The House of the Devil (2009)

Plot: In the 1980s, 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; they plan to use her in a satanic ritual.

Hmmmm, ok, a small independent movie. "Uh oh" I hear you say, "they're shit". Well this one isn't. It isn't perfect by a long shot but it does lots of things right. First off, Jocelin Donahue as Samantha, in the lead role, is superb. She oozes the 80's charm and is spot on in her role. Very well done.

She's bloody good in this.

The whole film is enjoyable due to the fact it's set in the 80's. From the clothes to the walkman, everything is great and takes you back, depending on your age, to growing up with a brick playing music in your pocket. Certain scenes, like the dance montage, could have come straight out of 80's classics like Flash Dance. I'll stop mentioning the 80's vibe now, but it really is very good.

Better shake n vac.

So, the movie starts off slowly and stays that way for almost an hour. A slow, atmospheric build up to the impending doom you know is just round the corner but maybe should arrive a tad sooner. When it does it's quite a grusome shock. Bang straight out the blue it makes you think "here we go" but it dosen't quite get in to 5th gear. Everyone does a great job with their roles but the movie as a whole feels sluggish and you find yourself wanting to jab it with a red hot stick. Or a sharp fork. Either would do.

That would make me gag.

The last third of the film is very reminiscent of an old Hammer film. No real scares, a little bit of tension and some ropey effects. All of this indicates the movie would suck large yeti bollocks but it dosen't. It's because the whole cast, and the feel of the film, are so good and so sort of old school that you forgive it all it's shortcomings and just sort of enjoy it. The camera work is good, the lighting is fantastic and you kind of want it to last a bit longer than it does, but you don't know why you want more.

Grrrrrrrrr.

So the film ends and you expect the end credits of Tales of the Unexpected to start playing. But they don't. Even the credits have a retro feel about them and this is how I would sum this all up. A retro, old school, tv-like, horror movie. No real scares, no jumpy scenes, not much happens and you'll probably forget it in a few days. However, whilst watching it you'll be gripped and unable to look away. You'll want the girl to survive cos you like her. Your be sad some of them died. And you certainly wont guess the final scene.

Summary:

 Great because:

• Cast are really very good
• Captures the 80's perfectly
• Old school Hammer vibe going on
• Unexpected ending

 Crap because:

• Very slow build up
• Needed a few decent jumps

Hamster Rating: 4

Gore: 1.5

Scares: 2