‘This one night changes everything for me...’
Ti West is a massive name in horror cinema since the Pearl trilogy, but he arrived fully formed in 2009 with his excellent debut feature, The House of the Devil. Drawing on Rosemary’s Baby and Halloween but set in the ’80s and also very much indebted to the B movies of that era, West shot the film in 16mm, creating a retro style that goes beyond homage. If not for the more accomplished acting and special effects, this film could have dropped anywhere from 1973 to 1983. Horror fans will love it…
Sam Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) replies to an ad for a babysitter, but on arrival, she is told by Mr Ulman (Tom Noonan), the homeowner, that she’s actually to be looking after an elderly woman. Her roommate, Megan (Greta Gerwig), comes along for the ride. Elsewhere, horror royalty Dee Wallace makes a cameo appearance as a kindly realtor.
The danger with such a stylised film is that it eventually becomes style over substance (see: The Love Witch) but this film avoids that trap by ensuring that it is a captivating and compelling horror film in its own right. While it wears its influences liberally on its sleeves, West’s debut feature still serves as an effective calling card and as his introduction to the world of horror cinema. Anyone who has seen his other work (most of it is great) will see the seeds of everything that came after here. Some may complain about the pacing, but I loved the slow-burn journey to the bonkers conclusion. In that respect, the film also brings to mind the original Suspiria. Donahue, an actor who hasn’t really blown up as she should have following this performance, perfectly captures the slightly detached acting style of the ’80s final girl, and Noonan, an actor who elevates everything in which he appears, does a wonderful job in making an implausible scenario somehow seem reasonable.
The House of the Devil is a timeless, breathless and ruthless love letter to ’70s and ’80s horror cinema. I didn’t pick up what it was putting down on first viewing, but I loved it the second time around.
