Having only seen Ti West’s X trilogy, I’ve been meaning to brush up on the works that made him such a reputable, visionary name in the horror realm before his trio of culturally relevant films. Certainly not heavy handed in its approach, at least until the final 20 mins, The House of the Devil is awash in 80’s aesthetics and occult dread. More than a few horror homies have a special place in their cold hearts for Ti West and the ‘mumblegore’ subgenre in general, and with this being written, directed and edited by the horror auteur, safe to say I was eager to both get into it, and hopefully love it.

The House of the Devil was stylistically so up my alley. There are touches in this film that make things play so grounded and worn in. An extra long telephone cord on a rotary landline getting tangled, 16 mm film stock, or the crackly audio quality of a Walkman cassette playing “One Thing Leads to Another” by The Fixx. Paired with such slick cinematography, there’s a lived in quality to each line of dialogue and staged shot that I haven’t really felt previous to this in horror cinema. 

The House of the Devil sneakily pulled an uneasiness and genuine fear out of me. West expertly crafts tension in such a magnetic way, I forgot I was watching a horror flick until that first head shot completely ripped me out of my seat. (Excellent entry into the head explosion hall of fame btw, I need to start a Letterboxd list).

It’s a slow burn to get into its satanic chaos, but the original score by Jeff Grace, and such believable acting performances easily help get you there. Visually, the Ulman family is framed so damn unnervingly, especially Vivian. West constantly toys with extremely close, angular shots and murky lighting that paired with such excellent acting just chilled me. Cinematography only adds to its eerie vibe, without pulling you out of its reality. 

So glad I finally got to watch The House of the Devil, it’s such a pleasant surprise when films hit your subjective tastes so perfectly. 
👿🏚️🤯🩸🍕