REVIEW – The House of the Devil

Published on: 6th February, 2010

REVIEW - The House of the Devil  | read this item

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Many horror movies of recent years have promised to capture the raw feel and visual style of the late 1970s and early ’80s. The dawn of the home video, this was an era in which advancements in prosthetic effects and the accessibility of cult exploitation flicks caused a major revival in the genre. Whilst Adam Green’s Hatchet and the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse had failed to truly replicate the experience, others such as Matthew Reel’s Jessicka Rabid, had benefited from their low budget and relatively amateur roots. Although his supposed breakthrough feature, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, has still yet to receive a proper release, director Ti West’s belated success seems to have finally come with his ’80s throwback The House of the Devil.

Desperate to escape her depressing dorm room, sophomore Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) agrees to rent a house from a sympathetic landlady (Dee Wallace), despite being unable to pay the rent. Searching for a fast way to earn her first month’s rent, she replies to an ad for a babysitter. Although the client (Tom Noonan) initially stands her up, he later calls to apologize, stating that the girl he had hired was unreliable and required someone to work that evening. Although her best friend, Megan (Greta Gerwig), is somewhat skeptical about traveling out to an isolated mansion, Samantha agrees to task in exchange for $400. But once the man and his wife have left for an evening to celebrate a coming eclipse, Samantha senses that all is not what it seems and soon begins to fear for her life.

Credit where it’s due: West has succeeded in recreating the feel of an early ‘80s supernatural horror. Perhaps the most obvious comparison would be The Amityville Horror, with young star Donahue even somewhat resembling Margot Kidder. Wisely avoiding the modern post-Scream beauties, the two young leads in The House of the Devil look straight out of Happy Birthday to Me, further adding to the authentic feel (despite the fact that in real life Donahue is an extremely attractive model). Wisely avoiding referencing a year, there are no cell phones or laptops on show and Samantha even sports an old school Walkman, with which she blasts out some truly dated rock and synth tunes.

Whilst those raised on a diet of MTV-style horrors such as Saw may find The House of the Devil boring and uneventful, those who recall many of the Italian horror movies from back in the day (such as Mario Bava’s Shock) will find this a rather effective little flick. Even down to the opening credits (which utilize an appropriate yellow font) and the oh-so-dated clothes, West and his team have come up with something that certainly feels authentic. Thankfully, whilst many teens in horror films these days are somewhat obnoxious and unsympathetic, Donahue is a strong and likable lead and the script avoids any overly clichéd dialogue (except that which is used to recreate the ‘80s vibe). Noonan, known to most for his villainous turn as Cain in RoboCop 2, gives suitably creepy support as the mysterious Mr. Ulman.

For the majority of its running time, The House of the Devil strikes almost every note to perfection, combining the ‘70s exploitation and supernatural feel with an element of ‘80s slashers. West is clearly a talented filmmaker and his love of old school horror is clearly evident. But where the film does fail is during its final fifteen minutes, when the antagonists finally reveal their evil plan and what had previously been a subtle and relatively restrained chiller (aside from one brutal death) suddenly feels forced and desperate. Instead of remaining true to the ‘80s, the climax felt closer to the modern torture porn cycle than anything retro. It is a shame as, had the movie kept up its charm to the very end, The House of the Devil would surely have been a classic.

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