The renaissance that horror cinema has experienced lately is a double-edged sword for longtime fans. Good box office numbers mean more horror movies in general. Still, more horror movies also mean more bad horror movies – more unwarranted remakes, more unnecessary sequels, and more derivative blood bath schlock. It’s enough to leave plenty of horror fans looking for an antidote to the rehashes and gore porn that have dominated the industry of late. Writer/director Ti West’s fourth feature film, House of The Devil, recently released on DVD and Blu-Ray, might be just what the doctor ordered.
House of the Devil has deep roots in classic horror: it is atmospheric and spooky, taking more cues from The Haunting than Halloween, resulting in a film that is more concerned with being eerie than shocking. It builds tension gradually and unceasingly, refusing to release it via bloodshed or shrieking phantasms. West is more interested in making audiences squirm for an hour than scream for a second, using unnerving silences and too-long static shots to build seat-gripping suspense with minimal special effects. From the bump in the night to just barely seen movement, West’s toolbox contains our most basic, ancestral fears: the unknown, the unseen, the thing that refuses to show itself. He manipulates these fears to impressive effect, drawing chills from the simplicity of rooms that don’t seem as abandoned as they look, shadows that are just a shade too dark, and phones go on ringing for just a moment too long.