Last week brought us the news that MANIAC remake director Franck Khalfoun was in talks to direct AMITYVILLE for Blumhouse Productions and Dimension Films and now we've learned that FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH and SINGLE WHITE FEMALE star Jennifer Jason Leigh and HOME INVASION actress Bella Thorne are set to move into that most famous of haunted houses.
Dimension Films' has had a new AMITYVILLE project bouncing around quite a bit over the past couple of years. At one time the proposed film was to be titled THE AMITYVILLE HORROR: THE LOST TAPES and was scheduled for a 2014 release, but for one reason or another that particular film never happened. Back in December producer Jason Blum let us know that the film wasn't dead and that Dimension had set a January 2, 2015 release date for the newly titled AMITYVILLE.
Our brothers in blood over at Bloody Disgusting shared the news that Jennifer Jason Leigh was the first to sign on for AMITYVILLE, set to play Joan, a single mother raising three kids all on her own. The family move into the infamous “Amityville” house, only to learn that it has a very dark history.
The Wrap followed up that news with word that Disney Channel starlet Bella Thorne, who recently completed work on Voltage Pictures' thriller HOME INVASION, had also joined the cast of AMITYVILLE. No word yet as to what character she'll be playing but chances are she'll play one of Leigh's character's children.
Daniel Farrands and Casey La Scala co-wrote the script and are expected to produce with Jason Blum of hit factory Blumhouse.
Dimension had planned on reigniting the popular horror franchise using a found-footage angle but that idea has been dropped, as the format appears to have fallen out of favor with discerning genre fans. AMITYVILLE remains scheduled for release on Jan. 2, 2015.