Ti West is now a household name, as the director of The House of the Devil and Pearl, the latter being one of the best horror prequels of all time. West’s X is also a great slasher that plays out like a homage to the vintage era of the subgenre, set in a classic location, with an iconic villain, brilliantly gory kills, and an abundance of Sєx. However, Pearl is a recent horror movie that will stick with you after the credits have rolled, because of its portrayal of patriarchy, its deliberately paced exploration of the protagonist’s psyche, and for being a classic “Good For Her” movie.
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly one aspect of Pearl that makes it such a great horror movie, but Mia Goth delivering one of the best A24 movie performances ever definitely helps the cause. Even X is a brilliant showcase of her talents as she plays both the final girl, Maxine, and the villain, Pearl. However, as terrifying as X‘s extremely gory kills and Pearl‘s depiction of a character losing her grip on reality can be, Ti West’s scariest horror film came 13 years before X. West’s The House of the Devil is arguably his most terrifying movie ever.
The House Of The Devil Is Ti West’s Scariest Movie
It Is A Mixture Of A Haunted House & Slasher Horror
The House of the Devil is an atmospheric horror movie whose events practically unfold at a single location over the course of a single night. College sophomore Sam (Jocelin Donahue) takes a babysitting job in the suburbs, only to discover that her employer lied. He tells her that his “Mother,” who has become senile, lives on the upper floor of the house, and reᴀssures Sam that she doesn’t have to do any nursing, she only needs to house-sit for them instead.
The House of the Devil is a fantastic example of buildup, as it trudges along slowly through gradually rising stakes until a wild climax where everything comes to a head. While one unexpected death occurs midway through the film, most of the horror is in the atmosphere and the setting, as the eerie mood of the movie is its strongest suit. As a horror movie with a slow-burn ending worth the wait, The House of the Devil‘s exploration of satanism combines two common subgenres of horror quite effectively.
The “based on real events” claim at the beginning of The House of the Devil is more an allusion to ’70s horror movies than a reference to a real event.
Gory and shocking killings and a gradual escalation of violence are traits frequently found in slasher films, while single-location narratives with cults and haunting atmospheres are more commonly haunted house horror territory. The House of the Devil is an impactful mixture of the two subgenres that lulls viewers into a sense of cozy comfort before hitting them hard with a shockingly violent cultist horror story. Even though no real stories are depicted, though the film’s opening says it is based on true events, this touch makes it scarier.
Like Pearl, X, & MaXXXine, The House Of The Devil Was Inspired By ’70s Horror
Ti West’s Films Are A Callback To The VHS Era
With films like Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist, Friday the 13th, Poltergeist, The Texas Chain Saw Mᴀssacre, and The Shining, horror cinema went through a transformation during the ’70s and ’80s. West’s X trilogy, which ended with MaXXXine, covers different time periods, but all three movies look inspired by ’70s slashers. From the cinematography and editing techniques employed to the narrative structure and tone of dialogue, the three films are callbacks to the classic era of horror.
Similarly, The House of the Devil is strongly inspired by ’70s horror films. It aesthetically appears as a relic of that age that has been remastered and re-released today, or like a scrapped project from the ’70s produced in the 2000s. West’s love for VHS-era horror is made abundantly clear by the creative choices in the camera angles, the grainy appearance, and the buildup to the villain’s reveal in The House of the Devil.
