‘Halloween 6’ Writer To Direct New ‘Amityville Murders’ Movie
We are thrilled to report that our friend Daniel Farrands, who wrote Halloweeen: The Curse of Michael Myers, produced The Haunting in Connecticut and the as-yet-still-unreleased Amityville: The Awakening, and directed Never Sleep Again and Crystal Lake Memories, will write and direct the new horror film The Haunting on Long Island: The Amityville Murders, which is currently being shopped around to possible distributors at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.
THR broke the news earlier today that Farrands will direct The Haunting on Long Island: The Amityville Murders from his own screenplay, with production set to being this summer.
The Haunting on Long Island: The Amityville Murders will go beyond the well known story of the Lutz family and the house depicted in the Amityville Horror films.
The official synopsis: On the night of November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr., took a high-powered rifle and murdered his entire family as they slept. At his trial DeFeo claimed that “voices” in the house commanded him to kill. Thirteen months later the Lutz family bought the house and stayed only 28 days before fleeing in terror. Their nightmarish ordeal shocked the world in The Amityville Horror. The Lutzes may have escaped from Amityville with their lives … but the DeFeos weren’t so lucky. This is their story.
CineTel films will be introducing the film to buyers in Cannes and will be premiering a teaser trailer and artwork at the market.
Farrands broke into the horror world’s subconscious as writer of 1995’s Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, and he has since directed the documentaries His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th, Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th, Scream: The Inside Story, and Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, and served as a producer of the 2009 hit The Haunting in Connecticut.
He is also one of the producers of Amityville: The Awakening, a sequel to the original franchise films that has been delayed numerous times since production finished and has yet to be released, though it is currently dated for June 30 (at least as of this writing).
Farrands also wrote last year’s Havenhurst starring Danielle Harris, and the 2006 family film The Tooth Fairy starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Earlier tonight on Facebook, Farrands explained of the new project, “It’s not an ‘Amityville’ movie per se. It really only focuses on the DeFeo tragedy and what may have led to it.” He also states, “It doesn’t follow the Lutz haunting, Jody the pig, etc.”
Be sure to read our in-depth 2014 interview with Daniel Farrands here!
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