THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL
Written, Directed & Edited by Ti West
Produced by Josh Braun, Roger Kass, Peter Phok, Larry Fessenden & Peter Phok
Released by Magnet Releasing
USA. 93 min. Rated R
With Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Mary Woronov, Tom Noonan, A J Bowen & Dee Wallace
 

Ti West, writer/director/editor of this Halloween weekend’s creepfest The House of the Devil, lets us know immediately that we’re in the early eighties: acid-washed jeans, feathered hear, a retro title sequence complete with freeze frames, liberal use of the zoom lens, and a synthesizer-heavy soundtrack. This is a throwback to a different era, an era without cell phones, an era where horror—some would argue—was most at home. But unlike the helmers of Grindhouse or the “Scream” series, West doesn’t have his tongue anywhere near his cheek.

Like many an undergraduate, Sam (Jocelin Donahue, transcending the expectations of the genre) is desperate for cash. Too often sexiled by her dorm roommate and eager to move into a spacey new home, Sam needs her first month’s deposit in four days. She responds to a flier for a babysitter and jumps at the opportunity. After it’s slowly and painfully revealed that what’s required of Sam isn’t exactly babysitting but attending to an unseen elderly shut-in, she negotiates for more cash, taking the job against the advice of her best friend (mumblecore goddess Greta Gerwig). Things may not seem right, but Sam has her Walkman, the local news, and some pizza money to get her through the night. Or so she thinks.

Shot in Lime Rock, CT, in that desolate season of spiny trees and iced-over grass, The House of the Devil sustains a tone and atmosphere that slowly simmers the suspense until it’s almost unbearable. Tuning out the eerie noises upstairs in the dark Victorian mansion, Sam puts back on her headphones and dances around the house to the Fixx’s “One Thing Leads to Another.” Even with that kind of a setup, West leaves the camp at the door, utilizing an almost Kubrickian craftsmanship to portray a petrified young woman who’s dancing just to keep herself sane. But when he’s ready to let this sucker climax, West doesn’t hold back, spilling plenty of blood as he lets his movie live up to its title. See this movie in a packed theatre at midnight or with your significant other on VOD—someone is going to jump.

I can see how The House of the Devil may not have read well on the page. With sparse dialogue, a fairly standard story, and many plot points that are left unexplained, it could have easily have been a dud. But, boy, does this guy have a voice, one that’s perfect for the genre and scary. Scary as hell. Patrick Wood
October 30, 2009