Babysitter Wanted

There's a fine line between loving homage and fetishistic parody. You can either respect the thing you're homaging or go over the top with it and make fun of it. In this film director Ti West places his story in the early 1980's. Not because he wanted to make fun of the 80's but write a love letter to it's horror films. He could have easily have made a movie filled with cliche 80's references. Jabs at Reagan or Michael Jackson's original skin color could have peppered the script but he refrained from doing so. The movie is set in the 80's simply because it wants to be. And that is one of the charms of The House of the Devil. The 80's are recreated with no details being too small. From hair styles, Walkman's, rotary phones and even vintage Coke paper cups. It's all there to pull you into the story.

And it's quite the simple story. College student Samantha Hughes needs to raise money to put a deposit on an apartment. Living with her roommate is driving her nuts and she understandably needs to get out. She responds to an ad looking for a babysitter and, against her best friend's wishes, she accepts the job. Tom Noonan plays the homeowner Mr. Ulman with his typical creepy perfection. Samantha is hesitant and would much rather not have to accept the job but she really needs the money and Mr. Ulman and his wife are paying well. All Samantha needs to do is babysit until midnight. And it's no coincidence that tonight is the night of a rare lunar eclipse. But that can't have anything to do with the story, can it?

What follows is a perfect example of a slow burn. Things go at their own leisurely pace and West is in no hurry to shock you with cheap scares. He prefers the old Hitchcockian style of just letting you sit there gripping your seat cushions or digging your nails into your boyfriend's or girlfriend's arm. This is not a movie for people who want quick and cliche jump out of your seat moments. It's for those people who appreciate a movie that takes it's time to build up tension and let you get to know and sympathize the character you're spending every scene with. Patience is required but rewarded in the end.