Hall of Horror inductee and bestselling author Bryn Curt James Hammond returns to the horror fold this November to bring gore hounds the latest book in his critically acclaimed The History of paperback series.
The Complete History of The Amityville Horror delves deep into the darkest corners of the popular culture franchise from its origins, through to its theatrical conception and right up until the latest offering, The Amityville Murders, which has no legal association with the long-running series that began life in 1979 and grossed a whopping $170,534,063 at the box office, which includes its theatrically released sequels and reboot.
Discover the disturbing truth behind the infamous Amityville murders; take an insightful and significant look at the Lutz family controversy that kick-started the basis of books that floundered in the realm of pure, unabashed fiction that spawned the The Amityville Horror movie franchise.
Submerge yourself in the film series’ monumental problems that found studio bosses served with legal papers, the 1980s financial analysts involved that had more cocaine than blood in their veins, the franchise’s colossal pitfalls, the movies era’s marketplace decline, the lost endings, alternative cuts and budget restrictions and replenish your Amityville bloodlust with EXCLUSIVE cast and crew interviews.
The Complete History of The Amityville Horror is a nostalgic, humorous glossy on a series that is often overlooked, predominantly because of the overwhelming bad sequels that followed the ’79 classic, the franchise’s erratic release schedules and outsourced marketing agencies in charge of delivering the individual movies to their target audience, “they were on blow throughout,” “it crucified rentals. The campaign made as much sense as the film’s final cut,” “poor marketing agency choice! They were more suited to teen rom-coms, we needed impact, we needed humph! The studio released our little movie in the winter dump month and what we got from the marketing agent in charge was a punch in the balls.”
The Complete History of The Amityville Horror hits stores in November. The Complete History of The Howling (Retro Edition) is on sale now from Amazon.
Q1: Why were you inspired to tackle Amityville?
Creativity. The Amityville Horror franchise has pushed the envelope in many aspects of its development. NBC took the first leap of faith with Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes,relocating the setting hoping fans would tune in instead of tuning out if the iconic house wasn’t involved, but instead of admitting defeat and recognising the house was the Michael Myers of the series they strove on, trying to reinvent the franchise with furniture sold at the yard sale in the TV movie believed to be owned by the Lutz family. This interesting method gave us many dysfunctional families, characters and unusual settings, which alone made it easier for me to remain focused. My ADHD often affects my flow; I need a challenge, something I can get my teeth into or I lose concentration and easily become bored. #AmityvilleHistory was my candy store to Kimmy Schmidt’s New York City; it has kept me focused.
Q2: What is your favourite Amityville sequel?
Unlike The Howling series I don’t really have a specific film within the franchise that I’d say, “DAMN that’s right up there with my love for Night of the Demons or Return of the Living Dead 3”. Amityville II: The Possession was really dark and certainly gave horror fans the maximum bang for their buck. Amityville: It’s About Time was fun and I enjoyed The Amityville Horror remake; Platinum Dunes did a decent job. Overall though I enjoyed the entire series, each movie for a very different reason.
Q3: Why did you decide to write another horror book?
Horror is the only genre to have multiple layers and it’s so diverse, which is why I’m attracted to it overall. It was an easy decision to pen The Complete History of The Amityville Horror as I had the true crime aspectsto dig deep into, which is my forte.
Q4: What can readers expect?
Another glossy that’s fun, factual and stylish, with lots of rare, exclusive images and new interviews. People who own The Complete History of The Howling companion and have enjoyed it should enjoy Amityville History just as much. I’ve tackled all areas of the film series, both the true events and the unabashed fiction.
Q5: What have been your comeback highlights so far?
My highlights have been meeting the people who purchased my books while on tour, being inducted into Hall of Horror in Las Vegas and filming with Investigation Discovery. Staying in New York City was wonderful, and it was nice that my hard work was recognised and used in a documentary about Brittany Murphy’s life. It’s been a blast and I only have the horror and true crime community to thank.
You can keep up to date with news about Bryn Hammond and his books by following on Twitter; Bryn Hammond, Amityville, The Howling
You can also find out more about Bryn Hammonds on his current website brynhammond.co.uk
And his new website bryncurtjameshammond.co.uk which is being launched on 12th April.
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
