The House Of The Devil

The House of the Devil had me excited, more to see if Ti West's experiment succeeded, and less about the actual film. And I use the term experiment loosely, because the film doesn't feel all that experimental, but has qualities that differentiate it from other films of its time. While West certainly succeeds with his experiment, he has also succeeded in crafting a highly enjoyable and terrifying film, which, above all else, is the most important aspect.

At this point, those unfamiliar with The House of the Devil will be wondering what this aforementioned experiment is. Ti West, writer and director of some horror films you've likely never heard of (I haven't), has created an authentic 1980s horror film. Now, I don't mean he imitated or copied or drew inspiration from 1980s horror films, but has actually created one nearly two decades after the 80s. From the camera angles, the grainy video quality, the credit font, the pacing, the score, and just about everything else, The House of the Devil is a pitch perfect 80s film. In fact, it's better than many of the films from the actual decade. So experiment may be an appropriate term, because The House of the Devil doesn't feel like a movie made in 2009, but feels like something that came from the era of Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

The story concerns itself with satanic cults, and the depraved and awful things they can do to innocent people, especially young, virgin college girls. But the film is actually more about Samantha, a young woman who is meant to "babysit" some elderly woman, stuck alone in a huge house in the middle of nowhere. West uses this time to build tension, slowly, which lends itself to some truly stomach clenching moments. Instead of jump scares - though there are a few - West builds upon a growing sense of dread, having the audience fear for Samantha's life, whose only foul was being desperate.

The acting is consistently solid, and the performance by Tom Noonan is quite good. He has a presence, and while he may not seem, at first, to fit, his role may be more essential because of this. And while Noonan deserves much of the credit, West managed to write characters with unique voices that seemed to be layered enough to be interesting. His script has us caring what happens to Samantha and her friend Megan. That is not an easy task, probably because it is so rare in current horror films. The teens in present day horror are all mean-spirited and obnoxious, so their deaths don't mean as much to viewers as characters we care about.

The House of the Devil is tense in all the best ways. It is a horror film that doesn't rely on jump scare tactics or excessive gore to sell the fear. This is a beautifully crafted film that belongs to another decade, but audiences now will have the pleasure of seeing it in this era, before it has a chance to age and gain a cult following. The House of the Devil is a stylistic throwback that anyone who experienced horror films in the 80s should see, but so should horror fans of the present. It's truly worth it.

Genre - Horror (3.5)

Screenplay (3)

Acting (3)

Production (4)

Directing (4)