When you hear the title THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, chances are you immediately think of the iconic design of the haunted house from the first film. With twelve movies in the franchise you can be forgiven if you don’t remember much else about them. The only consistent thing about the movies has been the house and at least one character being possessed.
The last theatrical released film in the franchise was 2005’s THE AMITYVILLE HORROR starring Ryan Reynolds. Since then, two direct to video films have been made. Now, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY producer Blumhouse Productions wants to try and bring it back. Starring Disney Channel actress Bella Thorne and Jennifer Jason Leigh, AMITYVILLE: THE AWAKENING keeps the house and the infamous real life DeFeo murders that have been at the center of each film in the series.
A single mother moves her three children into the haunted house not knowing of the house’s bloody history.
AMITYVILLE: THE AWAKENING is directed by Franck Khalfoun who remade the cult classic MANIAC with Elijah Wood. The movie certainly looks creepy and could be a nice diversion in the usually garbage month for movies that is January. I would never venture to say this looks like a good movie, but it could be better than almost every other film in the AMITYVILLE franchise.
AMITYVILLE: THE AWAKENING opens on January 2, 2015.