuring paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren has also kept the home and its dark history relevant. After visiting the infamous New York house, Lorraine Warren said “I hope this is as close to hell as I ever get.”
The Conjuring movies have not yet touched upon Ed and Lorraine Warren’s time when they were involved in the Amityville home. Most likely this is due to the fact their participation was not very cinematically exciting. The did a brief walk through of the house and participated in a séance held at the property. At the time, nothing notable or camera-worthy happened.
However, their name attached to the investigation is enough to thrust the topic back into the spotlight. This is certainly a great opportunity for The Safran Company and Sandberg to make a run at it.
