When I last posted an article about the twelfth movie in the franchise, Amityville: The Awakening, a trailer had just been released featuring previews which signaled the beginning of promotions of the film before it was scheduled to hit theaters on January 2, 2015. Amityville: The Awakening had already been scheduled for a September-December 2014 release, which obviously wasn’t going to happen, so horror fans were thrilled to at least see the film wasn’t being shelved at the time of the trailer release in August. Matters have gotten a little more complicated since then.
Just a few weeks after the trailer release, the theatrical release date for the film was pushed back just two weeks – to January 16, 2015. Today I went looking for news on this upcoming film because I plan on seeing it in theaters and the anticipated release is a month away. Well, it turns out I won’t be seeing Amityville: The Awakening anytime soon. Since the two week push-back, The Weinstein Company (Amityville‘s distributor) has completely pulled the film from its release schedule along with James Wan’s Demonic. Although, IMDB lists Amityville: Awakening as having a February 2, 2015 release set for Greece? Yeah. I don’t know what that’s about.
Reading a variety of sources, I have concluded that the reason for the delay is because of two separate test screenings held by The Weinstein Company to get some feedback on the title. Rumor has it both screenings were met with extremely positive reviews; however, most audience members were somewhat unhappy with the ending of the film. Many sources believe Dimension Films have gone back to reshoot some important scenes and record material to spruce up the ending. When you add post-production time onto the re-shoots, obviously, it’s going to be a little while before Amityville: The Awakening gets the green light to head to theaters. The wait time shouldn’t be unmeasurable, though.
Something seems wrong here, but I’m going to keep my hopes up that I’ll (and all of you) get to see this movie before the winter is over. The real life Amityville Horror mass murder and paranormal haunting is one of my biggest interests and I’m dying to see this new installment in the franchise.
Amityville: The Awakening is written and directed by Franck Khalfoun, whose previous credits include High Tension, P2, and Maniac. Producers who served on this title include Alix Taylor (Feast, Piranha 3D), slasher documentary maker Daniel Farrands, Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Sinister, The Purge), and Bob & Harvey Weinstein. The film stars Bella Thorne (Forget Me Not, “Big Love”), Cameron Monaghan (Vampire Academy, “Malcolm in the Middle”), Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hitcher, “Revenge”), Taylor Spreitler (“Days of Our Lives,” “Melisa & Joey”), Thomas Mann (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters), McKenna Grace (“The Young and the Restless”), and Hunter Goligoski.
