The House of the Devil (2009)

If anyone ever asks you if you are the baby sitter, for the love of God say YES!


The House of the Devil (2009)
Directed By: Ti West (Cabin Fever 2)


The Prologue
I first heard about The House of the Devil when I won a DVD and I got a post card along with the DVD advertising it. Then later on I, like most people, really got into the spirit to see it once we saw that there was a VHS copy of the film out there as nostalgia ran wild and turned this little movie into anything but just a little movie in the minds of a lot of us.

So after all the hype does The House of the Devil live up at all to what we assumed we were getting? Maybe it's not what we figured it was but it doesn't mean we are to be disappointed with what we got.


The Movie
In the 1980s, college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. As you can assume all is not as it seems and weird things are bound to happen in the hour and a half you sit watching this odd yet highly compelling film.

This movie was said to be a throwback to the 80's and it really is in every way possible. It has the look and the feel and if you didn't know better you'd think this was just some 80's film that got a recent release on DVD and Blu Ray. That over-all vibe greatly adds to the feeling you get while watching this movie.

Now folks do NOT go into this thing looking for fast action, this movie is the blue print for a slow (and I do mean slow) suspenseful burn. Now the tension is so high that even the slightest thing can make you jump but you may be turned off at first if you are unable to handle the slow build. I hate slow builds myself but this one will hold your attention I promise.


Slow build also means you're not going to get a lot of blood but when you do get it let me be the first to say it's disturbing and very worthy of the wait. Now of course I wish there had been a lot more but it just wouldn't have fit the format. If you are worried about acting on the other hand it's what it is, just like most of what you'd have seen in the 80's. Not anything to brag on but good to hold you in the film even if some of it is rather subtle. Jocelin Donahue, who plays the lead of Samantha does a great job and we see her the most so it's all well there to.

The movie really puts me in mind of something like Audition as all is leading to the grand and twisted finale of the film, a finale that kinda is lacking a bit. Things do get terribly weird in the third act and it kinda doesn't fit with the rest perfectly but it's good enough.


As I'm sure you may have heard before the ending is just kinda there, so you may be left slightly unsatisfied.



The Conclusion
A great nod to the 80's folks. I love the look, I love the feel, and I like the thing over all. No it wasn't as great as I had hoped but it's a good movie none the less.

If you haven't seen The House of the Devil yet then it's well worth a rent if not a buy, and if you're looking to buy it Wal*Mart has it for only 10 bucks!


The Rating (7/10)