While it may not be quite the pop culture phenomenon that other franchises like, say, Halloween or A Nightmare on Elm Street have been, the fact remains that the Amityville series is one of the most sequel-ized in the horror genre. Seriously, it puts even Leprechaun to shame – by far – when it comes to the sheer amount of followups barely anyone knew even existed.
Perhaps part of the problem can be attributed to the fact that the franchise can’t decide whether it wants to debut its installments in theaters first or be a champion of the direct-to-video market. You’d have thought things were back on track after Ryan Reynolds starred in the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror, but no dice. Maybe such inconsistency contributed to Amityville: The Awakening seemingly hitting one roadblock after roadblock.
Originally shot way back in 2014, the haunted house flick has unfortunately had to endure several delays, which certainly can’t help in assuring consumer confidence or with maintaining the momentum of the franchise as a whole. That said, longtime fans of the series at least have something to help sate their appetites while they wait for the next offering, as we’ve now got a new photo (seen above) depicting lead actress Bella Thorne ready to lay the smack down. And although her star is certainly on the rise, it’d be wise to heavily feature Cameron Monaghan in the marketing campaign as well, given all the attention he’s garnered with Shameless and Gotham.
Barring another delay, Amityville: The Awakening is currently poised to open in theaters on June 30.