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 TV. 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 titular house was infested with ladybugs, some of which can be seen in some of the shots.

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Goofs

In the end scene where Samantha is in the Hospital, a nurse walks into her room to give her an injection. However, when the nurse gives her the injection, you can easily see an air bubble in the needle, and subsequently the IV line. This amount of air in the blood stream would kill her.

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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 Midnight Movie Review: Halloween Horror Top 25, nr. 23: The House of the Devil (2010)

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Soundtracks

"A Cheat's a Cheat"
Written by L. Stuart
Performed by Day, Dawn and Dusk

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.