The Amityville Horror (2005)

Director:

Andrew Douglas

Writers (WGA):

Scott Kosar (screenplay)
Jay Anson (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

15 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Based on the true story.

Plot:

A family is terrorized by demonic forces after moving into a home that was the site of a grisly mass-murder.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Priest | Ghost | Haunted House | Nightmare

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Ryan Reynolds	...	George Lutz
Melissa George	...	Kathy Lutz
Jesse James	...	Billy Lutz
Jimmy Bennett	...	Michael Lutz
Chloe Moretz	...	Chelsea Lutz (as Chloë Grace Moretz)
Rachel Nichols	...	Lisa
Philip Baker Hall	...	Father Callaway
Isabel Conner	...	Jodie Defeo
Brendan Donaldson	...	Ronald Defeo
Annabel Armour	...	Realtor
Rich Komenich	...	Chief of Police
David Gee	...	ER Doctor
Danny McCarthy	...	Officer Greguski
Nancy Lollar	...	Librarian
José Taitano	...	Stitch
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorian Kingi	...	Scary Leashed Indian (uncredited)
Marie Lynn	...	Store patron (uncredited)
Jenny Strubin	...	Grocery Cashier (uncredited)
Lenore Thomas	...	Nurse Fuller (uncredited)

Directed by
Andrew Douglas

Writing credits (WGA)
Scott Kosar		(screenplay)
Jay Anson		(novel)
Sandor Stern		(earlier screenplay)
George Lutz		(material) and
Kathy Lutz		(material) (as Kathleen Lutz)

Produced by
Michael Bay	....	producer
Matthew Cohan	....	associate producer
David Crockett	....	executive producer
Randall Emmett	....	co-executive producer
Ted Field	....	executive producer
Andrew Form	....	producer
Bradley Fuller	....	producer (as Brad Fuller)
George Furla	....	co-executive producer
Paul Mason	....	co-executive producer
Stefan Sonnenfeld	....	associate producer
Steve Whitney	....	co-executive producer (as Steven Whitney)

Original Music by
Steve Jablonsky

Cinematography by
Peter Lyons Collister

Film Editing by
Roger Barton
Christian Wagner

Casting by
Lisa Fields

Production Design by
Jennifer Williams

Art Direction by
Marco Rubeo

Set Decoration by
Daniel B. Clancy

Costume Design by
David C. Robinson

Makeup Department
Howard Berger	....	special makeup effects artist
Howard Berger	....	special makeup effects designer and creator
Jake Garber	....	special makeup effects on-set supervisor
Grady Holder	....	special makeup effects artist: K.N.B. EFX Group
Dominic Mango	....	key hair stylist
Helen Marchfield	....	makeup artist
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup effects artist
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup effects designer and creator (as Greg Nicotero)
Douglas Noe	....	prosthetics makeup artist
Suzi Ostos	....	key makeup artist
Andy Schoneberg	....	special makeup effects artist: additional photography

Production Management
David Crockett	....	production manager
Wileen Dragovan	....	assistant production manager
Tim Pedegana	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Thomas Coe	....	assistant director
Vince Duque	....	dayplayer second second assistant director
Mark Palansky	....	second unit director
Craig A. Pinckes	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Thomas J. Cabela	....	assistant to production designer
Kevin Cross	....	set designer
Frank D. Dambra	....	lead painter
Craig Denham	....	graphic designer
Matthew Ferreira	....	set dresser
Jonathan Gesinski	....	storyboard artist
Michael D. Gianneschi	....	assistant property master
Stephanie Gilliam	....	set designer
Gary Happ	....	construction foreman
Ashley Eden Kessler	....	buyer
Jonas Kirk	....	construction coordinator: additional photography
Ellen Lampl	....	graphic designer
Nathan Mack	....	carpenter
Matt McKinney	....	art department production assistant
James P. Meehan	....	assistant property master
Mike Monckton	....	painter
Jon Nicholson	....	on-set dresser
Tyler Osman	....	construction coordinator
Kerry Sanders	....	set designer
Timothy W. Tiedje	....	property master
Scott Troha	....	leadman
Guillaume DeLouche	....	property master: additional photography (uncredited)
Phil Ellman	....	greensman (uncredited)
Jorge Paris	....	graphics (uncredited)
Clint Schultz	....	graphic designer: additional photography (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert Althoff	....	sound recordist
Steve Bartkowicz	....	re-recording engineer
Michael J. Broomberg	....	foley artist
Kerry Ann Carmean	....	sound effects editor
Daniel S. Irwin	....	dialogue & adr editor
Kenneth L. Johnson	....	sound editor
Michael Kamper	....	sound effects editor
Bob Myers	....	sound technician
Robert Bruce Myers	....	utility sound
Kelly Oxford	....	supervising sound editor
Alan Rankin	....	supervising sound editor
Blair Scheller	....	boom operator
Pieter A. Schlosser	....	assistant: Steve Jablonsky
Brad Sherman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Unsun Song	....	sound re-recordist
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Jim Stuebe	....	production sound mixer
Lucy Sustar	....	foley mixer
Jon Taylor	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tami Treadwell	....	adr recordist
Karen Vassar	....	sound effects editor
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist

Special Effects by
Michael Ahasay	....	special effects foreman
Jay Appleberry	....	special effects foreman
David J. Barker	....	special effects
David J. Chamerski	....	special effects technician
Ryan Evans	....	special effects
Steve Koch	....	designer: KNB EFX Group
John D. Milinac	....	special effects director
Steven Munson	....	mold/technical department: K.N.B. EFX Group
Dirk Rogers	....	special effects technician: K.N.B. Effects Group
Patricia Urias	....	special effects: foam department
Lindsay Vivian	....	special effects runner
Jenny Wallace	....	special effects buyer
Chip Williams	....	special effects technician: casting/fabrication

Visual Effects by
Andy Barrios	....	Inferno artist: Asylum
Judith Bell	....	rotoscoper
Elissa Bello	....	lead rotoscoper
Kevin Bouchez	....	compositor
Timothy Clark	....	matte painter
Brandon Criswell	....	rotoscoper
Kevin Culhane	....	3D tracking
Brian Cuscino	....	I/O
Amit Dhawal	....	rotoscoper
Sean Andrew Faden	....	visual effects supervisor
Adam Frazier	....	I/O
Roger Guyett	....	visual effects supervisor: ILM
Matthew Hackett	....	animator
Steven Hawkins	....	I/O
Jen Hutchinson	....	controller
Joni Jacobson	....	compositor
Kim Jorgensen	....	visual effects producer
Zach Justman	....	assistant visual effects editor
Joe Ken	....	Inferno artist: Asylum
Bill Laverty	....	chief engineer
James Do Young Lee	....	rotoscoper
Janet Lewin	....	visual effects producer
Michael Lori	....	3D tracking
Cornelia Magas	....	rotoscoper
Emma McGuinness	....	visual effects executive producer
Nathan McGuinness	....	senior visual effects supervisor
Tony Meister	....	digital artist
Ryan Meredith	....	visual effects coordinator
Derek Milner	....	assistant color timer
Sébastien Moreau	....	Inferno compositor: ILM
Steve Muangman	....	compositor
Perri Pecora	....	compositor
Gerald Ragland	....	digital intermediate assistant
Kosta Saric	....	visual effects editor: Asylum Visual Effects
John Scheer	....	digital effects artist
Hilary Sperling	....	compositor
Marty Taylor	....	compositor
Jessica Teach	....	visual effects coordinator
Zachary Tucker	....	animator
Aaron Vest	....	modeler
Steve Vojkovic	....	digital opticals
Jeff Werner	....	CG producer
Yuichiro Yamashita	....	animator
Tonia Young	....	rotoscoper
Beth D'Amato	....	digital paint and roto artist (uncredited)
Claas Henke	....	compositor: Asylum (uncredited)

Stunts
Tommy Bacini	....	stunts
Kenny Bates	....	action coordinator
Kurt Bryant	....	stunt coordinator
Stacey Carino	....	stunts
Brian Christensen	....	stunts
Laura Dash	....	stunts
Tobiasz Daszkiewicz	....	stunts (as Tobias Daszkiewicz)
Shauna Douglas	....	stunts
Shauna Duggins	....	stunt double
Richard Epper	....	stunt rigger
Richard Epper	....	stunts
Mark Harper	....	stunt coordinator
Rick Le Fevour	....	stunt coordinator (as Rick LeFevour)
Tom Lowell	....	stunts
James R. Mammoser	....	stunts (as James Mammoser)
Larry Nicholas	....	stunts
Carl Paoli	....	stunt double: Ryan Reynolds
Linda Perlin	....	stunts
Jodi Starnes	....	stunts
Tom Vicini	....	stunt double: Billy
Tom Vicini	....	stunts (as Gaetano Vicini)

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Alessi	....	rigging key grip
Faires Anderson	....	Steadicam operator
Cortland Boyd	....	key grip
Kevin Boyd	....	key video assist operator
Fernando M. Briones	....	dolly grip
Robert C. Carlson	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Mark Castelaz	....	gaffer: second unit
Christopher M. Collar Jr.	....	grip (as Chris Collar)
Flor Collins	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Dawn Copeland	....	electrician
Erik Curtis	....	first assistant camera: water unit
Chris Dame	....	remote head technician
Jaime Dawkins	....	additional grip
Darrin DeLoach	....	first assistant camera: additional photography
Rachel Donofrie	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Christopher Duskin	....	additional cinematography
Chris Freres	....	rigging best boy grip
Joe Gajewski	....	additional grip
Gregg Gannett	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Chris Glomp	....	best boy electric
Joseph Guerino	....	electrician
Joseph Guerino	....	rigging gaffer
Peter Iovino	....	still photographer
Timothy Jipping	....	grip
Matt Johnson	....	additional electrician
Shane D. Kelly	....	chief lighting technician
Dennis J. Leahy	....	generator operator
Matthew LeCrone	....	additional electrician
Rashaad Lewis	....	grip
Ken Little Jr.	....	assistant camera
Helmut Luchs	....	grip: second unit
Anthony J. Lullo	....	electrician
Anthony J. Lullo	....	gaffer: second unit
Joseph M. Lyons	....	electrician (as Joe Lyons)
Blake E. Matthys	....	grip
Bradley T. Matthys	....	grip
Mark E. Matthys	....	best boy grip
Steven Matthys	....	best boy grip: second unit
Peter Mercurio	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Chris Mulsoff	....	best boy electric: second unit
Wilson Mylander	....	electrician
Ray Patrick	....	super technocrane operator
Mark Pickens	....	second key grip
Keith Pokorski	....	crane operator: Technocrane
Stephanie Power	....	electrician
Christopher Rejano	....	additional electrician
Chris Ryerson	....	dolly grip
Chris Ryerson	....	key grip: second unit
David Schmalz	....	video assist operator
Andrew Shulkind	....	operator: libra head
Dean M. Simmon	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Andy Smith	....	playback operator
Andy Smith	....	video assist operator
Kurt E. Soderling	....	director of aerial photography
Scott Thiele	....	grip
Rick Thomas	....	gaffer
Dan Urbain	....	film loader
Billy Wauer	....	additional electrician
Kevin Wisor	....	additional electrician
Mark N. Woods	....	crane operator: Technocrane
Joe Carpita	....	camera intern (uncredited)
Kyle Holden	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Danielle Aufiero	....	casting assistant
Meagan Lewis	....	casting assistant
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	adr voice casting
Matt Miller	....	casting associate
Mickie Paskal	....	casting: Chicago
Marisa Ross	....	casting associate
Danny Roth	....	casting: New York
Jennifer Rudnicke	....	casting: Chicago

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Patrick Caulfield	....	set costumer
Miriam Hoffman-Durand	....	seamstress (as Miriam Hoffman)
Jonathan Kinnas	....	wardrobe assistant
Gina Panno	....	costume supervisor
Heather Pollock	....	additional set costumer
Ellen Ryba	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Rob Doolittle	....	digital on-line editor
Leigh Folsom	....	first assistant editor
Nicholas Hasson	....	digital intermediate editor
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Jackie Lee	....	digital intermediate producer
Missy Papageorge	....	digital intermediate producer
Chris Regan	....	color timer
Erik Rogers	....	digital intermediate producer
John Scheer	....	digital intermediate on-line editor
Craig W. Smith	....	apprentice editor
Stefan Sonnenfeld	....	colorist
Fulvio Valsangiacomo	....	assistant editor
Salvatore Catanzaro	....	digital intermediate assist (uncredited)
Mike Chiado	....	digital intermediate technologist (uncredited)
Mark T. Osborne	....	additional colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Robb Boyd	....	music editor: temp
James Dooley	....	additional music programmer (as James Michael Dooley)
James Dooley	....	composer: additional music (as James Michael Dooley)
Clay Duncan	....	additional music programmer
Clay Duncan	....	composer: additional music
Jonathan Flood	....	additional music programmer
Jonathan Flood	....	composer: additional music
Bruce Fowler	....	score orchestrator
Alan Meyerson	....	music scoring mixer
Pieter A. Schlosser	....	technical score advisor
Tom Trafalski	....	music editor
Booker White	....	music preparation

Transportation Department
Joey Freitas	....	transportation
Brian McQuery	....	transportation production assistant

Other crew
Olivier Agostini	....	production assistant
Robert Amico	....	stand-in: Phillip Baker Hall, re-shoots
Jeremy Beiermann	....	assistant production office coordinator
Allison Bergstrand	....	assistant: Mr. Field
Melissa Bickerton	....	adr loop group
Senica Billingsley	....	production assistant
Adam Boor	....	office production assistant
Kevin Boyd	....	video coordinator
Brady Breen	....	location manager
Dru Anne Carlson	....	script supervisor
Jeffrey Caruso	....	assistant production coordinator
Beth Casey	....	animal trainer
Bill Casey	....	animal trainer
Rosie Charbonneau	....	assistant: Randall Emmett and George Furla
Jason Cosgrove	....	business and legal affairs
Patrick Cunningham	....	key on-set production assistant
Joli Eberhart	....	assistant: Michael Bay
Liam Ford	....	data manager: CO3
Ira Gerber	....	production assistant
Carrie Goodman	....	location scout
P.J. Haines	....	chef
Virgil E. Hammond III	....	executive specialist: Cinecoach Production Systems
Sheryl L. Hammond	....	executive specialist: Cinecoach Production Systems
Clayton Hauck	....	additional production assistant
Rosa Yang Kato	....	assistant location manager (as Rosa Yang Kato)
Bradley Kettlety	....	assistant: Mr. Douglas
Perry M. Kimura	....	digital film scanning and recording
Sara Nudelman	....	office production assistant
Disha Patel	....	production assistant
Diane Perry	....	on-set masseuse
John M. Pisani	....	publicist
Martha Provenzano	....	assistant: Mr. Form and Mr. Fuller
Katie Pruitt	....	production assistant
James Reem	....	first aid
Robert Rizzolo	....	set production assistant: re-shoots
Marco A. Rodriguez	....	remote head technician
Sandy Sfeir	....	first assistant accountant
Jenny Siff	....	production staff: additional photography
Michele Soefer	....	assistant: Mr. Form and Mr. Fuller
Stefan Sonnenfeld	....	executive producer: Company 3
Andy Spellman	....	additional production assistant
Helen Stergiou	....	payroll accountant
Laura Torrance	....	studio teacher
Jeff Valeri	....	production coordinator
Kenneth Yoder	....	production assistant
Edward Albolote	....	assistant: Michael Bay (uncredited)
Graham Geraghty	....	assistant: Michael Bay (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dimension Films
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• United Artists
• Platinum Dunes
• Radar Pictures

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International Italia (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International Spain (2005) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• RCV Film Distribution (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2005) (Finland) (theatrical)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Veronica (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)

Special Effects

• K.N.B. Effects Group (special makeup effects)
• Asylum VFX (visual effects)
• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) (special visual effects)

Other Companies

• American Roadshow Motion Picture And Television Catering  catering
• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Sessions Payroll Management  extras payroll services
• Transportation Resources  transportation equipment (Los Angeles)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language, brief sexuality and drug use. (edited for re-rating)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | Taiwan:R-12 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:16 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #41520) | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

1500 Busch Pky., Buffalo Grove, Illinois, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

This was the last picture Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) released as an independent company. On 8 April 2005, the studio was acquired by several companies, including Sony, in the middle of the promotion for this movie. Several other films, including Into the Blue (2005) and The Pink Panther (2006), were already produced and set for release by MGM at the time of the buyout, and were later released by Sony Pictures.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the door in the basement opens, George appears with a pump action shotgun. He cocks the shotgun, loading the chamber with a live round. As he chases Kathy and the children through the house, he cocks the action again, which would eject the previously loaded shell, and no shell was ejected.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The House: Catch them! Kill them!

Movie Connections:

References Halloween (1978)

Decent enough for Amityville and haunted house film fans, otherwise approach with caution

A remake of the film by the same name from 1979, which was based on Jay Anson's book about a supposedly "true" haunting, Amityville Horror begins in familiar territory by showing us Ronald DeFeo, Jr. (Brendan Donaldson) murdering his family. A year later, newlyweds George (Ryan Reynolds) and Kathy Lutz (Melissa George), with three kids from her previous marriage in tow, buy the vacant house at a steal, although they hesitate a bit once they learn why it's so cheap. Strange occurrences begin not long after they settle in. George becomes increasingly impatient and hostile, daughter Chelsea (Chloe Moretz) begins seeing the dead DeFeo girl, and so on. The film recounts their very brief but tumultuous stay at the home the Lutz's believed would be their dream home, but which turned into a nightmare.

After seeing the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), which had the same production team, principal scriptwriter and visual effects team, and which I loved--I gave it a 10--I was completely psyched for the Amityville Horror remake. After all, unlike my view of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), which I also gave a 10, I think the 1979 Amityville has more than its share of problems. I like the original in spite of that, but producer Michael Bay and crew had plenty of opportunity for improvement. Unfortunately, although some aspects of this remake are better in my view, it suffers from a host of new problems. Like the first, the assets are good enough to transcend the flaws so that it squeaks by with a very low "B", or an 8.

In my view, there are two primary problems, with at least one a bit ineffable. The more effable problem is that relative newcomer director Andrew Douglas (his previous effort was 2003's relatively little-known documentary Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus) instructs cinematographer Peter Lyons Collister to shoot the film using way too much close framing. I repeatedly felt the urge to take a couple steps back so I could better discern the action, the settings, the staging of scenes, and so on.

The second problem lies more in the realm of writing and editing--the film just doesn't seem to flow right. The transition from scene to scene often feels almost arbitrary. Even though Reynolds does a great job in his transformation as George Lutz (and the acting is superb all around), there was a sense of buildup in the original that this remake is missing. Further indicative of the transition problems, although seemingly minor, is the fact that the date, or the day of the Lutz' stay at the home, is sometimes given as a title and sometimes not. It seems like they just forgot to add the day titles for half of the scenes. Overall the final cut gives an impression of being hastily put together.

And that's a shame, because there is a lot of potential here. The house itself is impressive, as it needs to be, and the overall style of the film is nicely atmospheric. I was also impressed with the production design by Jennifer Williams, which among other assets tends to have the period setting spot-on. For example, I was a huge Kiss, Alice Cooper, etc. fan during this era (and I'm still a fan). Williams has a number of Kiss and Cooper images in the film. She very carefully ensures that none are anachronistic.

Even though scriptwriter Scott Kosar disappointingly expressed a lack of enthusiasm for Anson's book and the original film, he reintroduces a number of elements from the book that work well, but which were left out of the original film. He also introduces new scenarios that in some cases are among the best material of the film--such as a breathtaking sequence on the roof of the home, and the extension of the mythology behind the "haunting". He also greatly improves on sequences such as the babysitter. But on the other hand, he inexplicably changes core elements of the story, like the kind of being that Jody is.

Anyone frustrated with the typical horror style of the later 1990s and early 2000s may find this remake troublesome. As one might expect with Michael Bay producing, Douglas is encouraged to use "MTV-styled" cinematography and editing. There are a number of extended techniques that have become somewhat clichéd in recent years. Douglas has characters do that fast headshaking movement ala Jacob's Ladder (1990). There are sections shot in a cinema vérité style. There are instances of quickly changing film stocks and processing methods, and so on. Even though I usually love all of that stuff, and I'm actually a fan of Bay's work, I have to agree that it's not exactly the most natural fit in this case. But for me, it's not something I would subtract points for either.

Maybe the most surprising fact is that this version of Amityville Horror is so close, structurally, to the original. There is nothing here that is a big surprise, and anyone who has seen the 1979 film a number of times will know exactly what's coming next, or close enough to it. Whether this is positive or not depends on your opinion of the original film, and just how highly you cherish originality for its own sake. Big Amityville fans and big haunted house film fans will probably enjoy the film enough. Everyone else should approach with more caution.