Fifty years ago, on November 13, 1974, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family with a Marlin hunting rifle—both his parents, his two brothers, and his two sisters. He was later convicted on six counts of second degree murder, and spent the rest of his life in prison, dying in 2021 at the age of 69.
DeFeo should be one of the most infamous mass murderers in history. And he sort of is, but you’re likely to get a blank look if you bring up his name in conversation. However, if you mention the address of the house where he committed his crimes, you’ll almost certainly get at least a spark of recognition: 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York.
Amityville. As in The Amityville Horror.
That’s the title of Jay Anson’s 1977 novel, apparently inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s story The Dunwich Horror. It’s not directly based on the murders, but on the account of the subsequent residents, George and Kathleen Lutz, who bought the place in 1975 and quickly abandoned it after 28 days, claiming the house was haunted.
Was it? Probably not. It certainly wasn’t built on an Indian burial ground, as the book claims, and no subsequent residents have ever reported any paranormal phenomena. Indeed, DeFeo’s lawyer, William Weber, admitted in sworn testimony that he and the Lutzs cooked up the whole thing over “several bottles of wine,” On the other hand, parapsychologists Ed and Lorraine Warren of The Conjuring fame say it’s all true. And surely they’re above reproach…
But it did spawn a movie, 1979’s The Amityville Horror, directed by Stuart Rosenberg (Cool Hand Luke) and starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Rod Steiger. It was the second highest grossing film of that year, beaten only by Kramer vs Kramer, and the highest grossing independent film of all time until 1990 when, amusingly, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles overtook it.
And that film spawned sequels, as successful horror films are wont to do. Well, sort of.
The thing about The Amityville Horror is that because its name is a real place and the book is based on historical events, both verifiable and…uh, otherwise, it’s kind of half in the public domain. There’s nothing stopping any filmmaker from appending the word “Amityville” to their title and reaping the dubious rewards of association, sort of what ultra-low budget outfit The Asylum has been doing for ages now with “mockbusters” like Transmorphers and Snakes on a Train.
What that means in practical terms is that there are now at least 47 Amityville movies at the time of writing, and probably more by the time I get to the end of this paragraph. There’s even one titled The Amityville Asylum, a 2013 British effort from the late Andrew Jones (Werewolves of the Third Reich) and not, sadly, an Asylum production.
It also means that a simple “tell people where they can watch the Amityville movies” assignment turned into a real journey into the heart of cheap cinematic darkness.
But never fear; there are eight “official” Amityville movies descending from the 1979 original, including the 2005 remake starring Ryan Reynolds back when he was interesting, but even their provenance is somewhat murky, oweing to tangled rights issues. So, if you want to mark the half-centenary of DeFeo’s murders by checking those out, well, that’s a bit ghoulish, to be honest, but here you go.
Where to watch the Amityville Horror movies in Australia
The Amityville Horror (1979) is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and available to rent or buy from Amazon, Apple, Google, and Youtube.
Amityville II: The Possession (1982) is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Amityville 3D (1983) is missing, presumed exorcised. Seriously, it seems to have vanished.
Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes (1989) is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, and Plex, and available to rent or buy from Amazon and Apple.
The Amityville Curse (1990) is streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.
Amityville 1992 : It’s About Time (1992) is streaming on Amazon and Tubi, and available to rent or buy on Amazon.
Amityville: A New Generation (1993) is streaming on Tubi and Plex, and available to rent or buy from Amazon and Microsoft.
Amityville Dollhouse (1997) is streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi, and available to rent or buy from Amazon.
The Amityville Horror (2005) is streaming on Stan and Amazon Prime Video, and available to rent or buy from Apple, Google, and YouTube.
And as for the other 30-plus films, you’re on your own.
