The House of the Devil review.
Ti West’s X trilogy may have made him the talk of the horror town…but it was The House of the Devil who got everyone talking 15 years ago.
Classic movie reviews will contain spoilers.
The House of the Devil
Directed by Ti West
Written by Ti West
Starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, A.J. Bowen, Dee Wallace, Danielle Noe and Ti West
The House of the Devil Review
Ti West has become a formidable name in the horror movie game. His recent X trilogy (mostly) delivered the blood, excitement and pathos that genre fans crave. 2022’s Pearl is arguably the crown jewel of his filmography. Today we’re going to make the argument that it doesn’t sit alone atop that mountain. For as fresh and exciting as the X prequel feels…the same can be said for his breakout feature released 15 years ago today. The House of the Devil. The throwback that pushed Ti West (and independent horror with him) forward.
For as great as The House of the Devil is (I believe it ranks either first or second in West’s output), it does begin with a couple of strange notes (once literally). There is a text screen at the beginning of the film meant to evoke a “based on true events” feel that horror movies love to do so much. That’s fine. But the full text gives away too much of the game. It openly discusses satanic practices and lets you know that The House of the Devil will be heading in that direction. Which is a weird thing to do since the film that follows sees that reveal come out of nowhere at the end of act two.
The second one is the blatant rip-off of The Cars Moving in Stereo that plays over the opening credits. I don’t know how they got away with this one. It’s obvious what it’s supposed to be. This is an obvious case of a budgetary issue. We get to hear some era appropriate music later. Clearly of the more affordable variety. It’s just fun to think about how badly West wanted Moving in Stereo when you hear how closely they steal from it.
Those moments aside, The House of the Devil is a slow burn horror movie. The type that people are talking about whenever they talk about that kind of movie in a positive sense. Usually, it just means slow. In Ti West’s hands, however, patience is a virtue. He makes a full mean out of the lead up to something, anything, happening to poor Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) during her odd babysitting job. West puts on a masterclass here. The kind of talent for creating tension with nothing that we’ve seen attempted to disastrous results too many times in low-budget horror.
The House of the Devil is set sometime in the 80s. West takes care to present that as authentically as possible. He shot the film on 16mm. It has a throwback feel in both method and technique. The commitment to shooting it like a 70s/80s movie pays off completely. You could easily believe this was a movie you saw in a late-night double feature with Halloween.
He also assembles a phenomenal cast. Each role is filled by someone doing tremendous work. Donahue is the perfect era feeling final girl. Her bolder, wilder BFF Megan is played for full sass by future Barbie director Greta Gerwig. AJ Bowen plays the unhinged Victor Ulman whose actions kick The House of the Devil into another gear. Victor’s parents are played by Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov. They crush their parts. Noonan walks a fine line between genuine and obviously we need to get out of this house immediately, right? Dee Wallace cameos at the beginning of the film as a landlady that Samantha hopes to rent from.
The story of The House of the Devil is a simple one. Samantha is desperate for money. Her living situation is untenable. When an ad for a babysitting job catches her eye…she is introduced to the Ulmans. They weren’t being completely honest about the job. They don’t even have a child…well, not in the literal sense. It’s Mrs. Ulman’s mother who needs looking after. Despite her reservations, Samantha agrees to the job when the price rises all the way to 400 dollars.
Most of The House of the Devil’s second act is spent being afraid of nothing. You know that something must happen…this is “the house of the devil” after all. Nothing does. No matter how many dark corners West leaves behind Samantha…you won’t find anything in them. But you’ll look. The only “action” that happens in this long section of the movie happens outside of the house. It’s the most memorable moment of the movie and one of the best kills in modern horror.
Megan has an ill-fated run in with the Ulman’s adult son Victor. He’s odd…but seemingly nice enough when Megan runs into him. They share a smoke until something in Victor’s demeanor changes. A realization sweeps over him, and he vocalizes it. “Are you…are you not the babysitter?” Megan replies that she isn’t and within an instant her brains are splattered over the windshield of her car. The moment of loud shocking violence raises the stakes in The House of the Devil in a way that makes every little noise and shadow even more effective when we cut back to Samantha.
There are plenty of signs that Samantha is in trouble. She either dismisses or fails to see them. She sees a photo of the Ulman’s car…with a different family standing next to it. We see that family lying dead in what’s supposed to be Mrs. Ulman’s mother’s room. Samantha doesn’t enter far enough into the room to see them for herself. Even with a heightened sense of danger around her…Samantha is felled by something unexpected. The pizza she ordered…from the number that Mr. Ulman repeatedly reminded her to call and provided her with extra money to order…was poisoned.
Samantha wakes up tied to a pentagram and the Satanic spirit of The House of the Devil that was spoiled for no reason in the opening text has finally begun. The grandmother was, it turns out, in the house. She’s a witch-like woman presiding over a satanic ritual. A lunar eclipse is coming…the time for evil is just right.
Samantha manages to escape…or so she thinks. She takes out half the family…but is caught by Mr. Ulman who explains that it’s too late. Seeing no way out, Samantha shoots herself in the head. Unfortunately, evil isn’t so easily defeated. She lies in a hospital bed, miraculously having survived…and pregnant with Satan knows what. It’s a dark ending for Samantha…and the perfect one for the Satanic Panic feeling that The House of the Devil has created.
Ti West crafts a near perfect throwback to a specific era for both film and national fears. It makes one wonder why his latest film MaXXXine, set around the same period and adjacent to similar themes, chooses to go a completely different direction. Watching The House of the Devil might leave you craving his take on the Night Stalker murders. Similar time…more grounded panic…the perfect look and feel. MaXXXine is set against the backdrop of this era and makes almost universally opposite choices from complexity to subtlety to design. They would make for an interesting double-feature of their own. Sadly, I’m afraid it would only deepen the question of where MaXXXine went wrong. Ti West had already mastered the era 15 years ago. 15 year later…it was a completely different world. Where the nothing had moved from the shadows to the forefront. He got it right the first time.
Scare Value
There are breakout movies that get people’s attention…and there are moments where a director kicks down the door and forces everyone to take notice. The House of the Devil is the latter. Fifteen years ago, word of mouth spread the movie to every corner of independent horror fandom. A brilliant piece of work that has you looking in every corner for what you are supposed to be afraid of. Then it delivers a bloody, in your face, satanic panic horror that wasn’t interested in hiding itself. A statement from a director who has managed to live up to it.
4.5/5
The House of the Devil Links
Streaming on Prime Video
Rent/Buy on VOD from Fandango at Home
Buy on Blu-Ray from Amazon
