Dimension Films (aka The Weinstein Company) and the new Miramax are pushing ahead with their previously announced partnership on a new take on a popular horror franchise, “The Amityville Horror: The Lost Tapes.” The latest film about George Lutz’s supernatural experiences will be released on Jan. 27, 2012.
The companies announced the new project in Cannes today and that “Paranormal Activity” producer Jason Blum is on board to shepherd the project. Casey La Scala (“Grind”) and Daniel Farrands (“The Haunting in Connecticut” are also producing the “found footage” project which is in the same vein of the first two “Paranormal Activity” films.
According to Dimension, this new film showcases the events following the original The Amityville Horror book and movie through “found footage” dating back to 1976. In a statement the studio notes the storyline “finds an ambitious female television news intern, on the verge of breaking the most famous haunted house case in the world, leading a team of journalists, clergymen and paranormal researchers into an investigation of the bizarre events that will come to be known as ‘The Amityville Horror’ … only to unwittingly open a door to the unreal that she may never be able to close.”
Bob Weinstein remarked in the release, “We are thrilled to return to the mythology of the Amityville Horror with a new and terrifying vision that will satisfy our existing fans and also introduce an entirely new audience to this popular haunting phenomenon.”
Blum added, “I’m thrilled to be working with Bob to reinvent one of the all-time great horror franchises, and I think this new installment will really hit home with a new generation of moviegoers.”
No word on who will direct “The Lost Tapes” or if any notable names will star in the film.
A 2005 remake of “The Amityville Horror” was a surprise hit for MGM grossing $65 million domestically. The original film was a monster hit making $86.4 million when it debuted in 1979.