The Story Behind The Screams - The DeFeo Family Murders (The Amityville Horror 1979)

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https://english.elpais.com/usa/2022-01-10/it-wasnt-ghosts-but-something-worse-the-brutal-truth-about-amityville.html

The Story Behind The Screams - The DeFeo Family Murders - The Amityville Horror 1979

Movie Plot - Based on a true story that writer Jay Anson claimed, The Amityville Horror is about a large house on the coast of Long Island where newlyweds George and Kathy Lutz and their three children move into the house that they hope will be their dream house which ends up in terror. Despite full disclosure by the real estate agent of the house's history, George and Kathy buy the house. George says, "Houses don't have memories," but they turn to their family priest Father Delaney who believes the house is haunted and performs an exorcism on the house. But satanic forces in the place cause him to become blind and make him very sick. With the help of another priest Father Bolen and a police detective, George and Kathy face the fears of the house, but not knowing the forces are planning to possess George and then the children.

Real-life Story - Thirty miles outside of New York City, nestled in the Long Island town of Amityville, stands the house forever linked to the Amityville Horror phenomenon. On November 13, 1974, the estate was the scene of mass murder. Using a .35 Marlin rifle, 23-year-old Ronald J. DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family while they were asleep, which included his parents and four siblings.

Crazy Movie Trivia -

James Brolin was hesitant when he was first offered the role of George Lutz. He was told that there was no script and that he must obtain a copy of Jay Anson's novel and read it as soon as possible. Brolin started the book one evening at seven o'clock and was still reading at two o'clock in the morning. He had hung a pair of his pants up in the room earlier and at a really "tense" part in the book, the pants fell down from wherever they had been hanging. Brolin jumped out of his chair, nearly crashing his head into the ceiling. Then, Brolin said, "There's something to this story." He agreed to do the movie.

For years rumors have circulated that the movie was to be filmed in the actual house in Amityville, NY, but the production team was too frightened to film inside the house. The reality is the town of Amityville denied American International Pictures permission to film any scenes whatsoever in Amityville in an attempt to distance themselves from any publicity. Therefore, AIP found a two-story Dutch-Colonial home in Toms River, NJ, in which to film the exteriors. A third-floor facade was added, along with the crescent moon windows on both sides of the house. Almost all interior scenes were filmed at MGM studios in Culver City, CA. A few interior scenes were filmed inside the actual Toms River house, including the scene when George returns from the boathouse in the middle of the night, then walks onto the sun porch to light a cigarette. In that scene, you can see there's no wallpaper and no door in the living room, whereas on the soundstage the living room has wallpaper and a door near the bookshelf.

Cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp admitted to having a hard time filming the scenes with the flies, as he claimed to be scared of insects. He says that whenever he was to film a scene with a close-up facial shot of a fly right in the camera, he would look away or close his eyes and hope for a good shot. He also lost nearly 30 pounds because he refused to eat, saying the flies made him lose his appetite.

In hopes of creating more publicity for the film, the studio would concoct stories of "weird" occurrences on the set of the film.
The basement featured in this movie, is shown to be a dark and creepy dungeon like room. In reality, the real home in Amityville has a finished basement that was used as a rec room when the DeFeo family lived in the home. The other portion of the basement is used as a laundry room and storage area. The original house also had a swimming pool at one time, until a newer set of owners had it filled in.

The Lutz family went on to live a relatively normal life free of paranormal activity after escaping the house, but their peace was short-lived. George and Kathy Lutz divorced in the late 1980s. George died of heart disease on 8 May 2006, in Clark County, Nevada, and Kathy died of emphysema on 17 August 2004, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The three children--Daniel, Christopher, and Missy--are adults and remain out of the public eye. Their names were changed for the film.

The film never makes it clear what was happening to Carolyn once she finally saw the red room in the basement of the house. It was commonly believed among fans and viewers that she was experiencing possession. Helen Shaver, who plays Carolyn, is often asked the question and answers that she wasn't experiencing a demonic possession, but rather a sensory overload. Carolyn is a clairvoyant, and sensitive to the supernatural, so she was experiencing the pain, torture, and sadness of all the souls trapped in hell being thrown at her all at once, as the red room is said to be the entrance to hell. She covered her ears in the scene because she could hear the screams of agony belonging to all the punished souls in hell, causing her a sensory overload.

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Thanks! Stay spooky!!

-Aran

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