House of the Devil - 2009

Haunted house flicks and gore films have been pumping out of the Hollywood system for the last few years, but here is one film that slipped under the radar in Australia and thanks to many of the film bloggers out there, I was able to find this movie on blu-ray...

House of the Devil is a 2009 film directed, written and edited by Ti West. Shot to recreate the horror films of the 1970's and 80's West employs many techniques to give you a truly unique experience and a movie that you won't forget. It follows young college student Samantha Hughes in her quest to find an apartment. Strapped for cash, she finds a leaflet on a noticeboard for a "BABY $ITTER" ... She calls the number and after some waiting around, receives a response to go this house in the country. With her best friend as her ride, Samantha takes a trip to the house (co-incidently on the night of the lunar eclipse) where she finds out things aren't exactly as they appear.

Now, if you're a fan of "torture porn" affairs such as "Hostel" or the "Saw" franchise, this film probably won't appeal to you. If you like slow moving... suspension building, incredibly detailed films that totally get under your skin, then this is for you. As I mentioned before, Ti West has used many techniques to give you an authentic 70's/80's experience. The hair, costumes, props, sets... and also the editing, cuts, titles, camera angles and use of zoom are all incredibly affective.

The performances are all amazing too. Samantha, played by Jocelin Donahue does a super job of playing this young, free spirited babysitter who ... yeh ... and there are some super creepy moments with character actor Tom Noonan who plays Mr Ulman (the owner of "House of the Devil")

What I really enjoyed about this film was that it didn't need super fast editing and tonnes of visual effects to scare the audience. It's slow burning nature made me feel at unease the whole time... and there were many moments where I was screaming out and just making "errghhhh" noises in reaction to what was happening on screen. There are a couple of moments of "jump scares" and they work extremely effectively as they happen so randomly and because most of the film is working so quietly.

I watched this film on blu-ray and can honestly say it was such a treat. The grain that I guess would be due to the film being shot on 16mm makes it so much scarier and adds to the fun. Definitely not a film for everyone... but if you have an attention span that is quicker than cooking a packet of Mi Goreng then this film is for you... Great fun!