31 Days of Horror Movies: The House of the Devil

Day 3 of our horror movie fest finds us with a 2009 film set during the 1980s. Welcome to....

The House of the Devil

Ti West's little film boasts some pretty big surprises, although it takes awhile to get there. Jocelin Donahue plays Samantha, a college girl looking to make some fast cash by taking a babysitting job at big, scary-looking house in the country. Her friend Megan drives her out there, and senses that something's up, to no avail.

Samantha's employer for the night is a Mr. Ulman (played in a creepily soft manner by Tom Noonan). When she arrives, he admits to a slight deception: instead of there being a baby or a child to sit for, Samantha will instead have to watch Ulman's invalid mother. But he offers more money than Samantha can refuse, so she stays.

The House of the Devil does a good job in re-creating aspects of 1980s horror films, from the (expected) props, clothing styles and vehicles, to the slightly grainy look of the film, down to the format of the credits. The film is also paced noticeably slower than modern day movies, that is, until the last act. Things go a little bonkers at that point. Overall, it's some pretty good fun.

* 'House of the Devil' will be playing at C-U's Art Theater in downtown Champaign the weekend of October 19th. Be sure to catch it!

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