Director Jack Riccobono Talks MGM+ Docuseries Amityville: An Origin Story

Beginning this Sunday on MGM+, director Jack Riccobono will take horror-loving followers on a journey into the origins of The Amityville Horror.

The four-episode docuseries research how the movie captured the zeitgeist of the period as curiosity within the paranormal elevated and the way the real-life crime that occurred in the home fed into the lore.

Through never-before-seen interviews with folks with first-hand relationships to the murders and the movie, Riccobono presents viewers a surprising inside have a look at how the movie impacted us for generations to return.

We had an opportunity to speak with Riccobono concerning the collection, what impressed him to take the journey, and what stunned him most about what he discovered alongside the way in which.

Please benefit from the interview beneath, which has been edited for readability and content material.

What bought you interested by documentary filmmaking?

I’m making an attempt to know different folks’s worlds. So I believe I used to be drawn to documentary as a result of it permits you to go to and perceive subcultures and take you to locations that you have not seen or understood earlier than. That’s the transportive high quality of documentaries that I really like.

What’s the genesis of the present, and what was your thesis for Amityville: An Origin Story?

Well, the origins of the story. This mission happened as a result of there had by no means actually been an elevated have a look at the Amityville Horror — all of the layers of it and what gave rise to it.

And I believe that is why the title is Amityville: An Origin Story as a result of we actually strive to take a look at all of the components that got here collectively to create the phenomenon of The Amityville Horror, which actually continues to this present day with over 40 movies that includes the phrase Amityville in them.

I suppose what fascinated me was all of the totally different layers to the story. You have, in fact, the horror story that was featured within the 1979 movie. Lots of people do not understand that that is primarily based on a real story of the Lutz household who moved into this home in Amityville and bought haunted out 28 days later.

And then, even earlier than the Lutzes, you then have the DeFeo household who, a yr earlier than the Lutz moved into the home, suffered this horrible tragedy the place six out of seven relations had been discovered shot to demise of their beds underneath mysterious circumstances.

So for me, there’s this layering the place you may have the horror style of the ’70s; horror movies, that are an unbelievable area that I really like; paranormal investigation, which was exploding within the Nineteen Seventies, tremendous widespread, making an attempt to know phenomena which can be unexplainable; after which you may have this heinous true crime that occurred in 1974, which was an enormous occasion in and of itself.

I imply, in 1974, mass homicide was not regular. And sadly, as we speak, we face plenty of mass shootings. But in 1974, this was front-page information lined by Walter Cronkite; this household discovered shot to demise of their prosperous suburban residence.

So I actually wished to take a look at how these two occasions of the murders of the DeFeo household and the hauntings of the Lutzes got here collectively on this very specific second within the ’70s to create what we consider because the Amityville Horror.

What do you suppose is the extra fascinating a part of the story, the murders or what occurred to the Lutzes?

I actually suppose it is the alchemy of the occasions, and the way the tales intertwine with one another as a result of they actually overlap in bizarre and shocking methods. And I believe that what ties them collectively is basically the cultural second.

You have these darkish undercurrents within the Nineteen Seventies with Nixon resigning, the Vietnam War, folks distrusting establishments, and this backlash to the free love, freewheeling late ’60s. So the early ’70s had been a darkish and peculiar time in America, and I believe that that is a part of why these two occasions had been capable of mix on this loopy style.

One of the large issues is you may have The Exorcist popping out in 1973, which was this enormous phenomenon that popularized the concept of demonic possession and the concept that folks would exit and get exorcisms. And it additionally was an instance of a real story that blew up into this large Hollywood blockbuster.

So in plenty of methods, that laid the groundwork and was just like the template for what would occur with The Amityville Horror, though I do not suppose the Lutzes may have ever imagined how a lot consideration would come from their story and that it might nonetheless be getting advised in increasingly more loopy and ridiculous methods to this present day.

I actually loved the credit score sequence the place you had all of the unusual film posters. Oh my gosh, I had no concept that it had gotten to that time the place something is Amityville.

Yes. That’s a few various factors. I believe that this story redefined the haunted home for a era of individuals within the ’70s, and it actually captured their creativeness. Amityville can also be a city identify, so it will probably’t actually be copyrighted, so actually anybody may make a film and put the phrase Amityville in it.

So that’s a part of why the franchise has so many tentacles and has gone in so many alternative wild and loopy instructions. And clearly, the web and social media have spun it out in much more loopy and wild instructions, and I do not suppose it is ever going to cease.

I all the time discovered it fascinating, too, that there was the Amityville Horror, after which Amity was town in Jaws.

Yes.

It appears to me like these two issues had been conflated at a time whenever you would not have anticipated it, simply attributable to that easy little phrase, Amity.

Absolutely. Amityville is “the friendly village,” so it has a poor underpinning to it. It’s just like the pleasant village, apart from the darkness that lurks beneath.

From your perspective, what units Amityville: An Origin Story other than every thing else that has come earlier than it?

I believe one of many issues we’re most happy with is that we had been capable of get folks to take part and sit down for the primary time, individuals who had skilled these occasions firsthand and share their tales straight. And before everything, Christopher Quaratino, previously referred to as Christopher Lutz, is the center son of the Lutz household.

He was seven years outdated when the Lutzes bought haunted out of the home. And he sat down for his first in-depth interview to essentially clarify intimately what he remembers from being seven years outdated and dwelling by that interval.

And then past that, the affect of those occasions on his household throughout the remainder of his childhood as a result of it was necessary to us to take a look at the story from plenty of totally different angles, together with the human toll that the story took as a result of, clearly, it has been spun out in all these loopy, wild instructions and it is gotten additional and additional away from the factual underpinnings of each the DeFeo murders and likewise the Lutz’s story of what actually occurred.

So Christopher shares what he thinks occurred to him, but additionally who he thinks is answerable for the hauntings that the Lutzes skilled in the home. So that is, in fact, an thrilling component of the present. And then we even have shut family and friends which have by no means been interviewed earlier than.

So Carol Soviero, a detailed good friend of George Lutz who toured the home with the Lutzes earlier than they moved in after which was with them within the speedy aftermath and moved out to California with them, shares her tales of that point interval for the very first time.

And then, on the DeFeo facet, now we have a really shut good friend of Ronnie DeFeo Jr, who was convicted of the murders for killing his complete household. We communicate with Tommy Maher, who was, once more, a detailed childhood good friend of Ronnie’s, and he speaks concerning the occasions main as much as the murders and what he thinks transpired. So that is one facet.

We even have footage and pictures that haven’t been launched earlier than and paperwork that we imagine make clear the origins of the story.

Was there anyone or something that you just wished you had entry to that you just did not?

Ah, that is a tricky one. I imply, there are all the time components you can’t fairly monitor down. One of the issues that actually fascinated me concerning the story was the mafia connections that the DeFeo household had. And whereas we had been capable of set up these hyperlinks, lots of people is not going to communicate on the report about these hyperlinks even as we speak.

So that component is within the collection of mafia connections that the DeFeos had. There’s extra to that story, however folks aren’t prepared to speak but.

Oh, it is the mafia. You may be slightly reluctant to out something that goes on with them.

Exactly.

What was probably the most shocking factor that you just found alongside the way in which?

The most shocking factor. I suppose it actually, in some methods, goes again to how widespread the fascination was with demonic possession within the mid-’70s, which I believe ties proper again to The Exorcist.

But folks had been actually obsessive about this concept of possession and of exorcism, and that was an fascinating factor to find all these years later, that it turned such a widespread concept and that individuals would entertain that.

And then use it as leisure.

Yes. Exactly, precisely.

About issues which can be shocking, I like that you just contact upon George Lutz and the way he was talking with some unsavory people and involved in demonic possession himself.

Yes.

How did you uncover that after which comply with up on that line of considering?

Well, with out giving an excessive amount of away, I do not need to have any spoilers, however we had been clearly very targeted on every thing that the Lutzes stated in press interviews of the time.

So we did a really deep dive into the entire factual data after which, in fact, tried to work backward to see, “Well, what could we verify, or who could we ask to get another perspective on this?”

So with George Lutz, one of many issues that has all the time been a thriller about him could be very little has been recognized about his childhood or about his life previous to when he met Kathy. George isn’t the daddy of Christopher or of Kathy’s older kids.

Basically, Kathy and George met, they bought married, and inside about six months, they moved into the Amityville home. So that each one occurred fairly shortly, and one of many issues that was mysterious about this story is George’s previous.

So we had been capable of join with a detailed good friend of George’s named Joe Vetter, who described some bike journeys that they took. And it was by him that we had been capable of set up that George did have some publicity to the occult within the yr previous to shifting into the Amityville House.

And I do not need to say way more than that, however you get this sense that as a result of George, in interviews, explicitly denied ever realizing or having an curiosity within the occult. And it seems that he did really meet and go to the house of a really well-known cult determine named Raymond Buckland, who popularized Wicca within the Nineteen Seventies.

So that was fairly an fascinating discovery and means that maybe George knew extra concerning the occult than he initially shared in press interviews within the ’70s.

I additionally actually just like the quotes initially of every episode and the way they set out what the episode goes to speak about. Do you may have these issues in thoughts beforehand? Do you understand these quotes and suppose, “I’d like to incorporate these in some way and use these as a guide,” or do you seek for quotes after the very fact?

We had been making an attempt to determine the present within the early days of the enhancing course of and experimenting, and our supervising editor added that Jean-Paul Sartre quote, “Hell is other people,” to an early lower, and it simply supplied a framework.

And once more, it supplied a possibility for us to remark out of the gate and arrange the viewers in a sure manner and put them in a sure state of mind for strategy the story as a result of this isn’t your typical documentary collection.

I believe it is a fairly wild journey that we take you on, the place every episode has a really totally different taste to it. The first episode is basically like a horror docutainment with soar scares, the place you are taken into the thoughts of the Lutzes and expertise what they are saying occurred to them.

In episode two, it is way more of this hard-boiled true crime investigation of the DeFeo murders and actually tries to take a look at how these unexplained components of that crime led to paranormal explanations.

And then, within the third episode, you may have this loopy mixture of the tales of the DeFeo murders and the Lutz hauntings and the way that gave rise to the bestselling ebook after which, finally, the 1979 movie.

And then the fourth episode has this investigative documentary high quality, the place we uncover new features of George Lutz’s previous which have by no means been revealed earlier than.

So we wished every episode to have its personal type of really feel, and the quotes actually ended up supporting that. And funnily sufficient, they landed and simply caught by the method. We did not audition 100 totally different quotes or one thing. Somehow, the early quotes ended up, I believe, informing the place we took the episode.

And it is simply a kind of unusual qualities, I suppose, that unexplainable alchemy of the put up course of, that we had been capable of land on these quotes.

And finally, I believe there are other ways to learn them, however actually, one approach to learn them is thru the lens of George Lutz, who actually is giant as a central determine on this complete story. And I believe you may apply all of them to eager about him in a technique or one other.

And lastly, what do you hope folks take away from this after watching?

Well, I hope that they’re going to really feel connections to our present second in it. I believe horror is an unbelievable style for exploring actual anxieties and fears that we face on daily basis.

And I believe that this present unravels one of the well-known horror movie horror tales of all time and permits you to see it by many alternative angles, together with the components within the ’70s that led to its existence.

And so I hope that in watching the present, folks can mirror on the second we’re dwelling in now, and perhaps that can give them a brand new perspective on how we’re dealing with among the fears and anxieties of our day.

Amityville: An Origin Story premieres on Sunday, April 23, on MGM+ at 10/9c.