The House of the Devil

When it comes to indie-horror of the finest, director Ti West is your reliable man. Now his seriously creepy THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL from 2009 has just been released on Limited Edition and Standard Blu-ray and fans will be in for an unnerving treat! The supporting cast in this 1980’s ‘Satanic panics’ pastiche includes Greta Gerwig (yes, Greta Gerwig of ‘Barbie’ fame) though it’s Jocelin Donahue as a cash-strapped college student who carries the burden of all evil…

What’s great about this film (not only directed but also written and edited by Ti West) is that the menacing atmosphere unfolds only gradually and everyone who has seen West’s 2011 horror THE INNKEEPERS knows that he’s a master when it comes to building up the terror. Here, we begin with college student Samantha ‘Sam’ Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) who is in a bit of a dilemma: she’s about to move into a new apartment (cue for an inspired cameo by THE HOWLING’s Dee Wallace as the future landlady) but doesn’t have enough dosh for the deposit. Over the usual ‘healthy diet of pepperoni pizza and coca cola, she discusses her predicament with her best mate and fellow student Megan (Greta Gerwig) who reassures Sam that something will turn up.

Well well! Thank goodness for an ad Sam spots (hmmm….) for a babysitting job. Tearing off the phone number from the note, she calls from a public phone (remember those?) and - with no one answering at the other end of the line - leaves a message for Mr. Ulman, the person who advertised for the job. Just as Sam walks off, the phone rings and initially hesitating, Sam walks back and answers when she would have been better off just walking away…

Arrangements are made for a meeting with Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan) to meet with him and his wife (Mary Woronov) in the couple’s remote country mansion (never a good sign in horror films…) and seeing how Sam doesn’t drive, Megan offers to give her a lift and insists that she come along to the house. When Mr. Ulman opens the door and asks the two friends inside, his demeanour is friendly but also odd but judging by the way the mansion is decorated and so forth (basically, it’s like time stood still all those years), Sam puts Mr. Ulman’s demeanour down to eccentricity. When Ulman ushers Sam into the kitchen to discuss the details of the job (with Megan staying in the living room waiting) he finally lets the cat out of the bag: Sam isn’t supposed to babysit at all, well, not for a baby anyway. Instead, she is supposed to ‘babysit’ for his wife’s old mother, who resides in one of the rooms on the upper floor “but is no bother at all” reassures Mr. Ulman, before pointing out that it will be a real easy job for Sam, who, in all likelihood, can spend her time in the house watching television while Mr. and Mrs. Ulman will be out of the house for a few hours to observe the full eclipse of the moon. Suspicious as to why Ulman wasn’t honest with her from the beginning, Sam is told that had he told her the truth - namely that she’s supposed to look after an old woman instead of a baby - she would not have accepted. Well, she still is reluctant to accept now but Mr. Ulman’s offer of a whopping $400 for a few hour of ‘sitting’ change Sam’s mind…even when the rather sinister looking Mrs. Ulman appears, Sam is confident that it will be smooth sailing.

Her friend Megan is not so sure, far from it. In fact, she reckons that something smells very wrong, in particular Mr. Ulman’s overly generous offer of $400 for a few hours work, that is to say watch TV and ensure that there are no incidents concerning the old lady upstairs. However, Sam is desperate to earn the money, so she can move into her new apartment and arranges that Megan will come pick her up again with her car late at night. As Megan drives off, she stops for a cigarette break and is suddenly approached by a stranger knocking on the car window, who offers her a light. Little does Megan know that it will be the last cigarette she’ll ever smoke… Meanwhile, back in the house, Sam is getting acquainted with her surroundings and with tape recorder in hand and music blaring into her ears from a pair of headphones, she accidentally knocks over a vase and breaks it. While attempting to sweep up the broken pieces, Sam comes across a closet. Curious, she opens it and discovers a photo album containing old photographs - one depicting a family standing next to a Volvo car parked outside the house. The family in question are not the Ulmans but the car is still parked outside the house, as Sam spotted it upon her arrival. What’s going on? Minutes later, the doorbell rings and someone delivers a pizza to her which he had ordered, but is it an actual pizza delivery dude? It’s from then on that the real terror kicks in full throttle and things rapidly turn very scary indeed - with the unexpected lurking in the shadows….

Sinister, unnerving and brilliant, THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL offers the following Special Features: Audio commentaries, deleted scenes, interviews, featurettes, and trailer. In addition, the Limited Edition release comes in a rigid slipcase, a 70-page booklet, plus 6 collector’s art cards.