By Ryan Scott
Copyright slashfilm
If one heads to the free streaming service Tubi, there are no fewer than 50 different movies with the word “Amityville” in the title. The majority of them couldn’t have less to do with the famed haunting that inspired this franchise in the first place. Rather, they are conceptually ridiculous, ultra-low-budget affairs that can generate curiosity clicks based on the absurd premise.
A few examples are 2022’s “Amityville in Space,” the shockingly timely “Amityville A.I.,” and my personal favorite, “Amityville Death Toilet.” There’s also the creature feature of sorts in the form of 2022’s “Amityville Scarecrow,” which, itself, generated a franchise with “Amityville Scarecrow II” arriving that same year. The point is, these are the schlocky entries in the “Amityville” canon that have taken this from a horror franchise with less than 10 entries to an uncontrolled juggernaut of cheap slop with well over 60 movies and counting.
One might wonder how this can be profitable. Are enough people truly watching “Amityville Bigfoot” to make such ventures worthwhile? Without getting to look at the balance sheets of companies like Jagged Edge Productions or Wild Eye Releasing first-hand, the short answer is yes. This is nothing new. Mockbusters have been a part of Hollywood for decades. For every “Top Gun: Maverick,” there is a “Top Gunner: Danger Zone” to go along with it.
These movies are generally made for pennies with bad special effects and up-and-coming actors who will work for practically nothing. It’s built into the business model. The reason Amityville is worth having in those titles is that people will search for “Amityville” on their streaming service of choice or on the menu of their smart TV, and voila, some of these movies will pop up. And people will watch them out of curiosity or blissful ignorance. Either way, cheap “Amityville” movies have become a bizarre cottage industry.
