As if the lack of a new trailer and lack of television spots wasn’t enough of a dead give-away, it was formally reported on Saturday that the release of the new Amityville installment, Amityville: The Awakening, has been delayed once again. The movie is written and directed by Franck Khalfoun with producer Jason Blum, and it was filmed way back in 2014 and has been on the back-burner ever since. Due to re-shoots and the switching of rights, the film was originally slated to hit theaters on January 2, 2015 before disappearing from Miramax’s release schedule all together. Then, it was scheduled to hit theaters on March 4, 2016 before being moved to April 1, 2016 and then slightly delayed to April 15, 2016. The final delay came with a scheduled January 6, 2017 after studio heads noticed the box office trend where early horror titles dominate in January.
Well, that hope has come and gone as Amityville: The Awakening has been delayed… again. It is now being reported that the movie which stars Bella Thorne, Cameron Monaghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Thomas Mann, Jennifer Morrison and Kurtwood Smith will now hit theaters on June 30, 2017. As much as I want this to be true, previous examples have proven that there’s a good a chance that horror fans will never get to see the movie based on true events unless it goes direct-to-DVD and direct-to-VOD. This movie’s track record is just one example in a slew of issues that have arisen lately in regards to old franchises getting new, original additions. Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Ring and Amityville have all struggled to launch new installments despite a cult following.
Here’s hoping we see Amityville: The Awakening in 2017!
