Scream Bloody Entertainment

“I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him.” - St. Teresa of Avila

We all know that the horror genre is the most corrupt and cliché category of movies these days. It’s hard to find a good horror movie due to the fact that most of them suffer from the same monotone plot and overused situations that were all so familiar with. It really looks like the horror genre has lost all hope, but those willing to dig a little bit deeper may find a few lost jewels in the muddy sand. Those of you lucky enough may have stumbled across Ti West’s The House of the Devil – if not, I hope you do so once you read this.

In his most recent film, The House of the Devil, director Ti West takes us back to a time when horror movies were much more modest and sparkled with unexploited imagination: the eighties. Everything from the main character’s look to the old walkman and the typical sequences are amazingly well done. They actually shot the movie with 16mm film in order to give it the retro look of that decade. Even the plot screams out “80s!” – it combines the babysitter-in-peril situation with the satanic cults, which were really popular in horror movies back then. Unlike other movies from the 90s and 00s that tried to revive the horror genre, The House of the Devil doesn’t use any satire or irony, but instead relies on the atmosphere and look to summon the eighties right into your screen.


Ok so let’s get started on the plot: main character Samantha Hughes (played by Jocelin Donahue) is a college student who takes on a babysitting job in a remote mansion which turns out to be far stranger than one would expect. You may expect this to be a slasher film with a high body count, but it’s not. The House of the Devil relies on suspense and the unseen, which proves to be more efficient than one would think. It may surprise you to hear this, but The House of the Devil is actually a rather slow ride and this may put a few off, especially if they were lead on to believe that this is the sort of horror movie full of action and scares. Ti West refuses to take that path on which so many have failed, and instead decides to build up suspense and thrills as he goes along, which ultimately explodes in the finale.

The movie starts off slow and introduces us to the characters (especially Samantha Hughes and her friend Megan), shaping them and giving us an image of their feelings and their situation. For a horror movie writer, Ti West proves to be incredibly smart by delivering us an intelligent and subtle script, unlike the average screenplay. Some may not notice, but he actually relies more on shaping his characters and giving them life instead of searching for new ways to make us jump. Along the road, I started caring about Samantha and Megan when they were in danger. The first half (or even the first three quarters) of the movie is surprisingly slow, although there are a few little things here and there to capture your attention and keep you entertained while the bomb is ticking. Sooner or later, you will discover that the bomb is ticking, and then, not to far down the road, it’s gonna explode and yes, it’ll be very satisfying and will justify the whole boringness that you had to go through will be justified.


The cast, even if kept to a minimum, is surprisingly good and efficient – you may find yourself frantically looking for flaws in the acting, which may seem too good to be true. It is good, and it’s definitely true. Jocelin Donahue is far above the average damsel in distress and her acting is far better than just good. She gives life to her character and does really well in the scary situations. I hope she becomes a scream queen in the future, because I definitely want to see more of her! Greta Gerwig delivers a notable performance as Samantha’s friend Megan who drops her off at the “place.” She is definitely not dragging Jocelin Donahue down, as many supporting actresses in horror movies do, but instead actually clicks with Jocelin and her character, adding more value to the overall feel and credibility of the roles.

That said, I highly recommend The House of the Devil, even though it may be a little too slow for some, because it’s definitely worth it. If you’re a horror movie lover or just want to get a feel of the good old 80s, you wouldn’t want to miss this one. It’s everything a film of this category should be: it’s scary, it’s fun and it’s definitely satisfying!


P.S. - check out Final Girl's Film Club right here