— by ROBERT DeFEIS —
This stylish and yet overly creepy movie looks to be a fantastic throwback to the ’80s slasher/horror genre.
“House of the Devil” was actually shot with a 16mm camera to achieve the retro stylistic look and was written, directed and edited by Ti West.
Even the poster is a throwback, especially with the very corny tagline: “Talk on the phone. Finish your homework. Watch TV. DIE.”
College student Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) takes on a babysitting job in a remote mansion in order to make the down payment on a one-bedroom apartment she has had her eye on. The pay is good, but after Samantha is taken to the house by her friend, Megan (Greta Gerwig), she realizes she might be in for one spine-chilling night. Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan) first opens the door to Samantha as she is uneasy entering his house. Samantha slowly starts to grasp that Mr. and Mrs. Ulman are harboring a terrifying secret. They plan to use her in a satanic ritual that coincides with a lunar eclipse which starts to darken the night sky.
“House of the Devil” undoubtedly could become the American indie-horror flick of the year. It won’t be too easy to beat this ’80s horror throwback, and yet it looks like it can compete with the heavyweight horror films of today. It will only get a limited theatrical release.
“The House of the Devil” will darken theaters starting Oct. 30.
In the meantime, take a look at this behind the scenes featurette:
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Looks good.