Film reviews: The House of the Devil (2009)

As much a masterclass in sustained tension and unrelenting suspense as it is a pastiche on all things 1980's, The House of the Devil has deservedly been treated as somewhat of a modern classic. From the effortlessly cool freeze-frame opening titles to the hefty walkman our protagonist carries around throughout the film, the era of those reliably low-budget '80s slasher flicks is masterfully sent up, while at the same time director Ti West produces a film that undoubtedly improves on the trashy horrors that inspired it.

Referencing via an on-screen title card at the very beginning the 1980's panic over Satanists and murderous cults and unfolding against the back-drop of a freak eclipse, we follow unlucky-in-life college student Samantha Hughes as she accepts a babysitting job. Once arriving at her employers' large country estate, she quickly discovers she hasn't been told the whole truth, but accepts the job anyway. As she lurks around the house, the person she's supposed to watch over somewhere upstairs, Samantha's terror grows, until she makes some truly shocking discoveries about the nature of her hiring.

Jocelin Donahue produces such a sympathetic heroine in Samantha that despite making a couple of ridiculously stupid decisions throughout the film, her desperation for the things that drive her to make said decisions (need for money, a fancy new apartment) so genuinely radiate from her that she becomes a flawed but ridiculously real young woman. Greta Gerwig, mumblecore goddess, also puts in a fine performance as Samantha's BFF.

For much of the film, scares come from the actual performers themselves. Tom Noonan wonderfully underplays as the freakishly tall Mr. Ulman, while Mary Woronov gives the movie its biggest spook during a scene where her character is alone with the helpless Samantha, complimenting her beauty while calmly showing off her collection of furs. The fact that nothing much actually happens only heightens the tension. You're so sure that something terrible is lurking right around the corner that it's irrelevant that few things actually do happen until the last fifteen minutes.

Of course, with such a dramatic build-up, the eventual climax unsurprisingly disappoints a little, but the imagery in the scene where everything is revealed is so powerful that it doesn't necessarily spoil the film as a whole.

So impressive is the build-up and the constant dread produced via the direction from Ti West, The House of the Devil not only terrifies, but also glorifies a fear-driven, consumerist era that seamlessly makes these kinds of movies work so well. Rating A

Credits
Stars Jocelin Donahue (Samantha Hughes); Tom Noonan (Mr. Ulman); Mary Woronov (Mrs. Ulman); Greta Gerwig (Megan); AJ Bowen (Victor Ulman); Dee Wallace (The Landlady)
Writer Ti West Director Ti West