Not enough found footage horror films in your life? How about we add another? Producer Tony DeRosa-Grund, chairman of Evergreen Media Group, is planning a found footage horror films around the Amityville Horror story — because there hasn't been enough movies about that yet.
The Long Island house became infamous when Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered six members of his family in 1974. A year later, George Lutz and his family moved into the home, staying for just 28 days due to paranormal encounters that forced them to leave the house. Since then, there's been numerous books and 10 films, starting with 1979's The Amityville Horror.
Tony DeRosa-Grund's project is a different take on the story. He aquired the rights to the story of Laura DiDio and Marvin Scott, two reporters who investigated the incident for a New York TV news station. It revolves around a seance (always a bad idea, but people in the 70s loved seances) that was held in the house in 1976 for a news report. It revealed a ghostly presence including the ghost of a young boy in the house.
About the project, DiDio said, "I lived through this horrific ordeal, and I am the only person who has the ability to tell the true Amityville prequel story in its entirety. Even after all these years, after what I persaonlly experienced, there is nothing anyone could ever do or say to get me back in that house." But making a movie about it is fine. DeRosa-Grund tracked down a copy of the original report, as well as additional footage.
The planned movie is supposed to be a true prequel to the Amityville horror story of the Lutz family. They can't be portrayed in the film because the rights of the original Amityville Horror belong to different holders. There have been 10 movies for Amityville Horror, but the two most well-known are the original starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder, and the 2005 Michael Bay-produced version starring Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, and Rachel Nichols as a slutty babysitter. Reynolds had his shirt off most the movie, so that made it a little less creepy, but it was still a fairly creepy movie.
There's one other movie about the Amityville Horror in development right now by Dimension and Miramax called The Amityville Horror: The Lost Tapes. Paranormal Activity's Jason Blum is producing it, and it involves a news intern investigating the case. So both that and this new one will use the found footage formula.
I'm kind of getting worn out on the whole found footage formula, but at least DeRosa-Grund's story is kinda fresh. I guess we'll wait for more details to come out about the project, but hopefully it can be truly scary and not just another cheap scare movie.
You can follow Movies and Culture Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ
[Source: Hollywood Reporter]
