The House of the Devil

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The House of the Devil

R

2009

1h 35m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

104 Reviews

63%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Desperate to make some money so she can move into a new apartment, college student Samantha Hughes takes a mysterious babysitting job. When she arrives at the house, Mr. Ulman mentions a full lunar eclipse and explains there is no child, but that Samantha will be watching his mother instead. After exploring the sinister-seeming house, Samantha soon comes to realize that her employers are hiding a horrifying secret and have plans to use her, dead or alive.

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Critics Consensus

Though its underlying themes are familiar, House of the Devil effectively sheds the loud and gory cliches of contemporary horror to deliver a tense, slowly building throwback to the fright flicks of decades past.

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Jen Yamato

Movies.com

Oct 10, 2012

4/5

In this era of torture porn and slasher pics, House of the Devil is a shining example of how to build atmosphere and tension the old-fashioned way.

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Perri Nemiroff

CinemaBlend

Aug 14, 2010

3/5

Recreates the feeling of 80s horror; less CGI, more imagination and a whole lot of corn syrup.

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

Mar 22, 2010

3/5

The pay-off is a little far-fetched, but by then we have had our emotional workout.

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Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

Dec 4, 2025

9/10

It has everything a horror fan would want: pretty girls, lots of blood, a good setup for scares, a creepy attic, a weird old lady, satanic rituals, a friend who doubts the validity of the situation, and a final girl.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Oct 26, 2025

3/4

Ti West’s unsettling yarn seems to borrow from several decades, given its mishmash of ’60s Hammer atmosphere, ’70s under-the-nails grit, ’80s rollicking soundtrack, and modern-day mumblecore.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 9, 2025

5/5

Works both as a tribute to Satanic Panic films from the '80s and as a contemporary spin on a well-worn concept, with Donahue's talents carrying the weight of the whole project.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 15, 2026

The House of the Devil = a *3.5* star Movie!

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Ollie W

@RT90619198 Jul 29, 2026

There’s a lack of story. The film finished and I thought "was that it"? It does build some tension and is somewhat spooky, but the first half is far too long. Greta Gerwig is particularly good as the friend of the protagonist. This movie primarily consists of a young woman wandering about a house while she "babysits", and that’s the best part of the film.

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Jennifer M

@buttonsthecat Jul 13, 2026

It had potential but it's really slow. Initially, I liked it, but it went on too long. I think it could have used jump scares to keep more of the audience's attention. I also think the ending could have been longer, maybe?

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Wendy R

@RT61401974 Jul 8, 2026

I like a good slow burn but the first hour is an absolute slog. 20 minutes of good set up, then just nothing until the last 20 minutes which are fantastic

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Farah R.

@Farah Jun 11, 2026

Ti West perfectly captures the look and feel of 80s horror classics in minute detail but The House of the Devil is painfully slow and unscary. Rather than build on the interesting premise, the film wastes its entire runtime on boring nothingness until the last 15 minutes where everything happens too quickly. I wish the cult had a backstory and their motivations were more clear.

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Jeepers C

@RT12312147 Jun 5, 2026

Not bad, if you like slow burn horror movies; this one is pretty good. It starts out with Samantha taking a babysitters job. The first part of the movie is her snooping around this creepy house. She is actually in the house of the devil. The climatic end has her battleling the satanic messengers of the devil. It has a ending like the beginning of Rosemary's baby. She will indeed bring Satan into this world.

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Ti West

Director

Jocelin Donahue

Samantha

Tom Noonan

Mr. Ulman

Mary Woronov

Mrs. Ulman

Greta Gerwig

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AJ Bowen

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Synopsis

Desperate to make some money so she can move into a new apartment, college student Samantha Hughes takes a mysterious babysitting job. When she arrives at the house, Mr. Ulman mentions a full lunar eclipse and explains there is no child, but that Samantha will be watching his mother instead. After exploring the sinister-seeming house, Samantha soon comes to realize that her employers are hiding a horrifying secret and have plans to use her, dead or alive.

Director: Ti West
Producer: Josh Braun, Roger Kass, Peter Phok, Larry Fessenden
Screenwriter: Ti West
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: RingTheJing Entertainment, Glass Eye Pix, Constructovision , MPI Media Group
Rating: R (Some Bloody Violence)
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 30, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $100.7K
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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