The House of the Devil [2009]

The House of the Devil is like a mediocre haunted house. You meander through expecting something terrifying to be lurking around every corner, but when it’s over, you’re thinking, “That wasn’t so bad.”
The only reason The House of the Devil is unnerving is because you know what’s coming. You wait and anticipate nearly the entire movie and when the time finally comes for the big reveal, it’s not so frightening.

What makes the film so great is that it's actually shot as if it were from the '80s. There are feathered hairstyles, awkward freeze frames, low-tJocelin Donahue in The House of the Devilech title cards,and awesome synthesizer music, but those are primarily only in the first few minutes. There's a deeper philosophy at work here that's a leftover from that decade, and earlier ones. The dialogue is naturalistic, devoid of preview-worthy sound bites. The focus is not on cheap gotcha scares, or gore, or the modern torture porn trend that's culminated in the endless Saw movies. It's all about atmosphere. It's about putting the audience on Samantha's shoulder and really letting us simmer with her - getting briefly bored, then fidgety, then vastly uncomfortable. It's a much more cerebral type of scare, adding layers of tension until the horrifying climax. It works incredibly well.

There's a solid 40 minutes of this time-killing (with one unexpected shock), in an effort to generate suspense. The audience knows something or someone is lurking outside and Samantha doesn't. Yet every time she gets a little gooned out, she talks herself out of being scared, or figures out that it's a false alarm.
The protagonist is the sweet, unsuspecting Samantha (Jocelin Donahue). Much of the movie features Samantha bopping around in her snow hat conveniently topped with a bouncy ball for our own amusement.

Overall, the movie is very well made. It completely recreates the feeling of 80s horror; less CGI, more imagination and a whole lot of corn syrup. Even the camera work harkens back to simpler days. All of the shots are noticeably long and there is rarely more than two points of view.
It sounds shallow, but in The House of the Devil ‘s case it works. Long shots leave the viewer with far more time to build up nerves over what could be lurking around the corner. Director Ti West has the right idea; it’s unfortunate the result is unfulfilling.

The House Of The Devil simultaneously fools around with audience expectations as well, alternately teasing and spooking out the audience. It creeps up on you. This is more Horror Drama, then straight Horror movie. And the build up time takes ... well it's time! There is more build up time here, then actually payoff time.

Nearly the entire film, save for the last 20 minutes, is just a buildup to the grand not-so-horrifying finale. If the camera didn’t love Donahue, most of the film would be unbearable. Samantha is an obvious but intriguing character. You can’t help but like her. Even Greta Gerwig who plays her friend Heather is good in her role and provides a bit of comedic relief. The Ulman family is also excellently cast. Noonan and Woronov make the perfect team.

The House of the Devil completely relies on the fact that the audience knows what’s coming. Labeling it something other than a horror film and catching the audience off guard. Instead, a bunch of horror fans will walk into this theater waiting an hour and ten minutes for a big terrifying culmination and get something that’s just not so scary.
A huge first act where nothing happens and a pay off that’s good but isn’t enough.
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The House of the Devil

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

Awards
The House of the Devil