The House Of The Devil (2009)

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The Yearly Top Ten (2009)

63%
Overall Rating

Ranked #2,167
...out of 15,250 movies

Genres: Horror Religious Horror Supernatural Horror

In 1983, financially struggling college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret, putting her life in mortal danger. --IMDb

Review by bluemeanie
Added: November 13, 2009

There's something to be said about the attention to detail. Very few horror filmmakers possess that quality and it shows in their efforts. Ti West is not one of these individuals. He wrote, directed, produced, shot and edited the film "House of the Devil" and his superb attention to detail is what separates this film from the rest of the pack and turns it into one of the best horror films of the year.

Set in the early-1980's, the film is an homage to those babysitter horror films like "When A Stranger Calls". It centers around the character of Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) who, after getting her own place, realizes she's flat broke. She takes a job babysitting for a strange couple, the Ulmans. Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan) has some bizarre happenings with her before they ever meet face to face, and when they do Samantha realizes they have no child and that she will actually be sitting for their elderly mother. Her best friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) warns her that everything seems a little too creepy, but she insists she needs the money.

When Megan leaves and the Ulmans depart, that is when the movie takes off, so to speak. Most of this film is flawless execution -- the building of tension and suspense. The thought of what 'could' be lurking behind every corner. Ti West builds the doom and dread like an expert carpenter and creates a claustrophobic sense of place and time that I have not seen in a horror film before. The music is authentic and chilling. The cinematography is pitch-perfect. The costume design and set decoration are just fantastic -- from the authentic Coke cups in the pizza joint to the amazingly recreated television broadcast.

What I appreciated most about the film was that it didn't care to take the time to build the story. It takes twists and turns that the audience doesn't expect and it delivers on countless levels. Jocelin Donahue is the perfect choice for the role and has that combination of innocence and uncertainty that Carol Kane also possessed. Tom Noonan is at his creepiest in a role that could have easily been overacted by another. He plays it with slick polish and a skill for the genre. And Greta Gerwig and A.J. Bowen have a lot of fun in their roles.

I recommend this to horror fans everywhere. It's a crisp and exciting homage to a horror sub-genre that is all too forgotten these days. I can't wait to see what Ti West tackles next.

#1: Chad - added 11/13/2009, 06:20 AM
I've had this one queued up on Xbox for a while now, but I've been putting it off until I would be able to review it. Since you reviewed it, I went ahead and fired it up. Holy shit, I wish I hadn't waited so long: this really is a damned fine horror movie in every way possible. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it perfect (I felt there was about five minutes of padding when she explored every room in the house), but other than that... yes, that review sums it up. 9.5/10.

#2: bluemeanie - added 11/13/2009, 10:29 AM
You might have seen a different version. There is one version that is 8 minutes longer than the version I saw. It's the difference between the festival cut and the distributor cut. That might have been the padding to which you are referring.

#3: Lucid Dreams - added 11/13/2009, 12:17 PM
It had great acting and a good story, but I felt it dragged a little to much for me. Also I like AJ Bowen and can't wait to see him in future movies. 7/10

#4: Chad - added 11/13/2009, 05:25 PM
I assume it was the distributor cut as it was officially released through Xbox and VOD around the same time, but I can't confirm that. Anywho, I'm referring to the way she walked next to the stairs and played the piano a bit, then went upstairs and looked in the billiards room, then went to the room with the desk and sat down for a while, then went to the bathroom, then went to the empty room, then.... well, you get the idea.

#5: Mitch - added 07/02/2010, 07:10 AM
so so so bad. please don't watch it unless you want to see a girl doing nothing for 45 mins then a very poor 10 minute ending with bad acting

#6: Dametria - added 10/08/2010, 09:39 PM
I have mixed feeling on this one. I fast forwarded through the first 15 minutes, Im sorry but I CANNOT stand watching some chick walk around aimlessly for long minutes at a time while listening to her radio (and this not even being during the opening credits and all). Then when we get to the house the build up is still painfully slow, BUT I do appreciate the fact that she was doing just about everything right. No stupid ditz standing next to an open window screaming for no reason crap here...... Was that a strange noise outside? Let me get a knife from the kitchen to set next to me while Im watching tv......
The end was a pretty awesome payoff tho. Not that there was a twist or anything original but this chicks reactions were so effin sweet, SO unlike what you usually see in horror movies. I even caught myself yellin "YEAH!" at the screen a few times.

#7: Cryptorchild - added 01/26/2013, 01:10 AM
There was something about this movie that just draws me in. I know for the first half, it kind of drags but the second half really makes up for it. I thought it was just creepy and unsettling at times, like all that tension was just building up. I can see why some wouldn't care for it but for me I think it was a real winner. 8/10.

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