Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”
With Amityville Uprising, Thomas J. Churchill joins illustrious company as the only director of three Amityville films.
After kicking off his run with Amityville Harvest (2020) which focused on a film crew interviewing a vampire, Churchill’s second entry was 2001’s “werewolf in a women’s half-way house” title Amityville Moon. Now he’s back for his third film in the “series,” a self-referential zombie outing.
What makes the new film intriguing is less the details of the plot – which include a chemical explosion at a military base with unleashes red acid rain on Amityville and reanimates the dead – but how the film acts as the last part of an unofficial Amityville trilogy.
The same issues that plagued Churchill’s previous entries pop up here: too many characters,...
With Amityville Uprising, Thomas J. Churchill joins illustrious company as the only director of three Amityville films.
After kicking off his run with Amityville Harvest (2020) which focused on a film crew interviewing a vampire, Churchill’s second entry was 2001’s “werewolf in a women’s half-way house” title Amityville Moon. Now he’s back for his third film in the “series,” a self-referential zombie outing.
What makes the new film intriguing is less the details of the plot – which include a chemical explosion at a military base with unleashes red acid rain on Amityville and reanimates the dead – but how the film acts as the last part of an unofficial Amityville trilogy.
The same issues that plagued Churchill’s previous entries pop up here: too many characters,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”
Two entries ago, we discussed Thomas J. Churchill’s vampire-themed, title card only “franchise” entry, The Amityville Harvest. I knew that the writer/director had a sequel film, so going into The Amityville Moon was an interesting exercise.
As it turns out, sequel is a generous term for Churchill’s second Amityville film. It shares the same visual aesthetic as Harvest, an actor (Michael Cervantes), and may even be shot in the same location. Aside from that, however, the characters are all new and, in place of a vampire, The Amityville Moon features a werewolf as its central protagonist.
One thing that hasn’t changed: this is another in a long line of Amityville films that uses the famous title as an IP cash grab.
Two entries ago, we discussed Thomas J. Churchill’s vampire-themed, title card only “franchise” entry, The Amityville Harvest. I knew that the writer/director had a sequel film, so going into The Amityville Moon was an interesting exercise.
As it turns out, sequel is a generous term for Churchill’s second Amityville film. It shares the same visual aesthetic as Harvest, an actor (Michael Cervantes), and may even be shot in the same location. Aside from that, however, the characters are all new and, in place of a vampire, The Amityville Moon features a werewolf as its central protagonist.
One thing that hasn’t changed: this is another in a long line of Amityville films that uses the famous title as an IP cash grab.
- 11/22/2023
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”
The single biggest recurring question that has arisen over the course of this editorial series is “what constitutes an Amityville film?” It’s the basic impetus to go through all of these films chronologically, regardless of quality or connective tissue to the original film or the books.
It’s also why complaints in the comments that everything past a certain point (ie: either A New Generation or the remake* apparently) no longer qualifies are immaterial and frankly kinda boring. It’s always been more interesting to consider how and why filmmakers are using “Amityville” in their films – for better or worse.
* If the remake counts, then surely The Amityville Murders also counts, no?
The reality is that, particularly with the last few entries in the “franchise,...
The single biggest recurring question that has arisen over the course of this editorial series is “what constitutes an Amityville film?” It’s the basic impetus to go through all of these films chronologically, regardless of quality or connective tissue to the original film or the books.
It’s also why complaints in the comments that everything past a certain point (ie: either A New Generation or the remake* apparently) no longer qualifies are immaterial and frankly kinda boring. It’s always been more interesting to consider how and why filmmakers are using “Amityville” in their films – for better or worse.
* If the remake counts, then surely The Amityville Murders also counts, no?
The reality is that, particularly with the last few entries in the “franchise,...
- 10/25/2023
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
"What the hell did you kids do?!" Lionsgate has released an official trailer for an indie horror movie called Where The Scary Things Are, the latest creation from filmmaker B. Harrison Smith. This premiered at the Horror Hounds Film Festival and will be on VOD in June this summer. A group of teenagers inspired by a high school "Create Your Own Urban Legend" project quickly get out of hand in their greedy desire for more "likes" and going viral with deadly consequences. It seems that they end up creating some kind of real urban legend monster, and film him to prove he's real ending up becoming a viral sensation - but it's also really killing people. Or so it seems from the trailer? The ensemble cast includes Paul Cottman, Michael Cervantes, Peter F. Cote, Quinn Andrew Fickes, Selina Flanscha, Oliver Givens, Emma Lim, Asher Ruppert, & Riley Sullivan. The dialogue in this trailer is pretty bad,...
- 4/21/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
"I just killed a dead guy!" Lionsgate has unveiled an official trailer for an indie direct-to-vhs horror film called Amityville Uprising, another B-movie creation from the genre filmmaker Thomas J. Churchill - of Amityville Harvest, The Business of Christmas, and Big Freaking Rat recently. The Amityville franchise has entered public domain, hence the over-use of the concept despite none of it having any real connection to the original story or the original ghosts or anything. Amityville Uprising takes place after a chemical blast at a military base sets off a supernatural disaster. The explosion unleashes a toxic acid rain that dissolves the flesh of anyone trapped in it. Even worse, it causes the dead to rise again and attack the living. How's that for a concept? The movie stars Mike Ferguson, Scott C. Roe, Tank Jones, Alysha Young, Michael Cervantes, and Barry Papick. This horror looks especially dumb, but sometimes...
- 11/16/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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