This Pitch-Perfect ’80s Horror Throwback Hits All the Right Notes and It’s Free on Tubi

Tons of films are trying to remove the atmosphere of classic horror films from the 1980s, but it is not as easy as placing spandex synthesizers with neon and extending. A film that makes a fantastic job to capture the aesthetics of the horror of the “Me Décade” is the Maison du Diable (2009) and you can broadcast it for free on Tubi.

If you are in a mood for slow combustion suspense with serious horror vibrations of the 80s, the Devil’s house should be at the top of your list. Made by Ti West, this retro thriller abandons cheap fears in favor of rampant fear and the perfect atmosphere. It is a control in tension, channeling cult classics as Halloween and when a foreigner calls with a modern edge.

The story focuses on Samantha, a broken student who accepts a mysterious Babysitting concert in an old strange manor. What starts as a quiet night takes place quickly in something much darker. With its grainy visuals, its vintage soundtrack and its growing discomfort, it sticks with you – and it is streaming for free on Tubi.

Since the opening credits, the Devil’s house sets the tone with a retro ridiculously precise and detailed aesthetic. This does not only take place in the 1980s – it feels like it was done at the time. The texture of the grainy film, the costumes and hair adapted to the era is absolutely perfect. It is set to a soundtrack organized with pieces, including one thing of fixx, leads it to another and The Break Up Song of the Greg Kihn Band. The film does not only have the impression of dressing in tropes of the 80s, but as if it were zero at that time.

The film was shot on a 16 mm film, creating its specialized return look. It raises the cinematography directly from filmmakers from the 80s as well as a multitude of other techniques to evoke the classics of the time. Everything, to the credits, is precise and I appreciated all the attention paid to what everything corresponds, to the cups of the Pizza restaurant seen early in the film.

Sam realizes that something is wrong when she trips on the proof that the family who hired her for Baby-Sitting is not the same in the photos. Realizing that she could have been deceived, she tried a call to 911, but she has already eaten a piece of contaminated pizza. She faints just when she has an overview of what it was exactly that she was hired to “babySite”.

The path of the film is loaded with macabre moments (just ask the best friend of Sam, Megan, played by the director of Barbie Greta Gerwig), with incredibly horrible practical effects which disturb and relax on the bone. The hideous “mother”, which Sam discovers is linked to her original work, is an example of cinema from the 80s that would have made the public sick in the stomach.

Without spoiling the culmination, the devil’s house maintains a feeling of gnawing and overwhelming terror throughout her runoff. He is not afraid to use the themes of isolation, the unknown and the betrayal to keep you on the edge of your seat, which I appreciated during my first vision and only loved each rewatch. As horrible as history is, I firmly believe that this film would not have been possible without its commitment to remain faithful at the time which inspired it.

If you are looking for a horror film that was not based on cheap fears or the overworked parable “Sex is bad” with a group of selected adolescents one by one, the Maison du Diable is one of the best films you can put on your Halloween observation list. It gives life to the golden years of horror of the 80s in a credible and decadent manner which will make you wiggle in your seat. I always unpack the culmination of Gagworthy and I bet you will also be.