Written and Edited By Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Ti West
Producer: Josh Braun, Roger Kass, et. al.
Screenwriter: Ti West
Date Released: April 25, 2009
Cast:
Jocelin Donahue as Samantha Hughes
Tom Noonan as Mr. Ulman
Mary Woronov as Mrs. Ulman
Greta Gerwig as Megan
A.J. Bowen as Victor Ulman
Dee Wallace as Landlady
Danielle Noe as Mother
Rating = 1/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) just rented an apartment but is strapped for cash to make her monthly payments. Outside her college dormitory, she observes an advertisement for a babysitting job. Desperate for money, she decides to take the job and has her friend, Megan (Greta Gerwig) drive her out to the house. What Samantha doesn’t know is that the owners of the house have other intentions for her. That is satanic intentions.
Gore Factor
For the few blood and gore scenes, the film does over-exaggerate the blood splatter. But for the majority of the film, there are hardly any special effects or blood work.
The Grave Review
There are a number of aspects that give The House of the Devil (2009) a low rating as above. These factors include 1) the lack of dialogue and flow 2) the storyline, and 3) the pace of the film.
You are introduced to Samantha who is rude and unrelatable. Her demeanor towards everyone was harsh and unpleasant. In addition, the dialogue between Samantha and the people she interacted with felt unnatural and awkward.
The storyline also felt very unrealistic. At the beginning of the film, it is stated that the film is based on true unexplained events. However, what is ridiculous is that Samantha travels with her friend to a house in the middle of nowhere, in which she is greeted by a strange, old man who is evasive. In the meantime, Samantha is completely indifferent and ignorant towards these obvious red flags. As such, the plot lacks any sense of realism or intellectual thought. In addition, the plot was not well concluded. There were too many unexplained questions at the end of the film.
For the first hour of the film, Samantha is roaming around the house with very little happening. It was not until the end of the film that a conflict arose. In this way, the plot was not well executed and did not entice the viewer to continue to watch the film. Overall, this film is not worth the watch.
For the above reasons, Grave Reviews gives The House of the Devil (2009), one Grave out of five Graves.
Do you agree with our review? Comment below,
You may also like our review of the film, Insane.
Join the Conversation