Andrew Douglas’s The Amityville Horror is one of the most profitable entries in the early aughts series of classic horror remakes. Premiering in 2005, it takes the bones of Stuart Rosenberg’s classic haunted house film and throws in plenty of additional violence and gore. Adding to the terror are claims that the story is based on real events.

One year after Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family, the Lutzes moved their three children into their house. Just 28 days after entering the home, they would flee, claiming a dangerous presence lurking inside the house was trying to tear their family apart. But do film adaptations honor this devastating true story? Should the Lutz’s claims be believed? And does any of this matter for audiences simply looking for grisly jump scares and a creepy haunted house?

In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s Murder Made Fiction Podcast, Joe...