Slow West

The House of the Devil (Ti West, 2009)

Nostalgia is usually a wistful affection for the past. In the case of the film industry, it's a lucrative hustle. A safe bet averting the risk of an original offering failing. Hence, successes from yesteryear are turned into sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, interquels and whatever new spin can be hustled up in order to milk that cow. Thankfully, writer and director Ti West has always had a better grasp of what nostalgia entails than the vast majority of hacks lazily associating '80s aesthetics with grainy video filters, neon lighting and a synthwave soundtrack. In more recent years, his X trilogy (2022 - 2024) would mark his return to retro-style horror. However, the best example of West's masterful execution in this style is unquestionably his seminal retro horror The House of the Devil (2009); a remarkable shot on 16mm love letter to independent horror films of the '70s and early '80s.

Produced with a modest budget of just under $1M, The House of the Devil is a baby sitter in peril chiller set during the era of the Satanic Panic hysteria on the night of a lunar eclipse. The film's protagonist, Samantha "Sam" Hughes (Jocelin Donahue), is a college student who, desperate to earn cash and be an independent spirit, avoids a series of obvious red flags after seeing an advertisement for a baby sitter. The money on offer is too good to pass up, or so it seems. Thus, West's slow burn horror adds layer upon layer of elements that Sam can no longer avoid.

Of course, a young baby-sitter having to fend for her life in a horror film is hardly unique, but The House of the Devil does have the advantage of featuring one of the most realistic protagonists in this style of film. What makes Sam so special is the very fact she is both a down to earth and sympathetic character. Traits that have becomes increasingly rare in horror films since the 2010s. If anything, our protagonist is in the very same mould as Laurie Strode from John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). The girl-next-door.

Sam wouldn't be so well realised on film if it wasn't for Jocelin Donahue's great acting. The feathered hair, flannel shirt and high waisted jeans might be throwbacks to vanilla, do-gooder final girls from yesteryear, but Donahue manages to portray her character with incredible depth in her nuanced performance; making her a compelling character on screen. Donahue is an integral element to the film feeling equally authentic to the vintage vibe of the film. Therefore, it's such a disappointment not seeing her perform in anything equally as substantial ever since the release of the film.

As for the supporting cast, this includes recognisable veterans from notable genre films of the past. Dee Wallace has a minor role at the start of the film as a sympathetic landlady. Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov have larger roles as the unabashedly creepy Ulmans; the couple eager to hire Sam to babysit "Mother" so they can go off to celebrate the all important lunar eclipse mentioned throughout the film. Additionally, A.J. Bowen's callous spontaneity is alarming playing their son Victor. The bearded actor, shares a shocking scene with Sam's bubbly best friend Megan (Greta Gerwig), who might have been modelled on Lynda Van Der Klok, that can't be forgotten anytime soon.

Like many films of the '80s, The House of the Devil features a short music montage. Apart from the novelty factor of seeing Sam with her walkman dance around the spooky Ulman house to The Fixx's One Thing Leads to Another, it acts as an important segue from the slow build up of terror of the first half to the all out panic-mode in the second half of the film. The song abruptly ends once Sam accidentally knocks over a vase and a revelation to the immediate danger she is in.

Considering The House of the Devil has layers of nuance and an intentional slow pace, particularly in the first half, it's a title often criticised for being too slow by the Ritalin generation. Therefore, it's essentially a Marmite movie; you either love it, or hate it. Your host is one of those who absolutely adore it.

The ‘00s was a decade dominated by remakes. Remakes of classics from yesteryear and English language versions of foreign films for an audience too lazy and ignorant to read subtitles. Torture porn would boom in popularity and outshine the previous decades' worth of comparatively tame splatter movies. Yet, throughout this cinematic meat grind, The House of the Devil went back to the essence; when fear and suspense were just as integral to a bloody payoff.  By going against the grain, Ti West managed to succeed where so many other film makers have failed and truly recaptured on film a bygone era.

Classic.