In 1974, real-life mass murderer Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed six members of his family at the same house in Amityville, New York.

At 3:15 AM on November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family at their house at 412 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York.

Seemingly possessed, he grabs the axe and proceeds to murder the family dog after mistaking it for a demonic apparition.

Kathy discovers that the house once belonged to a cult preacher named Reverend Jeremiah Ketcham, whose evil actions towards Native Americans during his "mission" in 17th-century Amityville are said to be the cause of the haunting.

Meanwhile, as George is walking through the basement of the house, he encounters the apparitions of the various Native Americans who were tortured and killed there by Ketcham centuries ago.

Entering a dimly lit room, George encounters Ketcham himself (though he is not aware of who he is), and the ghostly figure of the evil missionary turns around, picks up a knife, and slits his throat in an act of recreating his suicide, covering George with blood, and causing him to become nearly completely possessed.

In 2017 an estate sale was held at the movie mansion and the famous quarter moon "eye" windows, which had been in the attic since filming, were sold.

When he initially heard it was underway, his attorney contacted the studio to find out what they had in the planning stages and to express Lutz's belief they didn't have the right to proceed without his input.

In June 2004, the studio filed a motion for declaratory relief in federal court, insisting they had the right to do a remake, and Lutz countersued, citing violations of the original contract that had continued through the years following the release of the first film.

[7] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "Low-key creepy rather than outright scary, the new Amityville marks a modest improvement over the original, partly because, from acting to bloody effects, it is better executed, and partly because the filmmakers have downgraded the role of the priest, played in all his vein-popping glory by Rod Steiger in the first film and by a considerably more subdued Philip Baker Hall here.

"[5] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone rated the film one star and commented, "First-time director Andrew Douglas crams in every ghost cliché, from demonic faces to dripping blood.

What all those films have in common is precisely what the new Amityville Horror lacks: They know it's what you don't see in a haunted house that fries your nerves to a frazzle.

"[8] Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle thought "The truly shocking thing about the new version is that it's not bloody awful .

The decision to use minimal computer-generated effects, made for monetary rather than artistic reasons, works to Amityville's advantage.

"[9] Marjorie Baumgarten of the Austin Chronicle stated the original film was "an effective little tingler whose frights are steady, implied, and cumulative .

Obviously, the filmmakers were keen to remake this film exactly because the technological advances of the last 25 years now permit more graphic displays of horrific imaginings and computer enhancements that can render the invisible world visible.

Strategically, the new Amityville never intended to go for the subtler, implied horror of the original; this one would be all about scaring the pants off viewers.

And in this, the movie generally succeeds as sudden scares and flashes of yucky imagery cause audience members to yelp aloud as if on cue .

"[11] The real George Lutz denounced the film as "drivel" and was suing the filmmakers at the time of his death in May 2006.

Bonus features include commentary by Reynolds and producers Form and Fuller; eight deleted scenes; On Set Peeks, a seamless branching feature with nine behind-the-scenes vignettes; Supernatural Homicide, with discussions about the murders that are the basis for the film with police and local residents; The Source of Evil, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film; and a photo gallery.