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The House of the Devil [Blu-ray] Review

3.5 from 5
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Ti West’s critically lauded “The House of the Devil” has received two seemingly conflicting descriptions: most hail it as a throwback to the satanically-inclined horror movies of the 70s and early 80s, while a more insightful minority compare the pic to the related and sometimes overlapping art horror films of the late 60s and 70s. (See Polanksi, Roeg and Weir). West’s attention to period detail allows him to create a film that could pass as mid-80s vintage, but the dramatic heart of the film is tied to the more low key works of the artier directors. While the 80s saw the compromising of the past decade’s innovations and eccentricities, West refuses any such diminishment, and creates a deliberate, slow-build rare to any era of horror. This combination no doubt leads to the somewhat conflicted response among horror geeks: many surely came in expecting conventional thrills and instead received extended exposition followed by Jocelin Donahue wandering about a large empty house for a full half hour, knife in hand but with precious little to stab. There’s really no silencing such critics, it’s ultimately too subjective, but I would submit that “The House of the Devil” establishes Ti West as perhaps the most careful, subtle horror director on the scene today. “The Roost” and “Triggerman” already displayed an impressive patience, a willingness not merely to build but to actually make the viewer wait, so much that the random explosions of violence could be legitimately surprising. West takes this tendency even further here, but, at the same time, West does not cheat the viewer. Some low-key horror films refuse to show the viewer anything at all (see Picnic at Hanging Rock), but, after all the wait, “House of the Devil” delivers with a blood-smeared, no-nonsense finale that answers any questions we may have had. This climax is, I’ll admit, not as impressive as what came before, but it stands up well next to the conclusions of most quality modern horror films, and the surrounding material puts most everything else absolutely to shame.

As with most horror films, the premise is simple: Sam (Jocelin Donahue) is looking to escape her college dorm, but needs money for her new apartment. She answers a rather cryptic ad for a babysitter placed by the gaunt, towering Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan) and his somewhat unpleasantly friendly wife (Mary Woronov), who live in an isolated, oversized house far out in the woods. Upon Sam’s arrival Mr. Ulman admits that there is no child, but rather an elderly woman, unseen and evidently asleep in the upper reaches of the house. Sam is hesitant, but the Ulman’s are so desperate to view the grand eclipse (which just so happens to peak at midnight) that he offers Sam a full 0, more than enough to cover her current financial woes. Such an offer seems too good to be true and, unsurprisingly, it is.

The film is even more deliberate than that synopsis suggests: Sam doesn’t arrive at the Ulman’s house until a solid 25 minutes into the film, and she does not find herself alone in the mysterious place until 20 minutes later. Furthermore, overt scares are in short supply until the final act. (The few we receive early on, however, are terrific.) The slow build is mirrored in the visual style, dominated by slow, prowling takes and ultra-deliberate zooms. Similarly, the score is, for the most part, minimalist, dropping to near silence much of the time. These tendencies are largely dropped in the climax, as the soundtrack screeches and the camera careens wildly. These are, perhaps, rather conventional effects, but the film’s willingness to play things gently for so long gives the final shift much more impact.

While West and co. simulate the technical aspects of 80s horror filmmaking effortlessly, the greater polish is undeniable, and West’s talent for exquisite little touches is impressive. (Note the oft-referenced and rather charming scene where Sam dances about the house to “One Thing Leads to Another.”) Though shot on grainy 16mm, the film maintains an elegant look and the performances are perfectly modulated, in contrast to the hammy and flat turns of much 80s horror. Donahue’s Sam is somewhat thinly written, but she injects her with the perfect ingénue vulnerability, while Noonan is tastefully low-key and Woronov just shy of camp. There is not a single off moment in the film in either the acting or visuals, at least until some overly hasty editing near the conclusion. (Minor points I assure you.)

The film’s heart comes when Sam finds herself alone in the Ulman’s home and gradually discovers that something is drastically wrong. There is, again, little that is overt, as Sam mostly wanders about, growing more and more frightened. Rarely in these scenes is she in any apparent danger–they are more about the idea of fear, reminding of how one (one like myself, anyway) can inexplicably work his way to terror in an empty house. In the commentary West describes the film as a mystery, a not unreasonable claim. The solution to the mystery is mostly obvious (the title isn’t subtle), but West’s delicacy and Donahue’s humanity place the viewer in the world and give the inevitable revelations an impact. By isolating her so long, the film creates a connection between viewer and protagonist that is rare but absolutely crucial to the film’s effect.

Even after my extended rambling, “The House of the Devil”s charm is difficult to quantify. It is nothing new, deliberately nothing new, but it repeats the old conventions so beautifully that they feel new again, that we can see why they became conventions in the first place. The film is a good counterpart to the terrific and very modern “Martyrs,” the other candidate for best horror movie in recent memory. While that film shows where the genre can go now, “The House of the Devil” displays the best of what it already has done, and will continue doing for a long time. Check it out.

Grade: A

The House of the Devil [Blu-ray] Specifications

At once a sly tribute to ’80s-era grind-house cinema and a remarkable exercise in suspense, writer-director Ti West’s House of the Devil is a terrific–and terrifying–horror film that can be enjoyed by genre fans and outsiders alike. West’s premise hinges on the “Satanic panic” that gripped America during the Reagan era–in a nutshell, the urban legend posited that secret devil cults were kidnapping and sacrificing individuals by the thousands–and melds it with the tried-and-true babysitter in an old dark house scenario. The house in question is the property of the Ulmans (cult faves Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov), and the babysitter (newcomer Jocelin Donahue) is needed to simply keep an eye on things–and an unseen mother upstairs–until midnight, when, coincidentally, a total eclipse will occur. But the chills that ensue–and there are plenty–are driven more by slow-building atmosphere than by the bloody effects that sum up ’80s shocks. That’s not to say that there isn’t gore on display, but it’s not the film’s raison d’être; neither are the nostalgic trappings, which are kept to a tasteful minimum. The end result is a genuinely unsettling horror effort that brands West as an indie director who’s more than capable of moving up to the majors. The disc includes two informative commentary tracks, the first by West and Donahue, and the other with West, producers Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter) and Peter Phok, and sound designer Graham Reznick; there’s also a pair of making-of featurettes and three deleted scenes, one of which, involving the Ulmans’ mother, is worth a look. The original trailer for House of the Devil, as well as spots for other Dark Sky releases, round out the extras. –Paul Gaita

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