Review of The House of the Devil (2009) by Andrew D — 24 Jul 2013

The House of the Devil is one of those films that divides audience and film critics--and it's easy to see why. Audiences understandably grew tired with a trudge of a film and critics praised it for just that.

Sam needs money. She's in college and recently bought a new apartment and is desperate to earn a few more bucks. Seeing that there is a possible offer as a babysitter on one of the campus' bulletin boards, she calls up the number. But when she gets to the house, she realizes that the job isn't at all as what was described to be. As the title suggests, there is something sinister going on the residence of the Ulman's and Sam, the sweet, soft-spoken, and kind girl is in deep trouble.

(I tried to make that sound as exciting as possible).

Chances are the most exciting thing you'll experience is reading a synopsis or summary of the film. Watching the trailer also may pique your interest, but when it comes to actually watching THOTD, don't be surprised if you are overcome with boredom and regret.

That being said, THOTD is the epitome of a slow moving film. Sometimes it felt like I was in the editing room of a movie. I wanted to clip the lingering shots of some scenes in the start of the film--shorten the parts that didn't need to be longer than they really had to be. But having understood what type of movie I was now immersed in, it was much easier to enjoy it.

Understandably, the audience wasn't a fan of the movie. Common possible complaints are: its slow, nothing happened, when something happened I didn't care anymore etc. Of those complaints, the last one is the most detrimental. THOTD.

If, by the end of the film, you've lost all interest, then Ti West has done something wrong. The whole point of this deliberately slow pace is to build up excitement for the final act. In recent times, films like the Paranormal Activity series have tried this, with much better reception from audiences. But a less recent, but still semi-new movie Audition from Takashi also uses this structure, and has received love from viewers and critics. What the difference is, is that THOTD is silly.

To juxtapose, Audition had a killer who knew what she was doing. She was stealthy, lethal, creepy, and psychopathic. In THOTD we have four occult members who are sloppy. They stand idly by when their victim tries to escape, waiting an odd amount of time before actually taking action. The problem with THOTD is not it's film structure, but the written characters. They are capable of being creepy, but it's when they are written to be creepy that they fail to be.

What THOTD succeeds in is it's suspense. Ti West knows how to create it. When horror movies now lack palpable suspense THOTD thrives on it. Admittedly, you have to be into the movie to feel it (adopting the sentiments that nothing is happening in the movie will cancel out any of the effects of the suspense). The anticipation that something wrong will happen is high. We know something will eventually come and we have a sense when it will, but we never truly know when in THOTD.

And by the end, the payoff almost doesn't live up to the wait due to its careless characters. It is particularly creepy and odd, but it's hard to forgive such terribly motivated antagonists. But what really saves it is are the last words uttered in the movie. The real payoff is that quiet scene in the hospital.

THOTD feels like an authentic 70s/80s horror movie with the look and feel completely on spot. The camp factor is there as well, which might explain such sloppy villains, but emulating a period when horror movies were inventive isn't enough. It has its highs which bearly outweigh its lows, but if you're into a throwback horror movie, complete with real suspense, THOTD is the way to go. 6.5/10.