‘Amityville’ Returns in this Controversial Max Streaming Chart-Topper
Few horror franchises are quite as complicated as The Amityville Horror franchise, though there’s a pretty clear reason as to why. Since Amityville is a real place, and the stories of both the DeFeo and Lutz families are historical, no single filmmaking entity can stake a claim. Want to make a movie titled Halloween? Go for it, but you’d better make sure there’s no Michael Myers. Want to make a movie about the haunted abode at 112 Ocean Avenue? Carte blanche freedom. Do whatever you want—not even the devil himself can stop you.
While there is a canonical series, the most recent entry of which is the Bella Thorne vehicle Amityville: The Awakening (filmed in 2014, not released until 2017… oooph), there are considerably more unrelated horror movies endeavoring to capitalize on the famous property’s name. It reminds me a lot of when an old coworker thought they bought a new Shark Tale movie for their kid. What they actually had was a DVD of Shark Bait featuring the voice talent of Freddie Prinze Jr. So, lots of Amityville, even if unrelated releases like Amityville Exorcism rarely register on an audience’s radar. Except, incredulously, one such title has slithered into the Top 10 on the Max charts. Curious about Amityville: Where the Echo Lives? Check out more below:
Per Max: A paranormal investigator gets more than she bargained for when she begins to uncover a building’s diabolical past.
The Lionsgate release, it should be noted, bears no resemblance to the Amityville you know. It’s Amityville in title only, a fact clearly outlined in the film’s 1.9 rating on IMDB and swaths of angry reviews. To quote one reviewer, “No idea what’s going on.” So, what’s the deal with Amityville: Where the Echo Lives, and why is it charting higher than titles like The Terminator and Heretic? Couldn’t tell you, though the title itself, reeking of cash-grab, no doubt has something to do with it, even if critical reviews are less than kind.
And listen, I’m not one to judge, okay? Sure, there are horror fans out there who bemoan cheap, easy efforts to capitalize on familiar properties, but to me, they’re just opportunities to get something made and out there into the world. That isn’t an easy thing to do, and if you need to reinvent the Steamboat Willie mythology to do so, why not? Doesn’t hurt me in the slightest. I can always just choose not to watch something, and in the case of Amityville: Where the Echo Lives, I can just skip over it on the Max home screen and opt to watch The White Lotus. Kudos to director Carlos Ayala, though. Genuinely. Topping the charts is no small feat.
What do you think? Are you ready to be haunted all over again with Amityville: Where the Echo Lives? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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