The House of the Devil (2009)

Director:

Ti West

Writer:

Ti West (screenplay)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Talk on the phone. Finish your homework. Watch T.V. DIE!

Plot:

In the 1980s, 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; they plan to use her in a satanic ritual. |

Plot Keywords:

College Student | 1980s | College | Satanic Ritual | Secret

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Jocelin Donahue	...	Samantha
Tom Noonan	...	Mr. Ulman
Mary Woronov	...	Mrs. Ulman
Greta Gerwig	...	Megan
AJ Bowen	...	Victor Ulman
Dee Wallace	...	Landlady
Heather Robb	...	Heather
Darryl Nau	...	Random Guy
Brenda Cooney	...	Nurse
Danielle Noe	...	Mother
Mary B. McCann	...	Elaine Cross
John Speredakos	...	Ted Stephen
Lena Dunham	...	911 Operator
Christina Sciongay	...	Student
Kamen Velkovsky	...	Demon

MPAA:

Rated R for some bloody violence.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45576)

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Company:

MPI Media Group

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Samantha is holding the knife near the bottom of the stairs, she says, "Mrs. Ulman?" referring to Mr. Ulman's mother-in-law. Her last name would most likely not be the same as her son-in-law's last name.

The Devil is in the Details, and the Classic Horror

The House of the Devil is a fastidiously detailed, pitch-perfect homage to 80's horror, that adheres to genre conventions while at the same time transcending them. Director Ti West understands what makes horror films work, that the horror is always more exciting when you don't know when to expect it. Jocelin Donahue plays Samantha, typical college-girl hoping to get a place of her own but without the cash to do so. She accepts a babysitting job that promises to pay well, and is then left in a creepy house in the middle of nowhere. Borrowing a page from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (and others) playbook, the been there, done that story is absolutely the point, complete with opening statistics promising a true story. Horror doesn't need to be complicated, just well executed. West builds dread and terror like a pro, understanding the classic Hitchcock sensibility that people fear what they don't see, and what they don't know (Lovecraft said so as well). In the face of torture porn and slasher flicks, where the only horror is the gore and the murder (and unnecessary soundtrack spikes), it is quite unsettling to be subjected to a thrill ride like this one.