7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
Sam is a pretty college sophomore, so desperate to earn some cash for a deposit on an apartment that she accepts a babysitting job even after she finds out there is no baby. Mr. and Mrs. Ulman are the older couple who lure Sam out to their creeky Victorian mansion deep in the woods, just in time for a total lunar eclipse. Megan is Sam's best friend, who gives her a ride out to the house, and reluctantly leaves her there despite suspecting that something is amiss. Victor at first seems like just a creepy guy lurking around the house, but quickly makes it clear that Sam will end this night in a bloody fight for her life....
Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, Dee WallaceHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 11% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Some things were better in the ‘80s. Very few things, mind you, but biggies: Saturday morning cartoons, for instance. Or how about our national nemesis? I’d take a Cold War with the Red Menace over an actual war with terrorists any day, threat of nuclear annihilation or not. Best of all, though, were the horror movies. Fright films in the ‘90s, like the Scream series, grew increasingly detached, satirical even, winking at the audience to call attention to their ironic use of by then-clichéd genre conventions. In the ‘00s—and feel free to pronounce that however you’d like—the so-called “torture porn” of Hostel and the Saw franchise infected theaters like a cinematic venereal disease, offering vivisectional gross-outs instead of genuine scares. But horror in the ‘80s, while far from innocent, was much more playful, and less determinedly grim. This was an age when blood flowed bright Crayola red and wasn’t CGI’d in during post-production, a period when “spooky” was a better adjective than “repulsive,” and a time when horror movies didn’t feel obligated to move with the brisk pacing of action films. Tell me, did zombies sprint across parking lots in the ‘80s? Of course not, they did the rigor mortis shuffle, just as God and George A. Romero intended. The House of the Devil, a 2009 film by director Ti West, does the dance of the dead too. It’s a spot-on period piece and homage to Reagan-era horror that wears its affinity for the ‘80s like a pair of high-waisted, acid- washed jeans.
MMVIII? Looks like it was made in MCMLXXXII.
It should tell you something that The House of the Devil is being simultaneously released on Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS (via an Amazon-exclusive DVD/VHS combo pack). This is one film that definitely won't be up for any end-of-the-year awards for stunning picture quality. But that's precisely the point. The film aspires to emulate '80s horror completely, down to the murky, often over-dark visuals. So, in one sense, I'm tempted to give the film a 5 out of 5 video rating simply because this 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer is an accurate representation of director Ti West's every intention. But I also don't want to mislead anyone. Shot on 16mm—which is approximately half the size of a standard 35mm frame—The House of the Devil has a gritty image that's filled corner-to-corner with a buzzing field of chunky grain. While there are a few close-ups that display an admirable degree of fine detail, all things considered, most of the time the combination of grain and 16mm's decreased analog resolution leads to a picture that's noticeably soft. Likewise, colors have been gently faded, like an old pair of over-washed jeans, and opaque black levels crush shadow detail during most of the darker scenes. That said, I didn't notice any compression issues or unnecessary post-production tweaking. So, is it worth buying The House of the Devil on Blu-ray? Well, yes. While the DVD probably looks respectable and the VHS release has an undeniably kitschy appeal, Blu-ray's high definition image gives you the closest approximation of the film's intended theatrical appearance, warts and all. The House of the Devil really does look like it was found in a box in some dusty studio backroom, and I have a feeling true genre fans will be pleased.
Similarly, the film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track isn't going to impress golden-eared audiophiles, but it absolutely nails the sound of '80s horror. The song that plays during the opening credits—with noodling keyboard lines, digital drums, and riff-y guitar—could have easily come from Zombi 2 or some synth-soaked Italian giallo. Later, when we get to the titular house, we get two note cues straight out of an early John Carpenter film. And the main piano theme is as classic and spooky as they come. There's also one impressive track that features violins droning like a swarm of bees; it reminds me of the atonal music we hear whenever the monolith appears in 2001: A Space Odyssey. All of this sounds great, but not particularly full. The rear channels are modestly and intelligently used for creaky haunted house ambience—things start to go bump in the night—although unsurprisingly, the mix is never as immersive as horror films with a more modern sensibility. The sound effects are great, though, and the dialogue is clean, clear, and always discernable. The disc also includes a capable PCM 2.0 stereo track, which is probably even more faithful to the '80s audio aesthetic.
Audio Commentaries
The disc includes two commentary tracks, both of which are worth a listen if you want to know
more about the film. In the first, director Ti West and Jocelyn Donahue have a subdued but
informative conversation that addresses all the usual topics, from the story and hectic 18-day
shooting schedule, to the audio and set design. The second, featuring Ti West, sound designer
Graham Resnik, and producers Larry Fessenden and Peter Phok, is a much wilder, laugh-filled
track, the sort where one participant exits mid-way through to go get more beer.
Deleted Scenes (SD, 6:42 total)
Nothing too exciting here, just an overlong phone conversation and a creepy throw-away
shot.
In the House of the Devil (SD, 13:34)
There's a whole reel worth of behind-the-scenes footage here—we see make-up, set design, gore
effects, rehearsals, etc.—but without interviews or any organizational structure, it runs a little
long.
Behind the House of the Devil (1080i, 4:40)
"Polanski, Kubrick and that sort of auteur style of horror filmmaking has always really interested
me," says director Ti West, introducing this short featurette that also includes interviews with
Jocelin Donahue and Greta Gerwig, who has a brief role as Sam's best friend.
Trailer (SD, 2:08)
The House of the Devil is a delicious horror throwback that establishes writer/director/editor Ti West as a genre talent to watch. The slower-than-molasses pacing will probably turn off more mainstream horror-hounds, but fans of the classics will be glued to the screen by the syrupy suspense. West proves quite strikingly that you can still make 'em like they used to. Recommended.
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