Unless you've been living under a rock, you're familiar with the works of beloved comedic actor Ryan Reynolds. From earlier roles, like the titular snarky slacker in "National Lampoon's Van Wilder," to his portrayal of the unkillable antihero Deadpool in the Marvel film franchise of the same name, Reynolds is known for his pitch-perfect sarcasm and often crass comedic sensibilities ... which is exactly why new fans of the star might be so confused when they see his name attached to 2005's "The Amityville Horror."
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00:00What happened when one of Hollywood's funniest actors starred in a terrifying true story?
00:05And why is the Amityville horror so scary anyway? Keep watching to find out.
00:09Ryan Reynolds is a man of many talents, and the Deadpool star is known for his charisma,
00:14good looks, and dynamite comedic timing. Reynolds made his acting debut in the teen drama series
00:20Fifteen in 1991, but he really broke into the mainstream in 2002 as the titular star
00:26in National Lampoon's Van Wilder. The effortlessly likable Reynolds drew in audiences immediately.
00:32Women wanted him, men wanted to be him, and the world quickly fell in love with his sarcastic
00:37charm. It was for this reason that he was almost denied the role that's often considered to be one
00:42of his strongest performances to date. Post-Van Wilder, Reynolds took on roles in films like
00:47the questionable comedy Buying the Cow and the underrated Blade Trinity. At this point,
00:52people seemed to think they had Reynolds all figured out. If you need a handsome guy with
00:56perfect one-liner execution, the ability to pull off action, and a 1,000 watt smile, Reynolds is
01:02the man for the job. If you need a stepdad to move into a cursed house, to become possessed by the
01:06evil within the walls, to kill a family dog and threaten the lives of his family, he's probably
01:11not going to be the first actor who comes to mind. And yet, in 2005's remake of The Amityville Horror,
01:17he was the perfect choice. The iconic horror franchise was, in fact, inspired by a true story.
01:23On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot and killed six members of his family in Amityville,
01:30New York, and was later convicted of second-degree murder. This story is undeniably and tragically
01:36true, but the events that followed have been heavily debated ever since. A year after the
01:40familicide, George and Kathy Lutz, along with their three children, moved into the DeFeo home.
01:46However, they left after just 28 days, claiming that the house was haunted. Paranormal investigators
01:52Ed and Lorraine Warren, who inspired the main characters in The Conjuring, were notable as two
01:57of the first people to investigate the hauntings. Jay Anson's 1977 novel, The Amityville Horror,
02:02would soon become a phenomenon. Anson's book was later adapted into a film of the same name
02:08in 1979, with James Brolin and Margot Kidder starring as the Lutz couple. Considering the
02:14fact that Amityville is a real location, and the events of both the DeFeo and Lutz families have
02:19been documented as real, this has pushed all things Amityville into something of a copyright vortex.
02:25There are no real restrictions on using the Amityville name or the claims of hauntings,
02:30which has led to 35 different sequels, spinoffs, remakes, and inspired films with little to no
02:36continuity. The 2005 remake was only the third Amityville film to earn a theatrical release,
02:41which meant the filmmakers had their work cut out for them to earn back public favor.
02:46Filling the shoes of Kidder and Brolin was bound to be a difficult task, but the roles eventually
02:50went to Melissa George and Ryan Reynolds. The Amityville Horror director Andrew Douglas was
02:55skeptical of casting Reynolds as the infamous George Lutz, fearing that the actor was too
02:59funny and too attractive to pull it off. In an interview with Dread Central, Douglas said
03:03everything changed once Reynolds was cast, explaining,
03:06His performance was chilling. What I was scared of was his handsomeness and his size. You know,
03:11he's a beautiful-looking man. But he just sold it so strongly that the very things I
03:16was scared of he just managed to, like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, make that even more
03:21creepy. According to Douglas, Reynolds used his physical prowess and good looks to allow the
03:26character to appear far more sinister than someone who already looks mean. In many ways, Reynolds'
03:31performance in the Amityville Horror could be compared to Christian Bale's unforgettable turn
03:36in American Psycho. As Douglas revealed, it was producer Michael Bay who first had the instinct
03:41to cast Reynolds in the famous horror movie adaptation. Years later, Reynolds' performance
03:46continues to be seen as one of the strongest aspects of Apache Remake, and makes a strong
03:51case for allowing the Hollywood star the chance to play against type more often.