Dec 10, 2009

The House of the Devil



One would suspect from viewing the above poster that The House of the Devil is an old Horror film from the 1970's or early 1980's.  And that's the whole idea, even though the film was only released a few months ago.  Writer/director Ti West pulls it off too.  So much so that you honestly feel like the film could have been made in 1980 or so and just "found" and released.  Except for the odd occasional familiar face like Tom Noonan or Dee Wallace looking a bit longer in the tooth than they were back in the day.

The plot is straight out of a simpler time.  A young college student looking to make a few bucks agrees to a babysitting job out in the sticks.  Once she gets there things turn all weirdsville on her.  Instead of a child she is supposed to be watching over this creepy old dude's even older mother.  Asleep up in her room somewhere in this massive old house.  That's when the booga-booga debbil stuff starts.  Pentagrams, sacrifices and demons...oh my!

It's a slow and painful buildup to the inevitable climax.  And that's what makes it all so much fun.  I think that some folks might complain about the pacing, but those folks are just stupid-heads.  I said it.

If you dig your horror on the retro tip or just if you wanna watch a flick about a good old fashioned satanic cult like your momma used to watch, then The House of the Devil might be for you.  Unless you are one of them stupid-heads.

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Note: Remember to play the Bug-Eyed Trivia Challenge every day. Boo!

14 comments:

hello haha narf said...

horror movies scare me, as they are designed to do!, and i don't like to be scared. so yeah, i'm so not gonna be watching this one. nightmares aren't things i desire to give myself, thanks.

Mrs. Hall said...

um, yeah, too young to remember the movie that that quote is in reference too. but i'm not old :)

and i don't ever get time to really investigate/download the movies you talk about. It's all I can do to feed my Mad Men obsession.

but I do read the summaries sometimes. I read the IMBD summary about that one movie, with the little girl that couldn't eat normal food and was befriended by the litte boy and he tried to feed her candy and she threw it up. That made me so sad just reading that bit. And then she lived in a barren apartment with a older keeper type guy. You know the one, the one where the girl has that scar?

I read the entire IMDB summary and was so spookily scared and unbelievably saddened by the whole deal. Felt the impact of such a sad and heavy tale. So I sorta watched it in my head. Which is good enough for now. :)

thanks for the movie tips :)

Slyde said...

another one i'll have to look out for...

Verdant Earl said...

Becky - But it could be an excuse for a big strong man to wrap you up in his arms for a few hours. Not that YOU need an excuse, of course. ;)

Holly - "Let the Right One In" is seriously one of my favorite films of all-time. It is so much more than a horror film. It works on so many levels, including a love story.

Slyde - I think you, in particular, will enjoy this one.

hello haha narf said...

it isn't the few hours that i have a problem with...it is the weeks of bad dreams! and no, i don't want a man (or woman) staying with me for weeks, so just don't even go there.

Kate said...

Yep, too scary for me, too. Though, maybe I'd watch it in the daytime. Maybe.

Barlinnie said...

Uh-huh, but are there any good girly bits on display?

Water Logged Canine said...

Roku?

Verdant Earl said...

Becky - not going there. Check.

Kate - ah, night time is the time for horror flicks. :)

Jimmy - Not enough. Not nearly enough.

Doggie - Not yet. We rented it On Demand from Cablevision. It's actually still out in some theaters. We paid the premium to watch it.

justsomethoughts... said...

i'm not into horror.
i know, i know.

but stupid-head?
geeez.
it's been a while since i heard that.
too long.
good.
i'm glad i stopped in.

Mrs. Hall said...

let the right one in...

worth it . . . some day though . . .

so whattya think of la new pic?

Verdant Earl said...

Duder - the classics never die.

Holly - nice boots!

Candy's daily Dandy said...

I like bein a stupid head.

Mrs. Hall said...

I have one black leather pair, one brown suede pair and one black suede pair of knee high boots. all with reasonable yet undeniable heels.

they are my pet obsession.

so ya. even though this is not me, close enough ;)