The Amityville Horror : Disrespectful?

Disrespectful?

I have not seen this film nor read the book it's based on, but I have read about the DeFeo murders, and, let me tell you; I find the whole Amityville Horror debacle rather disrespectful.

Don't get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with making films or writing stories based off true events, or inspired by thus (The Exorcist, for example, or even the children's movie Balto come to mind), but to fabricate a haunting and exploit it for money? When these poor people actually died that cold winter night? It just seems rather unorthodox to me.

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I fell in love with him the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.
-TFiOS

Re: Disrespectful?

I see your point but I think it was more about the supposed haunting that took place and less about the murders.

Re: Disrespectful?

Ya, you do have a point.
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I fell in love with him the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.
-TFiOS

Re: Disrespectful?

but to fabricate a haunting and exploit it for money? When these poor people actually died that cold winter night? It just seems rather unorthodox to me.

Are you referring to the filmmakers or to the actual Lutz family that lived in the house? Its based on a true story supposedly, so there really was a family that lived in the house AFTER the murders took place. And that family really did leave after only a few weeks in the house.

Is it possible that they were liars out to make some money? Sure, but both George and Kathy Lutz took a polygraph (lie detector test) and passed with flying colors. Perhaps they were liars, but if so, then they were VERY convincing liars who moved all of their personal belongings into this home, then left a few weeks later and NEVER returned for their things. By the way, their son who was a child at the time (even now) still maintains that the house was very much haunted.

Re: Disrespectful?

Yes, I'm referring to the Lutz family. Don't get me wrong, maybe they genuinely were telling the truth, and I'm sure they're lovely people. However, no other family has hightailed it out of the house. Maybe they felt something no one else has picked up on? Perhaps they couldn't deal with the house's history? Or maybe they were a bunch of liars? I guess we'll never know... maybe the house does? Haha :P

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I fell in love with him the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.
-TFiOS

Re: Disrespectful?

IIRC, the Lutz's themselves have had things happen to them since they left the house, and the Warrens have documented many cases where a haunting follows a family (or a specific target) after they leave the haunted house. Even if other families that have lived there haven't experienced anything, that doesn't necessarily mean anything - some haunting spirits, human or otherwise, only go after a specific type or target, and maybe none of the other families have fit that description.

I don't know if you're aware of this but I've already changed things. I killed Ben Linus.
--Sayid

Re: Disrespectful?

Even if the poly reports were to be believed (it's not like the test were public), poly's are pseudoscience and don't work. The National Academy of Science and other accredited science organizations have debunked them years ago.

And they openly admitted they eventually went back for their stuff. Let's also not overlook that while Daniel claims he saw phenomena, he also claims George was an abusive liar.

Re: Disrespectful?

Even if the poly reports were to be believed (it's not like the test were public), poly's are pseudoscience and don't work. The National Academy of Science and other accredited science organizations have debunked them years ago.

As I said, its certainly not absolute proof of anything. (But it does say SOMETHING that they would even consent to one in the first place, if they were indeed liars)

Let's also not overlook that while Daniel claims he saw phenomena, he also claims George was an abusive liar.

Thats what is puzzling to me, and lends credence to Danny's story. If you HATED your stepfather, why would you corroborate so many aspects of his story? If his stepfather WAS indeed lying about the house, and he hated his stepfather, it would make more sense for him to cast doubt on his father's story... rather than corroborating every aspect of it. Yet Danny describes the same supernatural occurrences that George Lutz did.

If George was a liar, it would make no sense for Danny to back up such lies.

Also, Danny didn't decide to speak about the case until he was 47 years old. If you were lying, why would you wait so long to cash in on the story and your own potential celebrity status from that story?

But as I said, we don't have any PROOF of anything. We'll probably never know the truth...

Re: Disrespectful?

Of course it would make sense. George wouldn't have actively involved Danny in the lie simply because it's more effective to terrify them into believing it instead. That way you create a witness.

Think about it. Daniel claims one incident was when a force held open the boat house door and neither he or George could pull it down. But what if George was actually pushing it up? Daniel could easily be fooled into believing things were happening and back up George's claims. Remember, Daniel claims George had books on mind control and influencing people, not that it takes much skill to scare a child.

And as to the lie detector, it makes sense in the context that the test was administered by the Warrens. You pass, you brag. You fail, it never gets brought up.

Re: Disrespectful?

"Think about it. Daniel claims one incident was when a force held open the boat house door and neither he or George could pull it down. But what if George was actually pushing it up? Daniel could easily be fooled into believing things were happening and back up George's claims."

Thats certainly possible. I don't think we can rule out ANY explanation really, and I understand people's skepticism since there is really very little actual evidence of anything.

That being said, Daniel backed up countless claims that George and Kathy Lutz made: the story about the family dog jumping over a fence, hanging itself by its chain, huge swarms of flies in the sewing room, his bed being slammed against the ceiling, and even feeling possessed by a demonic force. Sure, children are impressionable. But all these things that Danny corroborated in their story would be more difficult to fake then a faulty garage door.

It seems to me that Danny actually believes that he experienced something supernatural in the house - and that 'something' is comprised of the same experiences reported by his mother and stepfather. If he hadn't experienced those things, or if he had serious doubts, it would be easy enough for him to say, "Hey, I think maybe the house WAS haunted, but my stepdad was a compulsive liar and he made up a lot of that crap!"

Re: Disrespectful?

I would point out that Christopher has gone on record stating that most of the claims from the book, movie, and George are lies, but there was some grain of truth. He did however then go on to apparently scam several people into hearing "The Real Story". As near as I can tell, the entire family seems to have deep rooted issues, and none of them are reliable, nor are the Warrens.

Re: Disrespectful?

The book and movie are about the haunting. Not the murders. I've read a lot about the murders too. They were horrible. The book and movie in no way disrespect them. It talks about the horror a family felt they experienced once they moved in. The family full believes they were terrorized and lived with the results the rest of their lives. One son still suffers mentally and emotionally from it. There is a documentary about him and he is very troubled.

Some feel all this is made up and that is their opinion. I've read all I can get my hands on the murders and haunting. I believe they believe it.

Yet again I see it as no disrespect what so ever. If anything this brought more attention to the horrible murders. They will never be forgotten.

Re: Disrespectful?

Amityville 2 is more about the fictional version of the DeFeo family.

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Re: Disrespectful?

Showing the murders at the beginning sets up the plot as to why the house is supposed to be haunted. The average person seeing the movie would be like wtf about the weird events otherwise and have no idea or concept as to why they were taking place.
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