The House of the Devil DVD Blu-ray Review
The House of the Devil DVD Blu-ray Review
A room with a view… TO HELL!
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A young babysitter goes to a lonely house one dark night, and bad things happen.
Yep — that's about it, plot-wise, in this barebones throwback thriller to a bygone era of simpler scares. But as they say, it's not size that's important: it's what you do with it. Doing a lot with so very little, writer/director Ti West is definitely cock of the walk with The House of the Devil — one of the most cleverly-made, spooky, and downright delightful horror flicks of 2009. Eschewing bang-up boo-scares, a noisy score and aggro CGI, this old-fashioned Satanic-panic attack is an obvious homage to favorites from the likes of Bob Clark (Black Christmas)… yet, it also manages to find a voice of its own.
The story starts off a bit kitschy and self-aware with its freeze-frames and forgotten font title sequence, but soon enough the plight of 80s-era college student Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) draws you in and keeps your eyes riveted to the screen from innocuous beginning to bloodcurdling end. To say much more would spoil, but if you want to know more about the sequence of events and the other actors in the film, I did elaborate somewhat in my theatrical release review of The House of the Devil.
The movie debuts on DVD and Blu-ray on Feb 2, along with some special features. I got the Blu-ray and for once, I have to say the high quality of the transfer actually disappoints — I prefer the grainier, more grindhouse-y vibe of the projected film (but fear not, purists: there is even a VHS version of The House of the Devil being made available!). It was hard for me to tell if the Unrated Director's Cut is gorier or not, but if I am not mistaken, it is a bit shorter and hence more intense. (This is probably laid out in the commentary, but I haven't listened to it — the main yak-track is West and Donohue — yet.) If it's not shorter, then kudos to West for making a film that's even more tense on its second-spin.
There are a couple of making-of featurettes, which are very nicely put together. I was especially entertained by the girls (Donohue, and costar Greta Gerwig) bemoaning the unflattering cut of those awful 80s stonewash peg-leg jeans they had to wear… ugh! The feathered hair is fun, though. It's a treat to see the levity on-set during filming (mostly provided by droll and witty actor AJ Bowen), and to hear actor Tom Noonan's thoughts on interpreting his minimalist character to maximum effect.
The House of the Devil is a definite keeper for any discerning horror fan's permanent DVD library.
The DVD and Blu-ray include:
- Widescreen transfer with 5.1 sound
– Audio commentary by writer/director/editor West and actress Donahue
– Audio commentary by West, producers Larry Fessenden and Peter Phok and sound designer Graham Reznick
– In The House of the Devil featurette
– Behind The House of the Devil featurette
– Deleted scenes
– Theatrical trailer
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson
BE SURE & check out our exclusive THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL on-camera interview with West & Donohue