The House of the Devil could have certainly turned out stronger with a shorter buildup and a more drawn out climax, but who am I to argue? I haven't been this scared watching a horror film in years.
Comment
10/30/09
Rate this Movie 
The House of the Devil (2009)
88
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:57
Fresh:50
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Though its underlying themes are familiar, House of the Devil effectively sheds the loud and gory cliches of contemporary horror to deliver a tense, slowly building throwback to the fright flicks of decades past.
Theatrical Release:Oct 30, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: A coed struggling to pay her rent ends up taking the wrong part-time job in writer-director Ti West's old-school, 1980s-set horror flick THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL. Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) is a... [More]
Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov
Director: Ti West
Reviews for The House of the Devil
With the suspense cranked so high, it's almost inevitable that the bloody finale comes as a bit of a letdown.
10/29/09
West... has all at once crafted a film that beautifully reproduces the look and texture of a straight-to-video horror from the '80s, and filled it with the sort of nail-biting tension that works in any decade.
09/09/09
The House of the Devil is not only set in the early '80s, but director Ti West chose to shoot and structure the film in a way so as to make it feel like it was made in the early '80s. In a way, this throwback style is reminiscent of what Quentin Ta
10/30/09
This pitch-perfect genre throwback would be right at home among the creaky and weird supernatural thrillers of the 70's and 80's. (And yes, I mean that as a compliment.)
10/15/09
Devil is generously unassuming, making the film more of a secret handshake than a blood-spattered, deafening gorefest. The attention to mood and setting is marvelous.
10/29/09
There is a lot about The House of the Devil to admire but West ultimately likes the slow burn a bit too much and it fizzles out.
11/13/09
skims away so much of the noisy and excessive clichés of today's terror flicks that it feels like a breath of fresh air
10/29/09
West avoids cliché and cheesiness with wise casting choices. Donahue's naturalistic performance is as persuasive as the subtly sinister portrayals by Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov.
10/29/09
The film is a perfectly pitched old-school horror homage to a '70s/'80s-era of cinema that should have been.
11/02/09
Ti West has been building a reputation among horror fans as an expert in the art of the slow burn, and more power to him for exhibiting something that seems to be increasingly rare in filmmakers in any genre: patience.
10/26/09
Puts to shame most major studio horror releases. Classy even while getting down-and-dirty, unusually savvy about the importance of tension and character nuance over viscera and a soulless body count.
10/08/09
A fine example of how a talented filmmaker can tackle a horror sub-genre in a way that's stylistically reverential but also original in its own way.
10/27/09
The main reasons to see this deliberately retro and derivative flick, which borrows freely from Satanic cult and babysitter-from-hell subgenres, are iconic actors Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov in their first teaming.
10/27/09
You have to wait for The House of the Devil to deliver on its promises -- but when it does, holy crap.
10/26/09
The classical structure slowly builds tension before erupting into a decisively gory finish, harkening back to a smarter and more nuanced era of spooky storytelling.
10/26/09
Slow, yet oddly spellbinding, horror film ... a living, breathing nostalgia piece oozing period authenticity
10/21/09
A first-rate chiller.
11/12/09
...there is one scene early on with Mr. A.J. Bowen that is as creepy as anything you're going to get this summer.
11/02/09
A group of people old enough to remember VHS parties may very well have flashbacks of the old days - for better and for worse - should they visit The House of the Devil.
10/12/09
Latest News for The House of the Devil
October 29, 2009:
Critics Consensus: This Is It Is Certified Fresh
This week at the movies brings only one wide release: the hotly-anticipated performance documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It, which captures the King of Pop in rehearsals... More...
October 04, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
September 28, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer and Poster
More...
September 28, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer and Poster
More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Animated Oscar?
Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.
TIME's Holiday Movie Preview
Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.
Scenic Routes
The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds