House of the Devil, 2009

Written, directed, and edited by one Ti West, this movie is certainly a labor of love. Mr. West set out to recreate a typical 80s horror movie, complete with techno soundtrack, rotary phones, and that favorite boogyman of the 80s, Satantic cults. Attention is paid to every detail, and one certainly forgets that this is a recent film.

And that’s the problem, really. House of the Devil is a pitch-perfect replica of the  disposable horror genre, and the result is… disposable! The plot lacks depth, the ending is ludicrous even by schlock standards, and most importantly I was never scared.

I mean, it was clearly a nice artistic endeavor, and to be fair there is the faintest scent of solid old school Black Christmas-style horror. However, at the end of the day an homage that doesn’t add anything to the original is just a boring old replica.

Put away that acid wash, because I give this movie a mere: ✚✚✚✚✚