The House of the Devil (2009)

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.

Director:

Ti West

Writer:

Ti West

Stars:

Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jocelin Donahue	...	Samantha
Tom Noonan	...	Mr. Ulman
Mary Woronov	...	Mrs. Ulman
Greta Gerwig	...	Megan
AJ Bowen	...	Victor Ulman
Dee Wallace	...	Landlady
Heather Robb	...	Roommate
Darryl Nau	...	Random Guy
Brenda Cooney	...	Nurse
Danielle Noe	...	Mother
Mary B. McCann	...	Elaine Cross (as Mary McCann)
John Speredakos	...	Ted Stephen
Lena Dunham	...	911 Operator (voice)
Graham Reznick	...	Local DJ (voice)
Ti West	...	Favorite Teacher

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

eclipse | secret | 1980s | satanic ritual | ritual | 

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Taglines:

Talk on the phone. Finish your homework. Watch T.V. DIE!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some bloody violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official soundtrack site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2012 (Taiwan)

Also Known As:

Dum dabla

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$25,195 (USA) (30 October 2009)

Gross:

$100,659 (USA) (25 December 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MPI Media Group, Constructovision, RingTheJing Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The camera frequently zooms in on characters - one of the techniques that were highly favored in the 80s. Nowadays they would have been most likely to dolly in instead.

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Goofs

When Megan drops the phone receiver both at the pay phone outside the college and in the Ulman's kitchen, the sound is not the dial tone that would immediately follow a hang up on a land line, but a tone that occurred after the phone had been off the hook for more than five minutes.

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Quotes

Samantha: [Taps on goldfish bowl] Hello fish.

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Crazy Credits

Special Thanks: Goatse & Tubgirl

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Connections

Referenced in Oslo Fright Fest 2010 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"One Thing Leads to Another"
Performed by The Fixx

User Reviews

suspenseful buildup, less satisfying resolution

In "The House of the Devil," a young co-ed (Jocelin Donahue), hard-up for money to pay the rent on her new place off campus, answers an ad for a babysitting job way out in the boonies, only to be plunged headlong into a bizarre devil-worshipping cult in search of a sacrificial victim.

Set in the 1980s - in a time before cell phones gave us at least the illusion of connectedness and security - this refreshingly unadorned and unembellished thriller does something rather unique with its structure (possibly a necessity brought on by its extremely low budget). The story comes to such a slow boil that the stretched-out tension becomes almost unbearable, thereby enhancing the atmosphere of dread.

Unfortunately, die-hard slasher movie fans may be disappointed by the rather rushed, truncated and anticlimactic nature of the final scenes, in which our heroine finds herself being held captive by some of the most feckless and least competent kidnappers in horror movie history.

Still, the suspenseful buildup is more than compensation for the half-baked and halfhearted resolution that follows.