DVD Review – The House of the Devil

Monday 29th March sees the release of The House of the Devil, a movie that the folks over at /Film called “The best horror film of the year”.

Naturally, having been billed as such a frightfest, Jason jumped at the chance to return as a guest reviewer again and take this one.

In The House of the Devil, pretty cash strapped college student Samantha, desperate to find a deposit on a new flat, accepts a one off babysitting job for a rather sinister sounding employer. The money is too good to turn down so Samantha puts her doubts aside and sets off with her boisterous friend Megan who insists on coming along to make sure all is ok.

The house turns out to be an eerie and isolated mansion quite a bit further out of town and upon arrival both the girls feel uncomfortable. However when the employer agrees to up Samantha’s wage, she is persuaded to stay and Megan promises to return at midnight to collect her. However no sooner does Megan leave but things begin to spiral out of control and Samantha soon finds herself trapped in the house.

As a lunar eclipse darkens the night sky, Samantha finds that her employers have something truly terrifying in store for her and it soon becomes clear that she will end this night with a bloody fight for her life.

Jason texted me as soon as he’d watched it telling me how great it is, here’s what he had to say:

Hard up and desperate for cash, a spot of babysitting should help, but when you turn up to find a creepy older couple, big creepy house and no kids in sight then you'd leave right? ...wrong! The couple don’t seem that bad and they say mother wont be any trouble... and importantly the money is good.

Alone in the house Samantha starts to explore, the tension builds slowly and the honest acting and rounded characters adds to the realism, like a leaking tap (drip drip drip) things slowly uncurl, the scares are few but the tension soars and threatens to peak. When you think the pipe must blow, a valve releases some steam and the tension builds again, it feels natural, never forced, mainly due to the normality of the action. When the climax is reached its worth the wait! 4 against 1 is poor odds but when you have the good of god on your side then there’s always a chance… then again, some have the luck of the devil! 

Check out the trailer below: