The House of the Devil (VOD - 2009)
Magnet Releasing / 2009
Directed by Ti West
Written by Ti West
Cast: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Dee Wallce
Review by Brian Harris
 

In need of some quick money to pay for her new apartment, Samantha takes a job babysitting for a few hours. Upon arrival though she’s informed that the person she’ll be sitting for will not be a child but in fact an elderly woman. Hesitantly she takes the job but it becomes clear that there’s more to the house and more to the elderly woman and this family than meets the eye.

The House of the Devil has creepy characters, a sympathetic protagonist and it’s thick with unbearable suspense and dread-inducing atmosphere. Unfortunately the film is also poorly paced and highly predictable; we’ve been here and we’ve done this hundreds of times. West does an admirable job of recreating the look and feel of 70s & 80s horror cinema, but it ends up feeling like a road all too often traveled by seasoned horror fans. Satanic cult? Diabolical impregnation?

The acting, for the most part was solid, especially from the fresh-faced and surprisingly talented Donahue, but there were times when Tom Noonan’s character, while certainly ominous, also felt positively phoned-in and completely unconvincing. Maybe it was his acting style, I couldn’t say, but I wasn’t all that impressed with Woronov’s performance either so I’m going to assume the entire affair just needed stronger directing. Those two actors have definitely seen better days, that’s for sure.

The one thing I greatly enjoyed was the look of House of the Devil; it was simply a beautiful film to behold. Everything from the cinematography to the production design, all of it reminiscent of the best of old school horror. West goes all out to keep this film in the moment, and in the year, and he does a phenomenal job doing so. While I may have a small gripe with the acting and unoriginality of the story, the visuals are untouchable.

Does The House of the Devil set out to do what it was meant to do? I’d say it was mildly entertaining and delivered a few chills here and there but I was left feeling robbed by such an obvious, predictable finale and overall worn out concept. Don’t get me wrong, I love to see modern horror cinema revisit the more mature horror cinema of yesteryear but I also want something new, bring me something that adds to horror cinema, not apes the classics. West obviously has a genuine love for horror especially older horror, as evidenced by his first feature The Roost, but this needed a bit more oomph for me to want to add it to my own collection. Check it out, just be sure to rent first.