The House of the Devil
Blu Ray
'The House of the Devil' divides with its slow suspense; rent before buying.
The image, predominantly grainy due to 16mm's lower resolution, often lacks fine detail and depth, appearing flat except for a few sharp close-ups and daylight scenes.
The mix subtly enhances eerie ambience with rear channels, providing clear, balanced dialogue through the center, though lacking the immersion of typical horror.
In a meticulous yet calm discussion, director Ti West and Jocelyn Donahue cover various film aspects, while Graham Resnik's disjointed behind-the-scenes footage lacks depth.
The House of the Devil's slow Hitchcockian pace and meticulous '80s details may challenge modern horror fans used to faster scares.
Director: Ti West
Actors: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov
Plot: In 1983, financially struggling college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret, putting her life in mortal danger.
Disc Release Date: 2 February 2010
all scores
- Video70
- Audio70
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...
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...
- Extra50
- Movie70
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...
The pacing will probably throw off younger horror fans, who have been acclimated to quick cuts and big scares from the very first frame, as The House of the Devil is a defiantly Hitchcockian experience,...
- Total70
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....
- Video60
- Audio70
The image is also relatively flat, with only a handful of daylight shots offering any sort of depth....
Dialogue comes through the center channel clean and well balanced with the rest of the track....
- Extra40
- Movie40
In the House of the Devil (SD, 13:34) – This rather pointless collage of behind-the-scenes footage recorded by Graham Resnik covers some of the sets, stunts, and a few other items, but without any real...
But the devil is really in the details here -- from the feathered hair and the period-ish clothing, to Samantha's clunky Sony Walkman right down to the candy bar wrapper -- it's clear that a lot of effort...
- Total60
At any rate, 'The House of the Devil' is clearly one of those love it/hate it type films so if you haven't seen it then a word to the wise: rent it first....