Stuart Rosenberg's 1979 horror classic The Amityville Horror celebrated its 40th-anniversary last year. Based on the true account written by Jay Anson, the film follows George and Kathy Lutz (James Brolin and Margot Kidder), a typical American couple who are tormented by a series of terrifying supernatural events upon purchasing a new house where grisly murders took place one year prior.
Released in theaters in July 1979, The Amityville Horror became a massive box-office hit, turning a $4.7 million budget into a whopping $86 million domestic grosser. As a result, the film spawned 10 sequels and counting. Here's how they all stack up with one another.
The Amityville Curse (1990) - 2.7
According to IMDB, not even Kim Coates could save The Amityville Curse from the critical doldrums. The straight-to-video release follows a quintet of dimwitted dopes who spend the night in the abandoned Amityville abode, only to be haunted by sinister apparitions.
Directed by Tom Berry, the action picks up when married couple Marvin and Debbie purchase the accursed home and begin renovating it with three of their pals. Debbie has nightmares of a murdered priest, leading to mass demonic possession.
Amityville: A New Generation (1993) - 3.8
Horror icons Lin Shaye, David Naughton, and Terry O'Quinn star in A New Generation, a straight-to-video Amityville sequel in which an accursed mirror from the mortifying manse finds its way into the home of another family.
When photographer Keys Terry (Ross Partridge) is given an old mirror, he is unaware that it hails from the haunted Amityville home. Keyes in turn gifts the mirror to a friend, who soon realizes that people can see their horrific fates reflected in the glass. The demonically possessed mirror proceeds to gorily waylay several victims.
Amityville 3D (1983) -4.1
3D-technology was all the rage in 1983, and The Amityville Horror franchise tried its best to capitalize on the fad. Meg Ryan and Laurie Laughlin star in the film.
Directed by Richard Fleischer, the film centers on John Baxter (Tony Roberts), a photographer who agrees to move into the infamous Amityville home to disprove the theory that it is haunted by the murdered DeFeo family members. When frightening phenomena begin to occur, Baxter stubbornly sweeps it under the rug until hs ex-wife Nancy (Tess Harper) becomes victimized.
Amityville Dollhouse (1996) - 4.2
One of the more esoteric Amityville outings includes Dollhouse, in which a miniaturized replica of the titular terror-dome is created and given to a little girl to play with.
Once newlyweds Bill and Claire move into the evil 112 Ocean Avenue address, they receive the aforesaid dollhouse. Despite some eerie happenings, Bill gives the dollhouse to their young daughter Jessica (Rachel Duncan). The more Rachel plays with the toy the more violent paranormal activity occurs.
Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes (1989) - 4.3
The only Amityville Horror flick to be released as a TV-movie is The Evil Escapes, directed by Sandor Stern and starring Patty Duke.
Rather than a malefic mirror or deadly dollhouse, a lethal lamp harbors the demonic entity from the original Amityville Horror house before making its way to a California mansion to wreak bloody havoc. The demonic force poses as the long-dead father of Jessica (Brandy Gold) in the attempt to possess her and her entire family.
Amityville 1992: It's About Time (1992) - 4.6
The sixth entry in The Amityville Horror canon belongs to Amityville 1992: It's About Time, another offshoot in which an accursed object from the original home is unwittingly brought to a new possessive place.
In this case, architect Jacob Sterling (Stephen Macht) brings an ornate mantle clock to his home in California after finding it in the rubble left after the Amityville home on Long Island was demolished. As soon as Jacob props the clock on his shelf, a skein of eerie occurrences takes place.
The Amityville Murders (2018) - 4.7
Although it ranks in the middle of the pack according to IMDB, The Amityville Murders is only bested by Amityville 3D as the lowest-rated film of the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes with an abysmal 7% approval.
Panned for the same reason as his movie The Haunting of Sharon Tate, Daniel Farrands' movie has been criticized for playing fast and loose with the facts of the real-life case the movie is based on, doing so for gratuitous scare-tactics and cheap instances of gore. The film recounts the ill-fated night of November 13, 1974, in which the DeFeo family was murdered by their own family member.
Amityville: The Awakening (2017) - 4.8
For one of the series' more recent entries, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bella Thorne, and Cameron Monaghan headline Amityville: The Awakening, which is also one of the better-received Amityville sequels.
The film begins as a domestic drama in which single mother Joan (Jason Leigh) moves her three children into a more affordable home to pay for her son's medical bills. Unbeknownst to the children, Joan has moved them into the notorious Amityville house, leading to an escalation of intense demonic possession.
Amityville II: The Possession (1981) - 5.5
In Amityville II, Tony Montelli (Burt Young) moves his family of six into what appears to be their dream house. On the very first night that they move in, inexplicably eerie phenomena begin to occur. Doors begin banging, evil messages written on the wall, a mysterious tunnel leading to an unknown place is discovered, etc.
As time passes, it soon becomes clear that Tony's eldest child Sonny (Jack Magner) is the target of a wickedly possessive demon.
The Amityville Horror (2005) - 6.0
Future Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George topline the official big-budget remake of The Amityville Horror, which is viewed second-best by collective IMDB voters.
The remake closely adheres to the plot of the original, in which an idyllic nuclear family unit movies into their dream home, unaware that the price has been reduced due to the grisly slaughter that occurred there one year prior. The R-rated remake also stars a young Chloe Grace Moretz in her feature film debut.
The Amityville Horror (1979) - 6.3
It should come as no surprise to see the original Amityville Horror movie rank the highest among the film franchise, according to IMDB. James Brolin and Margot Kidder star as a married couple who relocate their three young children into an idyllic new home, only to be terrorized and tormented by a vengeful spirit.
The spirit turns out to be that of Ronald DeFeo, one of the victims murdered in the very house the year before the Lutz family moved in. Blood oozes from the walls and drips down the stairs, a hidden red room is discovered in the basement, and several attempts on the family's lives are made before they make an ultimate escape.