Why the 2005 Amityville Horror remake became a legal battleground for its real-life subject
In short: While the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror was a commercial success, it sparked a bitter legal feud between the studio and the real George Lutz. Lutz denounced the project as drivel, claiming the filmmakers ignored his input, leading to a lawsuit that remained unresolved until his death in 2006.
Directed by Andrew Douglas, the 2005 film serves as the ninth entry in the franchise and a remake of the 1979 original. It depicts the harrowing experiences of the Lutz family, who moved into 412 Ocean Avenue in 1975, just one year after Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his family at the same address. The narrative weaves together paranormal activity, the history of a 17th-century cult preacher named Reverend Jeremiah Ketcham, and the eventual possession of George Lutz.
Despite negative critical reception—with many reviewers labeling it derivative and overly reliant on jump scares—the film performed well financially. It grossed over $108 million worldwide against a $19 million budget. Critics like Peter Travers noted that the film lacked the subtle, nerve-wracking tension of classic horror, opting instead for a busy, theme-park-ride aesthetic. Others, such as Ruthe Stein, argued that the film’s minimal use of computer-generated effects gave it a raw, schlocky quality that actually benefited the production.
The production process itself was marked by controversy. MGM claimed the film was based on new research, but George Lutz maintained that he was never consulted. After his attorney’s attempts to communicate with the studio were ignored, Lutz filed a countersuit in response to the studio's motion for declaratory relief. The legal conflict highlighted the friction between creative adaptation and the real-life experiences of those who claim to have lived through the events.
Beyond the courtroom, the film left a physical legacy. The house used for filming, located in Salem, Wisconsin, was modified with iconic quarter-moon windows that cost $60,000 to install. These windows were later removed and sold at an estate sale in 2017. The film also holds a minor place in media history as the final Dimension Films title ever released on VHS, marking the end of an era for home media.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: The Amityville Horror (2005 film)
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