Metacritic Movie Ratings
The House of the Devil Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 88

  out of 100

  Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips

  It is a fine little old-school thriller.

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• 83

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum

  There's wit but never a wink in this smartly shot production, which pays homage to the 1980s without fetishizing the era.

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• 80

  out of 100

  Los Angeles Times

  The buildup is undeniably effective; for most of the movie, it provides the same kind of thrills as "Paranormal Activity," if somewhat less brilliantly.

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• 80

  out of 100

  The New York TimesManohla Dargis

  Mr. West shows a real gift for the genre, particularly in his ability to generate dread with pinpricks rather than bludgeoning shocks, something even veterans twice his age have difficulty achieving. After years of vivisectionist splatter, here is a horror movie with real shivers.

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• 75

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  The film may provide an introduction for some audience members to the Hitchcockian definition of suspense: It's the anticipation, not the happening, that's the fun.

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• 70

  out of 100

  Variety

  Call it the best '80s babysitter-in-peril movie never made. The House of the Devil delivers about as much as one could reasonably hope from the not-quite-alone-in-the-house category, with the bonus of authentically re-creating the low-budget look and feel of that era's classic horror entries.

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• 63

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  The result can be palpably unnerving.

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• 40

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt

  This is the perfect illustration of the banality of most scare movies.

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