The House of the Devil

Kicking off Halloween right with a re-watch of a be favorite for my 31 Days Of Horror.

Effectively creepy but in the end not much happened or was explained

It's not your typical horror film, it's an experience, you'll feel what the main character felt, yes it's slow and boring at times but the last 15 minutes worth it, Ti West did a good job with camera angles and soundtrack, very atmospheric

Hooptober Nine: Revelations

"This one night changes everything for me."

Didn't know what to expect going in so I was happily surprised! Loved the 80's looked, loved the walkman, really enjoyed Jocelin Donahue and really enjoyed the slow-build up.

However it is a bit predictable especially as soon as Megan is shot but it still didn't take away the tension. Sometimes less is more and with a lunar eclipse and old people you know a ritual is coming. Ti West's the House of the Devil does want to make me rewatch Rosemary's Baby after so long which is always a good thing.

Anyway The House of the Devil is well worth a watch if you like your horror with a slower build up and loads of tension and a good ending and I have a feeling that this is one of those movies which get better on rewatches. So looking forward watching this one again in a couple of years!

On the plus side: this movie had a lot of atmosphere.
On the negative side: it completely fell apart at the end.

The problem for the majority of this movie unfortunately is the pacing. So much of it is build up and yet also just the day to day life stuff that doesn't help or impede the movie, it's just, there. It isnt until about an hour in that the movie and its "effects" actually start to occur.

It really could have been so much more, and the whole ending just feels like they ran out of ideas where to go with it so they simply got rid of some characters to make it easier to end. Meh. It's a watch once or twice kind of film, not much in the way of long lasting collection.

Like looking at a beauty queen's baby picture, it's pretty generic but you can see the glow inside that will one day blossom into brilliance.

Ti West's directing in The House of the Devil is exceptional (especially for a 28-year-old) and the actors are on point (Jocelin Donahue is great as the lead, plus the film also has Greta Gerwig and a Dee Wallace cameo!) but the film drags when it comes to the story.

There's too much not enough in the first act as the story takes unnecessarily long to set up, but once the film takes off, it flies.

Watching The House of the Devil, it's easy to see the signs of the budding horror genius that emerged from it!

How many times have you heard people praise movies or TV shows just based on it's 80's theme and it's nostalgic references. It's happening all the time now.

"Stranger Things" (TV show)
"200 Cigarettes"
"Wet Hot American Summer"

The list goes on, but I don't want to be here all day. Yeah, it's cool seeing this film or music from the 80's there as the scene plays out. But why do I have this feeling that it's only there because the creator or director wants it there just because he likes that movie or song. The same goes with the setting and the feel that I think is missing in these homages. It just doesn't feel like it's the 80's, even if you throw in the endless references and throw backs.

But then you get a film like "The House of the Devil" that went out of it's way to look and feel like one. It's seriously impressive of the amount of effort and detail that Ti West puts in this. It's the reason why I think "The House of the Devil" stands out from the rest in terms of what it's going for that others try to do. It's more than a homage, it's the real thing.

Now Ti West can be a hit or miss for me. I either like or dislike he's movies. I do respect the guy for doing different projects and tackling themes in movie. I mean, sure, it's nothing new for directors tackling different themes, but for some reason I always keep an eye out for what Ti West dose next. And in "House of the Devil" Ti West brings a very slow burn movie that uses it's homages fittingly in it's film making. He demands you to be patient for what the movie is building up to and doesn't shy away from doing so. It was filmed with 16mm film, giving it a retro stylistic look that matched the decade, which actually did match the decade quite well. Now this what I like to see from Ti West and I can take this as a heavy reminder why this guy is a talented film maker even at a young age.

But what stops "House of the Devil" from being a great movie for me is it's pasting issues. And I know the movie is building up to it's creepy climax as I said before, but it dose take awhile to get there. I found myself kinda bored with some scenes that seem to drag on a bit. I guess you got to have good patience, which I'm 50/50 on me.

While I praise the film for getting the 80's look and feel right visually, but not quite on the audio or sound. Have you ever noticed in 80's movies where the sound of objects, doors and guns firing sound like 80's audio. How awesome would it be if that was included here. This may be a small complaint, but hey, every little detail can make a big difference.

Overall rating: "The House of the Devil" may not be everyone's type of film, just judging by the mix feedback from other people. But for my experience, I enjoyed what I've seen, even if it feels short.

Ultimately disappointing. The 80s homage of this film is really well done, while Jocelin Donahue and Greta Gerwig as the two main friends are great, and Tom Noonan is also very good as the ambiguous Mr. Ulman. That said, I thought the pleasing slow burn of the first half was let down by a rushed, incoherent, and rather paper-thin plot that unravelled in the second.

Thankfully, since it's only around 90 minutes long, it's least over rather quickly. Certainly not a terrible film - it was enjoyable enough - but just nothing to rave about and certainly wouldn't be worth a second viewing.