In the 1970s, the name Amityville struck terror into the hearts of a nation.
The quaint Long Island village shot to infamy in 1974, when Ronald DeFeo Jr murdered six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue. One year later, George and Kathleen Lutz fled that same home after 28 days of residence, claiming sinister forces lurked inside.
What followed was a cultural phenomenon, giving birth to the book and film The Amityville Horror. Becoming a prolific media franchise, the Amityville brand would continue producing mainstream content for the next four decades.
However, in recent years, any project baring the Amityville name has elicited laughs rather than screams. Due to the inability to legally copyright a place name, a plethora of low budget Amityville fare began emerging in 2011.
Exploring everything from haunted backpacks to haunted sex toys, the content made the Amityville brand balloon to over thirty feature films. Unfortunately, it also destroyed any commercial viability that Amityville had…
Hopefully, that’s all about to change!
Word reaches us that Amityville is making a return to the mainstream, with a new feature in the works from a team of ace producers.
BoulderLight Pictures, the team behind 2022’s Barbarian, are reportedly taking advantage of their first-look deal with New Line Cinema by bringing Amityville “back from the dead.” Divide/Conquer Productions, one of the names behind 2025’s slasher Heart Eyes, are also aboard the project.
Described as “a radical new take” on the classic property, husband and wife filmmakers Joseph and Vanessa Winter are attached to write and direct. The Winter’s are perhaps best known for their 2022 found footage film Deathstream, distributed by Shudder.
Plot details remain under wraps, but we’re told this new Amityville project is “a high priority,” and has been fast-tracked. Production is allegedly eyeing a shooting window in the fourth quarter of 2025.
So, it looks like Amityville will be returning to the mainstream as soon as next year. Can this new team breathe life into a brand that most have written off for dead? We’re looking forward to finding out.
