Review of The House of the Devil (2009) by Melvin W — 31 Oct 2011

Samantha: Hi, I'm calling in regards to the babysitter flier posted outside my dorm room.

"Talk on the phone. Finish your homework. Watch T.V. Die!".

I have no problem saying that this is in my top 10 favorite horror films of all-time. Ti West does a nice little throwback/homage to 70's, 80's horror. The picture is grainy, the credits are exactly like an cheap horror film and the soundtrack is spotless. I love how he included Greg Kihn's Breakup Song in the soundtrack that has the line, "They don't write em like that anymore." It is sort of West's way of saying that horror movies just aren't what they used to be. .

The story is straightforward. A college student wants to get a place of her own, and she needs to come up with the money for the place. She sees a flier for a babysitter and decides to take the guy up on it. That's about as far as I'll go into plot for two reasons. A) There really isn't that much more to tell. B) I don't want to accidentally give anything away.

This film is extremely slow and if you don't like slow burn horror, then don't watch this. If you do, this is heaven. For me, this is the closest to perfection a horror film has been since The Shining. The first 30 minutes is all getting to know Samantha and her situation. I grew to like her quick. Then she gets to the house and still, nothing much happens. I love the scenes where she wanders the house. West plays off what we expect from a standard horror film very well.

Then finally we get to an amazing last sequence that rivals any horror sequence I have ever seen. I must mention how the scene starts out because I found it to be the coolest thing ever. You won't get much out of this description if you haven't seen it, but here it is anyway. The screen is black and then a red moon flashes onto the screen three times, slowly to an almost heartbeat like drumming. Then black again, a lighter flicks on three times to the same heartbeat. Then black again, Samantha in her "situation" pops up three times to the same heartbeat. Then the camera goes crazy to some of the most bizarre and surreal music I have ever heard. The first time I watched this scene I sat motionless, in awe of just how well done it was. Then I finished the movie, went back to the start of the ending, and watched it again.

Everybody has that movie that feels like it was almost made just for them. These type of movies don't have big stars in them and they don't have big budgets. They feel personal somehow. This is that movie for me. It is absolutely perfect in my opinion. I honestly believe this to be the best horror film since that has come out in the last 25 plus years. I love it that much.