The House of the Devil [Blu-ray]

It was great

It's been done a hundred times, late teen to early twenty something needs cash so she takes a babysitting job at a large, creepy and barely lit house; either in the middle of the nowhere or in the middle of a group of homes with people who couldn't hear an atomic bomb go off in their front yard. It's a simple, creepy and old premise. And it's one of my favorites.With such films as "When A Stranger Calls" and "Halloween" being two of the grandparents to Ti West's wonderful throwback film "House of the Devil" no wonder the film is so good. You take the above mentioned premise, throw in a little devil worship and some Alfred Hitchcock; and 'bang' you got yourself a sure fire hit; at least in my opinion.Samantha is a busy and broke college student, who despises living with her borderline prostitute of a roommate, so she goes out and finds herself a nice little place right beside a church no less. Her soon to be land lady is very nice, even waving the deposit; as long as Sam has the first months rent by Monday. But, this is only a few days til then, where will the money come from?! Enter an ominous 'BABYSITTER NEEDED' ad on the ads board and an ill fated phone call and the set up is done.The great thing about "The House of the Devil" is that it doesn't rely on gore or something MAJOR happening every 5 minutes. That is fine for some, but in this day and age of instant gratification and now, now, now film making where a gallon of blood and a few severed limbs are needed to keep most of the ADHD kids interested; it's great that Ti West has the guts to go out on a limb and give us a very simple set up and then let our imaginations go into overdrive for the middle 45 minutes of the film.Yes, you heard me. After Samantha gets to said house, meet the "owners" and after a few bumps in the road, with one or two HOLY CRAP moments, we are left alone with Samantha, her walkman and a HUGE mansion of a house to explore and be creeped out by. And this is where the film shines. By making the mundane experience of exploration into a tightly wound, edge of your seat ride. And as things begin to become clear to Samantha, and little tilts of the camera or focusing on an open doorframe become more noticeable, the chills of the film start to sink in even more. The ending, although coming on very fast and ending to easily and much to quickly for my taste, is a perfect example of 80's horror. How what you are exposed to earlier in the film, such as a staircase, or a doorway, or a carpet, becomes a bit more important. Even simple lines are used well to help throw us and Samantha off.The cast was wonderful. I had never heard of Jocelin Donahue before this film but her portrayal of Samantha was great, bringing just the right amount of innocence, fear and fight into the role and her beauty didn't hurt. Greta Gerwig as Sam's best friend who's name alludes me at the moment was also great, even if her screen time was short. She was spunky and feisty and showed a genuine amount of concern at leaving her bff out in the middle of nowhere. "Manhunters" Tom Noonan was creepy and imposing as Mr. Ullman and "The Devil's Rejects" Mary Woronov was the same with her limited sceentime.The films design was PERFECT, as it was set in the 80's and was meant to emulate an old 80's horror film. The leads girls had their hair feathered, wore tight or acid washed jeans. I LOVED Samantha's HUGE mittens at the beginning! SOOOOOO 80'S!!! Even the music was 80's! With the film frame freezing during the opening credits to really cheesy synth music, and Samantha's little dance number to The Fixx's 'One Thing Leads To Another' mid film!The sets were creepy when they needed to be, and fun when they needed to be and throwback normal when they needed to be. Little touches were also great, like the phone in the Ullman's kitchen, and Samantha's walkman.I'll admit that the film is not for everyone. It's a slow burn of a film, having a fun and creepy beginning, and a tightly wound and very disturbing middle, and then a VERY quick and fast paced ending. But, if you enjoyed films like "When A Stranger Calls" (the original) and "Rosemary's Baby" then this is definitely a film you'd enjoy.

Thick in atmosphere and attention to 70s-era detail, “The House of the Devil '' is a slowburn psychological and supernatural thriller that, depending on your expectations, may or may not live up to its reputation and status as a cult favorite.Sam (played by Jocelin Donahue in full late 70s/early 80s hairstyle and jeans) is a college student who’s so desperate to earn cash that she accepts a babysitting job even after she finds out there is no baby.Mr. and Mrs. Ulman (character actors Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov) are the older couple who lure Sam out to their creaky mansion deep in the woods, just in time for a total lunar eclipse. Megan (Greta Gerwig) is Sam's best friend, who gives her a ride out to the house, and reluctantly leaves her there despite suspecting that something is very much amiss, and by night’s end, Sam finds herself in a fight for her life, her sanity, and her soul.'The House of the Devil' is a throwback, set during the "satanic panic" era – an age of “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Race With the Devil,” “The Devil’s Rain,” etc. – and one that’s written, edited, and directed by horror veteran Ti West. Many critics have praised the film for its strong retro look, tone, and atmosphere -- which is so authentic at times that it almost makes you feel as if you're watching some long-lost production from decades ago.West obviously loves classic horror films and you can tell that he's studied them long and hard through his direction. His camerawork is mainly calm and restrained and he puts slow zooms to use with great effect. But the devil is really in the details here -- from the feathered hair and the period-ish clothing, to Samantha's clunky Sony Walkman right down to the candy bar wrapper -- it's clear that a LOT of effort went into creating a virtual blast from the past. Even the synthesizer music during the rustic opening credits sequence is a nice touch. I wouldn't call it perfect, as perceptive viewers may notice some modern fixtures and other elements that don't quite fit with the setting's time frame, but for the most part it's done extremely well for a production operating on a very tight budget.That said, once the nostalgic candy coating wears thin, what’s beneath (I hate to say) is a largely dull, glacially-paced and unoriginal film that mostly squanders all it has going for it, which is a shame, given how much potential the film starts out with. West doesn’t put nearly as much effort in other areas as he does recapturing the look and atmosphere of a 70s horror film. If he had, this would have been a far superior film.“'The House of the Devil' has too many things happening just for the sake of convenience that it eventually becomes aggravating, which in turn makes everyone in the movie look like they suffer from the worst judgment imaginable. Noonan and Woronov are admittedly brilliant casting choices, but their cryptic and non-answers to Sam’s questions, and their bizarre actions SHOULD make her run from the house while she still can.The worst part is that both actors are criminally underused, suffering from a script that gives them precious little to do. What we get instead is an avalanche of mundane filler – things like Samantha reading magazines, watching TV, etc. which sacrifices suspense and replaces it with tedium.Of course, I'd be willing to try and overlook these shortcomings if 'The House of the Devil' went somewhere, developed its characters and had a strong finish, but sadly, it does not, and the “payoff” was largely unsatisfying.I won't give it away for those who haven't seen the movie, but I will say that West tacks on one of the most contrived and uninspired climaxes in the history of horror filmmaking. Besides bombarding the audience with cliché after cliché and things happening for no reason whatsoever, he throws the classic approach leading up to this point out the window and reverts to a quick cut/shaky-cam technique that goes against the grain of the rest of the movie.As far as the Blu-ray itself goes, the picture has an inconsistent grain field that varies from scene to scene. Sometimes it's light and pleasing, while other times the grain is so heavy that it becomes a distraction. Colors generally have a pale washed-out look and blacks are actually pretty decent with minimal crushing. Fleshtones are warm and healthy, if a bit on the soft side. Fine detailing and clarity can be hindered a little by the softness, but facial close-ups still retain solid texture and delineation.The audio serves the purpose, even if it’s largely unremarkable. Dialogue comes through the center channel clean and well balanced with the rest of the track. The eighties' tunes and the score by composer Jeff Grace also sound decent, though none of the music ever strays very far from the front channels.The bonus content is actually more interesting than the film itself (fortunately), chief among are the two audio commentaries – the first, with writer/director Ti West and actress Jocelin Donahue, and one with West and second unit director/sound designer Graham Resnik, and producers Larry Fessenden and Peter Phok. Both are pretty good, but I preferred the second (commentary), as it was livelier and had fewer “dead” spots, with laughs and goofing around thrown in for good measure.Other extras include deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes footage collage (not worth the 13 minutes it takes to watch it), cast interviews, and the standard trailer for the movie.Ultimately, “The House of the Devil '' did feel like watching a long-lost horror movie from a bygone era – not necessarily one of the era’s best, but with all the hallmarks of the decade it's meant to recreate. West certainly deserves accolades for the retro-style of the direction, cinematography, character and set dressings, but there’s little else about the film to be excited about.I’d been curious about this film for years before purchasing the Blu-ray, and with all the hype I’d heard about it, I am glad to have seen it, but it’s definitely one of those “love it or hate it” type of films. If you’ve been curious about it and you don’t mind it being a “style over substance” slowburn, then this might be exactly what you’ve been looking for.