The Amityville Horror is a 1979 American horror film based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Jay Anson. The film was directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starred James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger. After purchasing and moving into their new home on 112 Ocean Avenue, a house where a mass murder had been committed the year before, the Lutz family experiences a series of frightening paranormal events, causing them to flee the house only 28 days after moving in. The story is reportedly based on the real-life experiences of the Lutz family, though these events have been the subject of much controversy.
The on-location scenes of The Amityville Horror were filmed at a house in Toms River, New Jersey, which had been converted to look like the 112 Ocean Avenue home after the authorities in Amityville denied permission for filming on the actual location. Exterior scenes were also filmed in Toms River and Point Pleasant Beach. Local police and ambulance workers would play extras in the film, while the Toms River Volunteer Fire Company was used to provide the rain during several scenes. Jay Anson’s screenplay, based upon his bestselling novel, was rejected by the producers who opted for a version written by Sandor Stern.
James Brolin was hesitant when first offered the role of George Lutz. Told that there was no script, he obtained a copy of Anson’s novel to read. Brolin started the book and read until two o’clock in the morning. He had hung up a pair of his pants in the room earlier and during an especially tense passage of the book, the pants fell to the floor. Brolin jumped from his chair in fright. It was then that Brolin decided to do the movie. Brolin became friendly with George Lutz and his family, though he was highly doubtful of their story. Brolin later said he couldn’t get a job for two years because of his performance in this film. Nevertheless, this depends on what one defines as a ‘job’, since he starred in Night of the Juggler (1980) as Sean Boyd, and in High Risk (1981) as Stone (1980).
