Review - The House of the Devil (2009)

So I finally got around to finally seeing House of the Devil, which I had been waiting so long to see and considering the hype and all the buzz about it on Facebook, Twitter and the horror blogosphere… I was extremely happy to see it finally come to the Music Box Theater. Well, this movie is about a college sophomore living in the 1980s who takes up a babysitting opportunity in an isolated Victorian house, but things start to go extremely wrong when she finds out that she’s not really there to babysit and when she hears strange noises coming from the upstairs. This is homage to 80’s horror although I would also say that it is homage to 70’s exploitation films in some cases.

Now, what makes this movie so similar to 80’s horror? Well, I’ve heard some people rave about the picture quality and the props, well; I didn’t really notice anything about the picture quality and the props you get that with every period movie. What really made this film a tribute was the cinematography and the progression of the storyline. In the beginning, the scenes would freeze-frame while the credits appeared. There are quick cuts, long zooms and loud sound effects… all attributing the 80’s horror.

The progression of the film was also very retro. If you are expecting for the horror to kick in right away… then you are wrong, it takes a long time and it’s very slow pace and it holds out till the last 15 or 20 minutes of the movie. With that said, I think that I would compare the plot to Rosemary’s Baby as well as Amityville Horror. The movie builds up so much anticipation that when you get to the end… it just slaps with everything at once.

As for the horror itself; it delivers. I actually jumped up a couple of times and much like the 80s brand of horror, there are a few cliché scares. House of the Devil also goes for shock horror. Everything up until the end is creepy and ominous and when the end scenes play out… it’s like watching an acid trip and there are flashes of demonic images and bright colors. There is very little gore but there are disturbing scenes involving sacrifices and blood consumption. Even the score is very high strung and shrilling.

Overall, this is a movie that is strictly for people who love retro films as well as 80’s horror… if you don’t like either, I would not recommend seeing this at all. If you are not okay with slow paced movies, don’t see it either. I loved it and I thought it was great but that’s only because I love 80’s and 70’s horror films. A group of people came into the theater during the showing of it and all they did was laugh and make fun of it… if you are going into a movie knowing that you won’t like it and only see it just to mock it, DON’T SEE THE MOVIE!!!!