Lawsuit gets axed.

This case wasn't so scary after all.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge threw out a libel suit over this year's release of "The Amityville Horror" remake, calling it "an activity of widespread public interest," according to court papers. The suit had been filed by George Lutz, whose family's 28-day stay in a Long Island house was the basis for the storyline behind the "The Amityville Horror."

Lutz, who filed suit five months ago, claims that the producers depicted him as a "homicidal maniac" who killed his dog, built coffins for his wife and kids, choked his wife, attempted to drown her, shot her and his kids and attacked his son with an axe. He claims that a 2002 agreement to make the sequel with Barstu Productions included a provision that the film not "intentionally defame or libel Lutz."

Citing "supernatural forces," Lutz's family moved out of the Amityville house, which had been occupied by a young man who killed his parents and four siblings. The family signed a book deal in 1977 and, the next year, signed an agreement with Professional Films Inc. to make the 1979 movie.

Still pending is a separate claim by Lutz that he was not paid $50,000 in compensation outlined in the 2002 contract.