The House of the Devil

The House of the Devil (2009)

  • 86% of critics liked it
    (91 reviews)

  • 57% of users liked it
    (52,871 ratings)

A coed struggling to pay her rent ends up taking the wrong part-time job in writer-director Ti West's old-school 1980s-set horror flick, The House of the Devil. Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) is a sweet-natured and retiring young woman, unlike her rambunctious, loud, and self-assured best buddy,… More

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R,
Directed By
Written By
Ti West
Genres
Horror
In Theaters
Oct 30, 2009 Wide
Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • David Jenkins, Time Out

    The film's nostalgic design is subtle enough not to dampen the seriously sinister atmospherics.

  • J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

    In keeping with his models, West is concerned with not suspense exactly but the ritual withholding and ultimate lavishing of bloody chaos.

  • Ty Burr, Boston Globe

    West, a rising young director of minor cult pleasures, comes clean here about his love for all things Bava (Mario) and Carpenter (John).

  • Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

    There's a payoff in The House of the Devil, if you have the patience. Some of the scenes seem draggy, but the characters are complex, and their motivations are explained.

  • Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

    Even the familiar tropes of The House of the Devil are familiar in the right way, like an old, bloodstained sweater.

Read all 25 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Directors C


    [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]

  • Josh L


    Oh I absolutely loved this movie. It's a brilliant throwback to the old days of horror where the most terrifying thing was what wasn't on screen, rather than what is on screen and splattered all over the place. It was made in 2009, but looks so genuinely authentic for when… More

  • Kevin C


    Very smartly constructed horror homage/horrifyingly stupid, sadly underdeveloped 80s flick

  • Cameron S


    Created in the vain of 80s style horror (really slow zooms and all), 'House of the Devil' does a excedingly good job of building suspense for about 80 minutes only to blow it during the climax stage of the narrative. Unfortunate really as what it started of as seemed like a… More

  • Emil K


    What a entertaining and nostalgic horror film this is. With a single blow director Ti West improved himself light years from his earlier features with this film. The House of the Devil shows that mixing art with slasher is still possible. I haven't seen horror film like this… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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