burn-in-hell-66-6

These days, we find any stylish throwback poster for a genre movie refreshing. Mondo Tees can’t create them all. So, when the following poster reached our inbox, it was a nice surprise. What’s more, the poster is for a new horror flick that’s projected a nice dark stream of buzz online. Entitled The House of the Devil, it was recently acquired by the tastemakers at Magnet/Magnolia, responsible for the domestic release of Timecrimes and the upcoming Bronson, both /Film-approved. Judging by the trailer below, the film could be a sweet modern companion to The People Under the Stairs and ’80s crazed-righteous-caretakers horror.

The film is set for an unorthodox release; dropping October 1st on Xbox Live and Amazon, with a theatrical release the day before Halloween. Before we dish the plot, we recommend cold-watching the trailer. For the first few seconds, it plays like a standard vapid-babysitter slasher, but climaxes hard into Creepsville. Bonus: the foreboding presence of character actor Tom Noonan (Where the Wild Things Are, Synecdoche New York).

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Look at that. Wow. Font boner. We need to mention that our pals at Vulture had first dibbs on the image. With the exception of the cheesy tagline at the bottom—which befits an ’80s flick like When a Stranger Calls—the poster seems to pay homage to the druggy, deranged art of Italian frightfests of yore.

Official House of the Devil plot synopsis: “In the 1980s, college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret; they plan to use her in a satanic ritual. ”

The movie is directed by Ti West, who practically received a key, albeit not one to the gates, from the horror community for his 2005 film The Roost. Chime in if you’ve seen it. West also helmed this year’s Cabin Fever 2, the sequel to the lil’ indie that unleashed Eli Roth and so forth. One of the actresses in the trailer is Greta Gerwig, whom a few guys and girls may recognize if they tolerated Baghead in hopes of a nude scene. Here’s what a few critics have to say…

“It could easy be billed as a true “lost” horror film from the 80’s.” - Brad Miska, Bloody-Disgusting.com

“…clearly the American indie-horror flick of the year. Sure, the year’s only half over, but I have a very hard time believing anyone is going to beat this slow burning throwback to 80s religio-terror.” - Todd Brown, Twitchfilm

…I don’t celebrate Saw on Halloween, so I’m looking forward to this. /Film will have more info regarding this picture when applicable.

  • RosanatorDA
    great tagline.
  • looks like a good horror flick, but i really dont see whats so great about the poster...
  • SomeGuy
    Re: the poster-

    You didn't grow up in the 80's, did you?
  • unfortunately, no i didn't....
  • Probably needs more floating heads and, like, Arial Bold for the title, huh? Or better yet: Times New Roman!
  • jimmytheghost
    I think you mean Helvetica Captain Howdy...or should I say...HELLvetiva ;)
  • That is one amazing looking poster.
  • rockinrors
    That's pretty cool.
    Can't say I got a boner over it, but it was pretty close.
    haha
  • darkloardpiggy
    I dont know....when it comes to horror come Halloween time, film im lookin forward to the most would have to be Trick r' Treat. though its not indie, its still a throwback to the great horror anthologies of years past, like creepshow, dead alive, and tales from the crypt.
  • wazuu
    Dude Im totally with you on that one, I've been waiting for Trick r Treat for a while.
  • [A]
    Good poster. Good to see something that's not the result of multi-layer work with Photoshop (and brushes downloaded from deviantart)
  • Dan
    Totally. Doing a "throwback" is so clever. Way better than doing something new or original.
  • that poster is one of the best i've seen in a long time. i wish more movies would step it up like that. the trailer didn't show much, but i would see it for the poster alone.
  • Peter_Sellers
    Sucks that its a '80s period piece b/c new horror flicks need to take a cue from that poster (and last ten secs of trailer) and Chernobyl the Platinum Dunes HQ once and for all! Looks awesome! And is that the lady from Zombie's Halloween?
  • BrendonConnelly
    For the record. while Bronson is strongly approved by /Film as an entity and by most of its writers and staff, I absolutely hated it and so did each and every one of the four people in my circle of friends to have seen it. Perhaps I'll get to elucidate on why soon.
  • richmcleod
    Brendon, still awaiting your Terry Gilliam/Pixar rebuttal. Unless you agree with the rationale I laid out, which is completely understandable.

    Great article, Hunter. Can't wait till October 1st. Just need to find someone with an x-box.
  • Oh hell yes! *pun intended. Let the 80s horror homages roll in, what a way to get 'em started. Goddamn that poster is fantastic and the trailer feels so nostalgic even though I've never seen it before. Impressive.
  • The_Kid
    That actually kind of creeped me out, besides the fact that it's 4 in the morning and my house is as silent as christmas.
  • The_Kid
    That actually kind of creeped me out, besides the fact that it's 4 in the morning and my house is as silent as christmas.
  • The_Kid
    That actually kind of creeped me out, besides the fact that it's 4 in the morning and my house is as silent as christmas.
  • wazuu
    That was such a good trailer, man I wish horror movies could be more like this and less like Sorority Row.
  • RosanatorDA
    you mean 'i know what you did last summer: sorority house'?
  • probot
    Good to see this film has a release date
  • StrugglingWriter
    Love this. And did anyone else catch Dee Wallace as the voice of the landlady?
    I'm also with everyone: poster = amazing.
  • awesome!
  • Octoberist
    tell you right now, chicks should bring back the early 80s/late 70s hair. I love that style.
  • plagueoftruth
    Tolerate 'Baghead?' I thought 'Baghead' was great.
    Greta Gerwig's boobies were just icing on the cake.
  • Direk
    The Poster shows the End of the Film :/
  • Joe
    No it doesn't show the end of the film. There isn't even a fire in the movie. So I have no clue as to why in the world the house is in fire. Maybe cause it's the "Devils House?"
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