THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2008, Blu-ray released February 2, 2010 – MSRP $34.98)
It’s rare to see a modern film that so completely encompasses everything wonderful about a genre and style of another era without feeling like a send up or flimsy copy. The House of the Devil is that rare cinematic indulgence that manages to be a perfect tribute to the horror films of the early 80s while maintaining a sense of sincerity and originality. I loved it!
While watching The House of the Devil on Blu-ray, I couldn’t help but think that this is the film that Mark Borchardt was desperately trying to bring to the screen in American Movie – a well paced 80s throwback, nail-biter of a satanic-cult flik! It’s got everything he dreamed of packing into his cult-film – evil, robed satanists, pentagrams, sacrifices, buckets of blood. But unlike Borchardt’s clumsy, amateur efforts, it’s clear right from the start that the audience is in skilled hands here. Writer/director Ti West plays the film straight, setting a very believable tone early on and doesn’t give in to genre expectations until surprisingly late in the narrative. And by that time, those horror conventions actually come as a shock, even though we’ve been expecting them since the first frame. The House of the Devil may have the veneer of a cheap 80s throwback but look beyond the vintage music and high-waisted slacks and you’ll find that it transcends its predecessors in almost every way.
This film was shot dirty and cheap on Super 16mm so don’t be disturbed by all the grain you see up there on the screen. The Blu-ray edition of the film is rock solid and very accurate to the source material. Yeah, there’s a lot of grain but there’s also a good amount of detail and accurate colours in this attractive encode. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is, again, quite faithful to the modest source and as such isn’t going to blow your doors off.
The House of the Devil comes with a host of decent special features, best of which are the two commentaries, both featuring West. The first is a more reserved but pleasant chat with star Jocelin Donahue while the second, featuring sound designer Graham Resnik, and producers Larry Fessenden and Peter Phok is akin to listening in on a chilled-out nerd party. Really fun stuff! The Blu-ray is rounded out with a couple of featurettes, deleted scenes and some trailers.
The House of the Devil is also available in a limited edition VHS and DVD bundle, for those of you who really want to have the complete 1980s horror film experience!
