The House of the Devil

Sorry about the lateness on this one again (man, I'm bad) but this one is in fact for yesterday, 10/25.

For tonight's film I watched Ti West's "The House of the Devil." The story follows a young college girl who is cash-strapped and takes a baby sitting job for a man who put an ad outside her dorm. However, she gets more than she bargained for, and chaos ensues as she learns of the family's dark secret. A slow-burning horror film done in style of 80s horror despite being released in 2009, the aesthetic is very well done and full of paranoia. As the girl begins becoming suspicious of what the house she is baby sitting at holds you feel it just as strongly, wondering when the fear will culminate and unleash itself. Nothing truly visually scary happens in about the first 3/4s of the film (save perhaps one scene), but the slow build is really what makes this film incredible. The tension is incredibly palpable and makes the scares that come all the stronger. The ending scene as well is chilling and leaves you feeling substantially uneasy. A nearly perfect horror film honestly; West's talent is more than evident. One small critique would be after that the long, slow, powerful build I would have liked to see the actual climax of the film to have been a bit longer. I wanted more of what West had to give me. Very well done horror.

9/10