# Andrew Getty
**Andrew Rork Getty** (1967–2015) was an American filmmaker, heir to the Getty oil fortune, who wrote and directed a single feature film, the horror movie *[The Evil Within](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-evil-within-2017-film)*, released in 2017, two years after his death. He was a grandson of the industrialist [J. Paul Getty](https://www.edgepedia.org/j-paul-getty) and the son of the composer [Gordon Getty](https://www.edgepedia.org/gordon-getty).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1274189/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | Born 1967 in San Francisco; died 2015 in Los Angeles at age 47[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1274189/) |
| Family | Grandson of J. Paul Getty and Ann Rork; son of composer Gordon Getty; uncle of actor Balthazar Getty[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1274189/) |
| Education | Film studies at the University of Southern California, then New York University, graduating in 1990[2](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/andrew-getty-obituary?id=16944765) |
| Only film | *The Evil Within* (2017), begun in 2002 under the title *The Storyteller*; filming completed in 2008[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/14/the-evil-within-horror-movie-andrew-getty-millionaire-meth) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339736/trivia/) |
| Financing | Self-financed from his family fortune; estimates of his personal spending range from about $4 million to $6 million[5](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/blu-ray-review-the-evil-within/) • [6](https://ghostwoodfilms.com/the-evil-within/) |
| Cause of death | A hemorrhaging ulcer attributed by the coroner to long-term recreational methamphetamine use[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/14/the-evil-within-horror-movie-andrew-getty-millionaire-meth) |
| Posthumous release | The film was completed by his producer and editor Michael Luceri and released in 2017[7](https://www.theweereview.com/review/the-evil-within/) |
## Life and family
Getty was born in San Francisco in 1967, a son of the composer Gordon Getty and a grandson of J. Paul Getty, the oil industrialist who was once considered the richest man in the world.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1274189/) • [8](https://abcnews.com/US/inside-getty-familys-troubled-past/story?id=30048443) His obituary in the *Los Angeles Times* describes him as raised in [Northern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-california), educated at the Town School for Boys in San Francisco and the Dunn School in Los Olivos, and then a film student at the [University of Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-southern-california) and New York University, graduating in 1990.[2](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/andrew-getty-obituary?id=16944765) He then moved to Hollywood, where, according to the obituary, he worked as an actor, producer, director and prolific writer specializing in what he called "cheesy horror movies"; *Evil Dead* was his favorite film.[2](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/andrew-getty-obituary?id=16944765)
## The Evil Within
In 2002 Getty began production on a horror film inspired by nightmares he had experienced since childhood, working under the title *The Storyteller*.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/14/the-evil-within-horror-movie-andrew-getty-millionaire-meth) • [9](https://moriareviews.com/horror/evil-within-2017.htm) The story follows Dennis, a young man with intellectual disabilities living with his brother John, who is urged to kill by a demonic presence in an antique mirror his brother brings home.[6](https://ghostwoodfilms.com/the-evil-within/) The cast included [Frederick Koehler](https://www.edgepedia.org/frederick-koehler) as Dennis, Sean Patrick Flanery as John, Dina Meyer as Lydia, and [Michael Berryman](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-berryman) as the demon figure Cadaver; [Matthew McGrory](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-mcgrory), who died in 2005, appears in a late role that is chronologically his last screen appearance.[10](https://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/auckland/the-evil-within/) • [11](https://horrorscreamsvideovault.co.uk/2017/09/film-review-evil-within-2017.html)
**Production.** Getty financed the film almost entirely himself, with published estimates of his spending ranging from about $4 million[5](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/blu-ray-review-the-evil-within/) to $6 million.[6](https://ghostwoodfilms.com/the-evil-within/) His producer Michael Luceri put the figure near $5 million and said the expenditure left Getty in financial ruin.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/14/the-evil-within-horror-movie-andrew-getty-millionaire-meth) Filming ran in fits and starts, much of it in and around Getty's Hollywood Hills mansion, and was completed in 2008 after delays from funding problems, conflicts with cast, and a lawsuit from a studio assistant.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339736/trivia/) • [12](https://www.filmink.com.au/bounty-films-bringing-utterly-messed-evil-within-australian-screens/) Getty built his own sets, designed custom camera rigs and animatronics, including a large animatronic octopus made to play a drum kit, and converted a room of his mansion into a post-production suite where he spent years refining the edit.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/14/the-evil-within-horror-movie-andrew-getty-millionaire-meth) • [12](https://www.filmink.com.au/bounty-films-bringing-utterly-messed-evil-within-australian-screens/) Luceri recalled a strict working routine of nine to five, Monday to Friday, over a collaboration he described as lasting thirteen years.[13](https://www.theransomnote.com/art-culture/oil-drugs-special-effects-the-evil-within/)
**Completion and release.** Getty died in 2015 before the film was finished. Luceri, who had worked as an editor on the film, completed it and brought it to release as *The Evil Within* in 2017.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339736/trivia/) • [7](https://www.theweereview.com/review/the-evil-within/) The film runs 98 to 100 minutes depending on the listing, and received a streaming release on February 28, 2017.[14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_evil_within_2017) • [10](https://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/auckland/the-evil-within/) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 100% Tomatometer from seven critics and a 57% Popcornmeter audience score.[14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_evil_within_2017) Reviewers have generally treated it as a flawed but distinctive work of outsider art, praising Koehler's performance and Getty's practical effects and surreal imagery while criticizing the script and structure.[7](https://www.theweereview.com/review/the-evil-within/) • [15](https://www.horrorsociety.com/2017/06/28/review-evil-within-2017/)
## Death
Getty was found dead in his [Hollywood Hills](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-hills) home, the house in which much of the film had been shot, in late March or early April 2015 at age 47.[16](https://www.latimes.com/83200401-132.html) • [10](https://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/auckland/the-evil-within/) Sources give the date differently: IMDb records March 31, 2015, while his *Los Angeles Times* obituary says he died during the morning of April 1, 2015.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1274189/) • [2](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/andrew-getty-obituary?id=16944765) The coroner attributed the death to a hemorrhaging ulcer brought on by a long history of recreational methamphetamine use.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/14/the-evil-within-horror-movie-andrew-getty-millionaire-meth) Police and court records reported at the time that he suffered from a serious medical condition that put him at "grave risk" of death, and that he was then working on an animated film combining his interests in engineering and filmmaking.[17](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-j-paul-gettys-grandson-found-dead-lapd-investigating-20150331-story.html)
## References
1. [Andrew Getty, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1274189/)
2. [Andrew Rork Getty obituary, Los Angeles Times (Legacy.com)](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/andrew-getty-obituary?id=16944765)
3. [A millionaire, his meth addiction and the horror movie 15 years in the making, The Guardian (2017)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/14/the-evil-within-horror-movie-andrew-getty-millionaire-meth)
4. [The Evil Within (2017) Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339736/trivia/)
5. [The Evil Within Blu-ray review, Starburst Magazine](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/blu-ray-review-the-evil-within/)
6. [The Evil Within, Ghostwood Films](https://ghostwoodfilms.com/the-evil-within/)
7. [The Evil Within review, The Wee Review (2017)](https://www.theweereview.com/review/the-evil-within/)
8. [Inside the Getty Family's Troubled Past, ABC News (2015)](https://abcnews.com/US/inside-getty-familys-troubled-past/story?id=30048443)
9. [The Evil Within (2017) review, Moria](https://moriareviews.com/horror/evil-within-2017.htm)
10. [The Evil Within, New Zealand International Film Festival 2017](https://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/auckland/the-evil-within/)
11. [Film Review: The Evil Within (2017), Horror Screams Video Vault](https://horrorscreamsvideovault.co.uk/2017/09/film-review-evil-within-2017.html)
12. [Bounty Films is Bringing the Utterly Messed Up The Evil Within to Australian Screens, FilmInk](https://www.filmink.com.au/bounty-films-bringing-utterly-messed-evil-within-australian-screens/)
13. [Oil, Drugs & Special Effects: The Evil Within, Ransom Note](https://www.theransomnote.com/art-culture/oil-drugs-special-effects-the-evil-within/)
14. [The Evil Within (2017), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_evil_within_2017)
15. [Review: The Evil Within (2017), Horror Society](https://www.horrorsociety.com/2017/06/28/review-evil-within-2017/)
16. [Andrew Getty, grandson of J. Paul Getty, dies at 47, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/83200401-132.html)
17. [Getty oil heir had serious medical condition, court documents say, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-j-paul-gettys-grandson-found-dead-lapd-investigating-20150331-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Film and television directors › Directors of the United States and Canada › Contemporary film directors › Directors debuting in the 1990s and 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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