- Magnolia Pictures
The triumph of “Paranormal Activity” over “Saw VI” at the box office last weekend suggests audiences may crave subtle, low-key spookiness over blood-and-guts mayhem. This has given confidence to Ti West, the director of “The House of the Devil,” which opens on Friday in time for Halloween. The movie adopts an old-school ’80s horror approach in its depiction of a broke college student (Jocelin Donahue) answering a babysitting ad that turns out to be a satanic ruse. The slow-burn pace, as the main character gradually realizes the danger, is in contrast to the frenzied market standard for scary movies.
West has had a bit of an uneasy time in Hollywood. In 2006, he was hired to direct a sequel to “Cabin Fever” for Lionsgate. But after West disagreed with the studio’s cut, he left the project and requested to have his name removed from the credits. Lionsgate chose to keep his name on the film, and since West isn’t a member of the Directors Guild of America, he can’t protest. “Cabin Fever 2″ is playing at film festivals, and West has heard rumors it will come out on DVD in February (he’s not sure what sort of profits he stands to make from the release).
A spokesperson for Lionsgate confirmed the February release date, but had no comment regarding Ti West.
“In my mind, it’s not my movie,” he said, but added that he harbors no ill-will toward Lionsgate. “They’re not bad people. They have the best intentions for what they’re trying to accomplish with that movie. I just didn’t agree with it, so I bailed.”
West initially butted heads with producers on “House of the Devil,” too. When the movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April, he complained that several tension-building minutes had been cut. When Magnolia Pictures picked up the movie for theatrical distribution, the company chose to release West’s original version.
West is currently working on a number of projects, including a five-episode Web series he wrote and directed for IFC about vampires and online dating called “Dead and Lonely.” (Check out the eerie fake dating site created as a tie-in here.) West is also attached to direct two features: a film about punk rock called “Losers Take All” and “The Haunting in Georgia,” a follow-up to “The Haunting in Connecticut,” which grossed over $76.5 million worldwide. In other words, West is directing another studio sequel — but this time, he has some standards in place.
“The way I’m accustomed to making movies is the way I like making movies,” he said. “It’s not just a career; it’s a lifestyle. I don’t want to go in as a gun for hire.”
