Fantastic Fest 2009

Notice! Registration is not required to browse the site, track audience buzz, and learn about the festival. If you choose to register, you can create a personal festival calendar, rate and review films, and receive updates about upcoming screenings. Close
    • highlights
    • films
    • schedule
    • buzz
    • my festival
House of the Devil
Ti West 2009
Categories: Feature, Guest in Attendance
Average Rating:
Rated 3.75901589765536/5 Stars
My Rating:
Run time: 93 min. | United States
Director Ti West and actress Jocelin Donahue Live in Person!

Ti West's House of the Devil is an occult shocker that is not only set in the 1980s but invokes horror films from that era. Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) is ready to move out of her college dorm and away from her partying roommate. She finds the perfect apartment near school. The landlady (Dee Wallace) is willing to let her have the place if she can come up with a month's rent by the following Monday. With the help of her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig), Samantha lands a temporary babysitter job with the Mr. and Mrs. Ulman (Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov). Once Samantha arrives at the Ulman's big creaky house in the middle of nowhere, she is told that the job is slightly different than the one that was advertised. Samantha takes the job anyway, but after the Ulmans leave for the evening, she comes to regret her decision to stay.
 
House of the Devil nails the time period, including the clothes, the feathered haircuts and the pop and rock tunes. It also embraces a style of film-making that was more often seen in the 1980s. Current horror films tend to get by with a lot of fast cuts, quick jolts, and loud music. In contrast, West dials back the speed and places an emphasis on suspense. House of the Devil follows a well-defined arch that unfolds at a deliberate pace over the length of its running time. The film uses wide shots, long takes, slow zooms and slow cutting to squeeze as much tension as possible from the scenario. By holding back for so long, the film's explosive third act has that much more impact. House of the Devil weaves together elements of old-school horror in a way that is both familiar and fresh. (Rodney Perkins)
Screenings
time venue calendar
9:00 PM     Sun, Sep 27
screens with...
  • Pathos | Marcello Ercole, Dennis Cabella, Fabio Prati 2009
Alamo S. Lamar 1 + add to cal
6:45 PM     Mon, Sep 28
screens with...
  • Pathos | Marcello Ercole, Dennis Cabella, Fabio Prati 2009
Alamo S. Lamar 1 + add to cal
About the film
Cast & Crew
director
Ti West
Audience Buzz
Rated 3.75901589765536/5 Stars
3.8 | 120
views 1,369 people viewed this page
adds 265 people added it to their calendar (find out who)
Featured Review
Notice! The featured review is chosen at random and contributed by an audience member. Click the reviews tab above to read all the reviews for this film, or register to write your own review. Close
Rated 4.0/5 Stars
radioheadless
11:09 AM
User Thumbnail
This film was an absolute delight. As someone who grew up watching these types of horror flicks late at night on HBO or at an actual drive-in theatre, I feel it would've felt right at home being distributed by a genre leader such as Avco Embassy Pictures, playing on a fun triple bill like The Howling and Motel Hell. Great performances and tremendous attention to detail. I'll be adding this to my collection for sure once it's out on DVD/Blu-Ray, but in the meantime I hope devotees of great horror seek it out in theatres.
rating people who liked this also liked
adds people who added this also added
Number of views 1865
Number of calendar adds 283
REC 2
Like it? Share it with friends
Share
Your friend's email:

Your message:

Your name:

Your email:

Copy me too: