Film Road to Halloween: The House of the Devil (2009)

The road to Halloween is paved with good films. Wherein we countdown to the spirited season with a hundred doses of horror. 92 days to go.

There is much talk of so-called “elevated horror”. This mainly describes horror films from the last 5 or so years, which have against all odds pleased the film critics and wider audiences, making decent buck and providing us a safe space to fear for our lives. It’s an ugly term, because it dismisses the whole history of the genre and reduces horror to low-brow, low-class and bad art.

Horror has a long history of allowing women to have the spotlight through the final girl trope (as flawed as it might be), having given them a hero that looked like them, way before Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel did. The rise of “elevated horror” spits on this legacy, because it implies everything that isn’t elevated, in other words accessible and appreciated by larger, middle-class crowds, is rubbish. 

I’m here to tell you that the grainy, gory horror films full of death, decapitations and gutted corpses are well worth your time. They might no longer be fashionable; Jason, Freddy and Michael might have had their day and time and it might be time to move on, but surely, we can still reminiscence and bring these somewhat dated, but ever so vintage films back to life, in the name of post-modernism. The 1970s and 80s were a simpler time. All you needed was some ominous music and some blood and you were sure to scare a lot of people. These days scaring people is hard.

“[Ti] West’s film works as a creepy horror film in its own right as well as a homage to the films that inspired it.”

Ti West’s House Of The Devil, had it been released some 10 years later, might have been able to crack the “elevated horror” sub-genre with its slow-burn approach to a fairly conventional narrative. Utilising popular 80s film techniques such as favouring slow zooms over a dolly shot and shot on 16mm film, West’s film works as a creepy horror film in its own right as well as a homage to the films that inspired it. It redefines how to scare audiences. Loud noises get an involuntary, physical reaction from us.

Fight or flight, the evolution has prepared our bodies and mind to attack or flee, because a loud noise implies immediate danger. West isn’t interested in the involuntary, he wants to truly scare you. He wants to chill you; make you feel cold and scared deep in your bones. It’s an inescapable form of horror, much more effective and long-lasting than a lazy jump scare. 

The film follows young Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donohue), who takes up a babysitting job for one night to get some extra cash to move to an apartment of her own. Her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) is suspicious and tags along. At the house the elderly couple inform Samantha that they don’t actually have children, but Samantha is there to look after the sleeping matriarch of the family. They offer extra money for Samantha who accepts and this kickstarts a night full of terror.  

I say night full of terror, but make no mistake, House Of The Devil is creepy and scary but there are no jump scares to be found here. West values mood and disturbing atmosphere over traditional scares. The end result is still a relentlessly terrifying film that will get your heart racing. It takes all the good elements from its predecessors and makes them feel fresh again. In 2009, this felt like a fresh approach after several unsuccessful sequels to older horror franchises and the genre overall lacking identity. 

“The House Of The Devil digs deeper, lets us assume something sinister is going on and the boogeyman is just around the corner.“

The film takes a somewhat unexpected turn in its last act. If the first two acts are all about the slowly growing sense of dread, the third acts hold nothing back. It’s a blood-soaked psychedelic nightmare which is made all the worse by how sudden it is. It feels like a vastly different film and almost feels like a jump scare of its own and it works remarkably well.

The film also features a fairly early performance from Greta Gerwig who shines as Megan. Her scenes with Jocelin Donohue bring some much-needed companionship and humour into the film. They give us a tiny bit of relief in the otherwise tense thrill ride. She also works as a voice of reason.

Although Samantha’s character doesn’t make quite as poor decisions as her other genre sisters in the past, her decision to stay is deeply rooted in her desperation to move out, it’s Megan who senses something isn’t quite right with the Ullmans. She has the heebie-jeebies from the beginning, but in the end, approves of Samantha’s decision to stay and promises to pick her up later. It doesn’t go as planned, as you might have guessed. 

House Of The Devil is a film not too many people remember. I’m here to remind you it’s still a great watch. Its greatest showcase is its unusual approach and our acclimatisation to quick and dirty horror films that offers us nothing but cheap scares. House Of The Devil digs deeper, lets us assume something sinister is going on and the boogeyman is just around the corner, but doesn’t reveal its cards until the last second. By that time, we’re in too deep in West’s masterfully crafted nightmare and unable to escape.