In keeping with his models, West is concerned with not suspense exactly but the ritual withholding and ultimate lavishing of bloody chaos. full review

West, a rising young director of minor cult pleasures, comes clean here about his love for all things Bava (Mario) and Carpenter (John). full review

There's a payoff in The House of the Devil, if you have the patience. Some of the scenes seem draggy, but the characters are complex, and their motivations are explained. full review

Even the familiar tropes of The House of the Devil are familiar in the right way, like an old, bloodstained sweater. full review

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. full review

Although the payoff is creepy, it takes a little too long to arrive -- and when it does, it's about as worn-out as the movie's title. full review

The House of the Devil is really a romance: a love letter to the kind of gal we thought had given up the ghost. full review

West's assured way with widescreen framing, long takes and silences followed by sharp if explainable noise are almost cruelly funny in their heart-stopping pleasures. full review

After years of vivisectionist splatter, here is a horror movie with real shivers.

West avoids cliche and cheesiness with wise casting choices. Donahue's naturalistic performance is as persuasive as the subtly sinister portrayals by Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov. full review

A slightly faster set-up, and slightly more drawn-out climax, would make this even better. full review

Writer-director Ti West's crisp, economical, satisfying little horror pic reclaims the pleasures of the kind of old-school formula that the jokey Scream franchise deconstructed into satire. full review

In the end, this homage to '80s horror is little more than a faithful flashback -- authentic in execution but about as scary as something you saw again and again way back when. full review

Gravely gorgeous in the style of a storybook Snow White, Donahue gives eloquent reaction shots and nails West's piece de resistance -- a bounding, Walkman-soundtracked, Jazzercise dance through the house. full review

A horror film with no punch.

Call it the best '80s babysitter-in-peril movie never made. full review