The House of the Devil

We watched this a few nights ago, and it totally ruuuuuuled.  "The House of the Devil" is a horror film that has more in common in terms of pacing and tone with late 70s/early 80s pre-slasher movies than the MTV-style, jump-scare barrage of bikini models getting hacked up that is more common today.  Think more Roman Polanski or vintage Dario Argento than Saw or Hostel.

The plot centers around college student Samantha who is looking for an income source to fund her upcoming move from her dorm into a dream apartment.  She spots an ad on campus looking for babysitters and stumbles upon a group of people who live in the titular house and proceed to make things very scary for Sam and the audience.  This movie has a slow-burn suspenseful intensity that builds and builds until the very end.  I haven't read any reviews, but I would imagine some people might find the pacing a bit slow, but it is totally worth it unless you have ADD.

The look and feel of "The House of the Devil" is so early 80s in every detail from the sweet acid washed jeans and feathered hair to the rockin' tunes Sam listens to on her Walkman cassette player.  It really looks like a time capsule gem from the Reagan era, and it would probably be a household name if it had been released then.  Even better is the special edition set that comes with the movie on DVD and a clamshell cased VHS!  How awesome is that?  It actually looks like it came from the horror section of your circa 1983 local mom and pop video store.  That fact is a little sad and ironic considering we picked up this gem at the final sale of one of seven video stores that are closing in our town this month.  Sad.