The Amityville Horror Prequel Amityville 1974 Moving Forward

In 1974, Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr. killed his father, mother, two brothers, and two sisters in their Long Island, New York home. The following year, the Lutz family moved into the residence, only to claim to have experienced various supernatural events, inspiring them to leave the home after less than a month of living there. The events inspired the book The Amityville Horror, which went on to be adapted as a film in 1979. The word “Amityville” instantly conjures a number of frightening images into the minds of horror fans, with Deadline confirming that a new prequel project, Amityville 1974, is being developed.

As opposed to delivering audiences another story of the Lutz family, Deadline detailed that the prequel’s focus “shifts back to the traumatic murders that reputedly set the supernatural stage for the nation’s most notorious haunted-house legend.”

“This is a story that takes its jumping-off point from the true facts surrounding the Defeo tragedy,” director Casey La Scala shared. “But also focuses on the human drama that took place inside a family as they were relentlessly stalked by a terrifying evil.”

Between sequels to the original narrative, standalone films, and even documentaries, the true events have inspired nearly two dozen films. Earlier this year, The Amityville Murders debuted, which also depicted the “true life” events that occurred leading up to that fateful night in 1974.

“We are beyond thrilled to introduce Amityville 1974,” producer Jeff Bowler said. “Casey has a truly unique and terrifying vision for the fright franchise and audiences will experience horror like never before with this film.”

Despite “Amityville” being a well-known location in the world of horror, the truth behind the events might not be as otherworldly as films would lead us to believe. While there’s no debating that the murders happened, the various claims about the supernatural events that occurred afterwards are unconfirmed.

On the more mundane side of reports, the family reported often waking up at 3:15 AM (the time at which DeFeo murdered his family), massive amounts of flies swarmed the house, cold spots, strange smells, and the discovery of a hidden room that did not appear on the blueprints that made their dog anxious. On the more extreme end of experiences, the five-year-old Missy Lutz claimed to have befriended a demonic pig monster, mother Kathy Lutz claimed to see demons in the fireplace, and Kathy also felt “embraced” by an unseen love while she was asleep.

Stay tuned for details on Amityville 1974.

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