The House of the Devil (2009) Review – Ti West’s Cult Horror, Explained

“Talk on the phone. Finish your homework. Watch TV. Die.” A tagline that screams throwback horror… and means it.

Ti West’s The House of the Devil opens like a ritualistic throwback to analog dread, and then bleeds into something darker. The opening shot? Dee Wallace appears before the title card. That’s how you whisper to horror fans: you’re in good hands.

You’re Not Babysitting a Child at The House of The Devil

We meet Samantha, a brown-haired, slim, quiet college student, who plays with the kind of understated presence that instantly telegraphs “final girl.” She’s desperate to move out of her dorm, thanks in part to her roomie Heather, who spends her nights loudly, enthusiastically shagging. Enter motivation.

The landlady (Dee Wallace, never a bad omen) offers a generous discount and fast-tracks her move-in date. It all feels too easy, and just as Samantha’s settling into her escape plan, a babysitting flyer tacked to a noticeboard catches her eye. It’s lo-fi, hand-scrawled, and weirdly urgent.

That flyer is the movie.

Directed & Written by Ti West | Streaming on AMC+ & Shudder

The House of the Devil (2009) is streaming on:

“A resurrection of 1970s terror, filmed like it was pulled from a cursed reel.”
— Mother of Movies

Payphones, Paydays & Red Flags

This film is firmly planted in the pre-digital era. Samantha dials the number on a campus payphone, and the mystery man calls her back on that same payphone minutes later. Creepy? Yes. Impossible? Also yes. That eerie, analog logic is part of what makes this so transportive.

The man on the phone arranges to meet her exactly where he posted the flyer. No address, no directions. Just vague panic and a huge sense of “this is a trap.”

We’re introduced to Megan (played by a nearly unrecognizable Greta Gerwig), Samantha’s best friend and voice of reason. She’s cool, smart, and suspicious. When the job gets real, at a massive, remote house nestled next to a cemetery (because of course), Megan drives her there. Even needs a map.

Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan) opens the door with a red mark on his temple and a demeanor that hovers somewhere between “soft-spoken gentleman” and “kidnapper who composts.” He reveals there’s no child — the babysitting job is actually for his wife’s mother, an elderly woman “who won’t be any trouble at all.”

Then comes the money. $100. $200. $300. $400. Samantha hesitates. Megan is livid. But Samantha stays.

Megan leaves, understandably angry, and pulls into the cemetery for a stress cigarette. A stranger offers her a light. Before we can even scream at the screen, he shoots her in the face mid-puff… then calmly finishes her cigarette. It’s a moment that’s both predictable and a total gut punch.

This House Eats Time, and Pizza | The House of The Devil

Samantha waits. That’s the genius of Ti West’s structure. This isn’t a movie in a hurry. She microwaves the pizza (yes, that pizza), dances around the house, checks out creepy rooms, and slowly becomes aware that something’s very off.

The Ulmans mentioned a rare lunar eclipse that night, a celestial event that apparently makes the house an astrologer’s dream. She finds old family photos in a cupboard. But they’re not photos of the Ulmans. Mrs. Ulman makes weird mistakes about the house layout.

Meanwhile, the pizza guy, a.k.a. the cemetery cigarette killer, shows up. Samantha eats a slice. Then nearly pukes. Then hears banging in the pipes. That’s when the drugged crust kicks in.

She collapses and wakes up tied to a pentagram, surrounded by cult members in robes, including the disfigured “mother” she was supposed to watch. Blood is poured into her mouth from a cup. The ritual begins.

But she fights.

She stabs the cigarette guy. Stumbles across Megan’s body in the house. Gets shot, bleeds everywhere, slices a throat. She’s Carrie in final girl mode, dragging herself through blood-stained carpets and candlelit corridors.

Even when Mrs. Ulman tells her, “It’s going to work in spite of you, you little bitch,” Samantha still finds the strength to stab her.

Shot on 16mm, because Atmosphere Matters

Here’s what makes this different from most indie horrors that trade on retro aesthetics: The House of the Devil was shot on actual 16mm film. Not a digital filter. Real film grain. It gives every frame a softness, a tactile weight, that you can almost smell. Dusty sunbeams. Yellowed lampshades. Shadowed staircases. Every shot is deliberate, and it lingers.

And the framing? Pure dread. Every window is a warning. Every doorway is a delay. This is horror told by someone who worships the camera.

Final Thoughts: Cult Classic Status Achieved

The House of the Devil doesn’t sprint. It simmers. It builds atmosphere like it’s building a shrine, carefully, obsessively, until the final act slices it all wide open.

It’s got cults, blood rituals, disfigured witches, graveyard murders, and possibly a demonic pregnancy. But it also has character. Stillness. Craft.

And yes, the pizza was definitely drugged.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Pentagrams on the Floor

A perfect ode to cult horror, slow, stylish, and just the right kind of wrong.

For more information, The House of the Devil has an official website. If you need more films with Cults and weird religious groups, take a look at any of these films: The Aviary | Shadow of God | or the excellent 1BR 2022.

Notable Cast: The House of the Devil (2009)

• Jocelin Donahue as Samantha
  → Our final girl. Quiet, practical, and slowly spiraling into cult hell.
• Tom Noonan as Mr. Ulman
  → The soft-spoken devil in a turtleneck. Pure dread in human form.
• Mary Woronov as Mrs. Ulman
  → Creepy elegance. Feels like she’s seen too much and smiles anyway.
• AJ Bowen as Victor Ulman
  → The cigarette guy. That one friend of the family who’s either in on it… or just likes lurking with a smoke and a gun.
• Greta Gerwig as Megan
  → Samantha’s bestie, best hair, best lines, and the most shocking exit.
• Dee Wallace as Landlady
  → Horror royalty in a brief but grounded role.
• Heather Robb as Roommate
  → Appears early and sets the low-rent student tone of Samantha’s world.
• Brenda Cooney as Nurse
  → Minor role, but memorable imagery in the climax.
• Mary B. McCann as Elaine Cross
  → Plays Samantha’s employer and initiator of the job plot.
• Ti West as Favorite Teacher
  → Director cameo. Briefly seen in the school hallway, possibly as the only adult in Samantha’s world who isn’t sinister. He gives her the midterms extension, some say this scene’s inclusion is West signaling the passing of responsibility from adults to Samantha alone.

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The House of the Devil

Director: Ti West

Date Created: 2009-04-25 18:23

Editor's Rating:
3.75

Pros

• Did you see the crew?
• Did you watch the cinematography?
• Classic Horror

Cons

• Had been done before even in 2009.