‘The Amityville Horror’ Represents the Best & Worst of the Aughts Remake Trend [Murder Made Fiction Podcast]

Andrew Douglas’s The Amityville Horror is one of the most profitable entries in the early aughts series of classic horror remakes. Premiering in 2005, it takes the bones of Stuart Rosenberg’s classic haunted house film and throws in plenty of additional violence and gore. Adding to the terror are claims that the story is based on real events.

One year after Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family, the Lutzes moved their three children into their house. Just 28 days after entering the home, they would flee, claiming a dangerous presence lurking inside the house was trying to tear their family apart. But do film adaptations honor this devastating true story? Should the Lutz’s claims be believed? And does any of this matter for audiences simply looking for grisly jump scares and a creepy haunted house? 

In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s Murder Made Fiction Podcast, Joe and Jenn tackle this often maligned film. Does it feel like an adaptation of Jay Anson’s bestselling book, or a modern update of a ’70s horror staple? Is this a true crime story that honors its roots, or do early aughts trends get in the way? They’ll talk ghostly additions, problematic expansions, seductive babysitters, and the diminished presence of the Catholic church. And of course, Ryan Reynolds’ impossible abs. 

And if you want even more Murder Made Fiction, be sure to check out the pod’s Patreon feed, where Jenn and Joe have ~55 hours of bonus content including episode by episode coverage of Happy Face inspired by the Happy Face Killer and Good American Family based on the complex story of Natalia Grace.

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