| Photos (see all 23 | slideshow) |
| James Brolin | ... | George Lutz | |
| Margot Kidder | ... | Kathy Lutz | |
| Rod Steiger | ... | Father Delaney | |
| Don Stroud | ... | Father Bolen | |
| Murray Hamilton | ... | Father Ryan | |
| John Larch | ... | Father Nuncio | |
| Natasha Ryan | ... | Amy | |
| K.C. Martel | ... | Greg | |
| Meeno Peluce | ... | Matt | |
| Michael Sacks | ... | Jeff | |
| Helen Shaver | ... | Carolyn | |
| Amy Wright | ... | Jackie | |
| Val Avery | ... | Sgt. Gionfriddo | |
| Irene Dailey | ... | Aunt Helena | |
| Marc Vahanian | ... | Jimmy | |
| Elsa Raven | ... | Mrs. Townsend | |
| Ellen Saland | ... | Bride | |
| Eddie Barth | ... | Agucci | |
| Hank Garrett | ... | Bartender | |
| James Tolkan | ... | Coroner | |
| Carmine Foresta | ... | Cop at the House | |
| Peter Maloney | ... | Newspaper Clerk | |
| Charlie Welch | ... | Carpenter | |
| J.R. Miller | ... | Boy | |
| Patty Burtt | ... | Girl | |
| Michael Hawkins | ... | New York State Trooper | |
| Richard Hughes | ... | 2nd New York State Trooper | |
| Jim Dukas | ... | Neighbor | |
| Baxter Harris | ... | Cop #2 at the House | |
| Michael Stearns | ... | Policeman | |
| Jack Krupnick | ... | Dead Father |
Directed by | |||
| Stuart Rosenberg | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Jay Anson | (book) | |
| Sandor Stern | (screenplay) | |
| George Lutz | story (uncredited) | |
| Kathy Lutz | story (uncredited) | |
Produced by | |||
| Samuel Z. Arkoff | .... | executive producer | |
| Elliot Geisinger | .... | producer | |
| Ronald Saland | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Lalo Schifrin | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Fred J. Koenekamp | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Robert Brown | (as Robert Brown Jr.) | ||
Casting by | |||
| Jane Feinberg | |||
| Mike Fenton | |||
| Judy Taylor | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Kim Swados | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Robert R. Benton | (as Robert Benton) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Stephen Abrums | .... | makeup artist | |
| Christine Lee | .... | hair stylist | |
Production Management | |||
| Salvatore Billitteri | .... | post-production supervisor | |
| Jere Henshaw | .... | executive in charge of production | |
| Russell Saunders | .... | unit production manager (as Russ Saunders) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Benjamin Rosenberg | .... | second assistant director | |
| Edward E. Vaughan | .... | first assistant director (as Ed Vaughan) | |
Art Department | |||
| Donald B. Nunley | .... | property master (as Donald Nunley) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Stephen Hunter Flick | .... | sound effects editor | |
| Robert W. Glass | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Maury Harris | .... | sound mixer | |
| Bill Henderson | .... | sound re-recording engineer | |
| Christopher Ramsey | .... | boom operator (as Chris Ramsey) | |
| Richard Tyler | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| John Wilkinson | .... | sound re-recording mixer (as John K. Wilkinson) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Dell Rheaume | .... | special effects (as Delwyn Rheaume) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Allen Blaisdell | .... | visual effects | |
| William Cruse | .... | visual effects | |
Stunts | |||
| Bruce Paul Barbour | .... | stunt driver | |
| Brian Bruderlin | .... | stunt double | |
| Roger Creed | .... | stunt coordinator | |
| Conrad E. Palmisano | .... | stunt driver | |
| Richard Seaman | .... | stunt driver (as Richard D. Seaman) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Mike Benson | .... | camera operator (as Michael Benson) | |
| Edward Morey III | .... | assistant camera | |
| John Murray | .... | key grip (as Johnny Murray) | |
| Gene Stout | .... | gaffer (as Eugene Stout) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Cynthia Bales | .... | wardrobe: women | |
| Richard Butz | .... | wardrobe: men | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Bill Berry | .... | negative cutter | |
| Dee D'Orazio | .... | additional editor (as Etter 'Dee' D'Orazio) | |
| Stanley Frazen | .... | associate editor | |
| Dennis Galling | .... | assistant editor | |
| Barbara Gandolfo-Frady | .... | apprentice editor (as Barbara Gandolfo) | |
Music Department | |||
| Kenneth Hall | .... | music editor (as Ken Hall) | |
| Aaron Rochin | .... | scoring mixer | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Johnny Dias | .... | transportation | |
Other crew | |||
| Susan Anker | .... | production secretary | |
| Samuel Z. Arkoff | .... | presenter | |
| Reverend Thomas Bermingham | .... | religious supervisor | |
| Gary Gillingham | .... | production controller | |
| Connie Greenwood | .... | unit controller | |
| Karl Lewis Miller | .... | animal trainer | |
| Mary Ann Newfield | .... | script supervisor | |
| Barbara Pieters | .... | production coordinator | |
| Steve Warner | .... | location auditor | |
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| The Amityville Horror | Amityville II: The Possession | Halloween | The Shining | The Omen |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |
"The Amityville Horror" is a typical haunted house movie with the 'based on a true story' claim branded on it, which may be the largest reason for it's success. The film concerns George and Kathy Lutz (James Brolin and Margot Kidder), both newlyweds who decide to buy a grand Dutch colonial house in Amityville, Long Island, New York. They are aware that a year earlier, the savage slaughter of an entire family took place in the house, but they try to push that aside and make the house their own. After moving in, strange things begin to happen, and George becomes increasingly violent with both Kathy and her children, and the evil entity dwelling within the house begins to consume the family's lives. The terrified family ends up fleeing their house after only spending twenty-eight days there.
While the large popularity for this film more than likely rests with it's claim that it was supposedly based on an actual haunting, "The Amityville Horror" is a slightly above-average (but really not by that much) haunted house film. I've heard people claim this film to be one of the horror greats, but in all honesty, I just didn't find this film to be anything quite so mind-blowing. It was decent and just a minimal notch above average, but it was very far from perfection. The story is based on Jay Anson's novel, and while the book itself is fairly well-written (yes, I have read it), this film adaptation is a little choppy. The main idea gets across, but there are many little things that the audience feels the need to pick-up on, only to have them receive no explanation afterwards. The strange happenings in the house turn out to be related to something to do with an Indian burial ground, but that's all we really know, because none of it is ever elaborated on, and things begin to become a little too meandering.
It isn't all bad though, it has some redeeming qualities. There is a handful of really spooky and memorable scenes and some nice cinematography to be seen. While the script has some holes, the main story is actually very scary. The 'true story' claim may be real truth or just plain fiction, I'm not really sure what the think about it, but things like this tend to spook me so I found the entire premise to be fairly creepy. The acting in the film is decent overall, but not anything award-worthy. James Brolin's performance becomes a little silly during his morphing stage in the film, and is very clearly overacting in quite a large amount of the movie. Margot Kidder does this as well, shouting her lines quite often, but I liked her performance better. Rod Steiger plays the role of the priest rather well, probably turning in the best performance of the film.
Overall, "The Amityville Horror" has it's pluses and minuses, but I can't give it an overly high rating. It's a decent but flawed haunted house film, and it's a "classic" by popularity. If the film wasn't supposedly based on actual events, I don't think that it would have received the hype or status that it did. It's not a horrible film and I'd recommend it to horror fans, but it's not great either. Just a tad above average, but worth seeing at least once. 6/10.