‘Deadstream’ Directors Joseph and Vanessa Winter Set to Lead New Horror Movie in the Long-Running ‘Amityville’ Franchise

A brand-new Amityville horror movie is on the way, and it sounds like it’s going to be very different from what fans know. According to Deadline, the new project will be made by BoulderLight Pictures, the company behind Barbarian, and Divide/Conquer, who recently worked on Heart Eyes and M3GAN.

The film is being described as a fresh, modern take on the infamous haunted house legend.

The movie will be directed by Joseph and Vanessa Winter, the husband and wife filmmaking team who gained attention with their found footage horror movie Deadstream, which premiered at SXSW in 2022 and received strong reviews.

They’ll be directing from their own script, although plot details are still being kept secret. Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz will produce for BoulderLight, and Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath will handle production duties for Divide/Conquer.

This upcoming Amityville movie is not connected to the classic Amityville Horror films or Jay Anson’s famous 1977 book. Instead, it will focus on the real-life story that inspired those earlier films. The Winters’ movie will revisit 112 Ocean Avenue, the original Amityville house in New York, offering what’s described as a new and original perspective on the infamous location.

Unlike previous versions, this film won’t focus on the murders committed by Ronald DeFeo Jr. or the famous story of the Lutz family, who claimed they experienced terrifying paranormal activity after moving into the house.

In case you’re not familiar, the real Amityville story began in 1974 when Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed his parents and siblings inside their Long Island home. A year later, George and Kathy Lutz moved into the house with their children.

They didn’t know about the murders at first, but after moving in, they reported all kinds of strange things happening: odd noises, sudden cold spots, terrible smells, and ghostly sightings. Their story became famous when they fled the house after only 28 days, claiming they couldn’t take the hauntings any longer.

While many films over the years have focused on these events, the new project will avoid them entirely. Instead, according to Deadline’s sources, the Winters are planning something different that still centers on the house itself.

The original 1979 Amityville Horror movie, directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder, was a huge hit. It made over $86 million on a small budget and led to many sequels and spin-offs. Over time, it became one of horror’s most famous franchises, even though many fans and critics agree that the quality of the films declined over the years.

Joseph and Vanessa Winter have experience in the horror genre. After Deadstream, they also worked on the “To Hell and Back” segment in the horror anthology V/H/S/99. They run their own company, Winterspectre Entertainment, and are represented by WME and TFC Management.

BoulderLight Pictures, which is currently working under a first-look deal with New Line, might bring the project to that studio first. The producers reportedly hope to get the film into production by late 2025. BoulderLight is known for producing Zach Cregger’s Barbarian, as well as other horror and thriller films like The Vigil, Companion, and Becky.

Divide/Conquer has also been successful in the horror genre. They’re the team behind M3GAN and its upcoming sequel M3GAN 2.0, as well as Blumhouse’s Freaky and Amazon’s Totally Killer.

The news was first reported by Deadline.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!