MovieChat Forums > The House of the Devil (2009) Discussion > Why 1970s-style credits for a supposed 1...

Why 1970s-style credits for a supposed 1980s movie?

posted 11 years ago by david-3444
13 replies | jump to latest

I've read other people commenting on how "authentic" the credits were for a movie set in the 1980s, but the credits were INCREDIBLY dated by 1983, when the movie must take place. That style of freeze-frame credits was popular in the early- to mid-1970s, not the early 1980s.

Watching the opening credit, I was expecting a movie set in about 1974, not 1983. The hairstyles were circa 1979, but that's excusable when you have nerdy characters who might be a little behind the times. Rotary-dial telephones were pretty much gone in 1983, although there certainly were houses that had old equipment at that time. But the credits were just jarringly bad, and removed me from the "world" of the movie.

[–] DrDanielChallis 11 years ago

You need to go back and look at horror from the early 80s. There is plenty of crossover in looks, atmosphere, design styles across the decades. From 58-63, 63-66, 66-69, 69-72, 72-75, 75-79, 79-83. Looks didn't just completely change from one year to the next.

That feathered hairstyle lasted around until about 85 when curly lockes and big hair eliminated that look by the time metal was big

Rotary-dialed phones lasted well into the late 80s for a lot of people

One does not simply keep clear of the moors . . .

[–] david-3444 11 years ago

I guess since I lived in a big city, girls were a little ahead of the rest of the world with hairstyles, because the hairstyles in this movie were done by 1981. I can see that some parts of the country might have been lagging behind -- I still see 90s hairstyles when I go out into rural areas of my state.

But please name one movie from 1983 that had that style of opening credits. By 1983, I hadn't seen that style of credits in a popular film for several years. Certainly not since the end of the 1970s.

[–] DrDanielChallis 10 years ago

I think you're over-valuing your "big city" life - there's more population in suburbia and rural areas than cities - having lived and worked in multiple big cities - the biggest - I can tell you that most aren't even from the area - sure, stuff from Italy and France makes it's way to NY and LA probably sooner than everywhere else - but style even back then was pretty fleeting

Take a search of the leading ladies of the time - Streep, Winger, Spacek - all had the feathered look well into 1983. Yes - crimping, ironing, scrunching, lots of curls - the rocker chick was beginning but again - nothing comes in and screams "It is 1983 so let's change now!"

In order of importance and influence in horror in 1983: Psycho II > Christine > John Landis' Thriller video - you'll find that late 70s early 80s credit sequencing / font - others were Cujo, Twilight Zone The Movie, still not even getting into how it was still all prevalent through 1984. See Friday the 13th Final Chapter and Nightmare on Elm Street.

Oh yes - the feathering and title sequences from the late 70s early 80s are still very much there come 1984, let alone 1983.

A man remembers his debts . . .

[–] PenguinCat 10 years ago

"It is 1983 so let's change now!"

My 1984 yearbook pictures had high hair. Hairspray and huge, huge hair. It was awful. My sister's 1980 yearbook had gorgeous straight hippie hair or curly hair just like Samantha's.

Believe me, i would love if we really had Samantha's hair. My Year book would not be an embarrassment. Which is why I have trouble seeing this as the 80's as well. Since I lived through it...

Always be yourself... Unless you can be Batcatt

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] DeusExKatrina 11 years ago

While set in the 80s I definitely concur with those who say it had more of a 70s feel. The reason it's set in the 80s is because that's when Satanic Panic happened, but that doesn't inherently mean the movie has to have been crafted with an 80s style in mind.

---
"Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the antidote to shame."

[–] FaithHH02 10 years ago

I think most people see the 80s as the mid-80s horrible fashion and valley girl personas. The early 80s were not much different than the late 70s. Most 80s stuff I see reminds me of NOTHING I lived through and I have a pretty good memory of that decade. It's as if jokes about the 80s have become what people think they really were. Whether the credits were 70s or 80s would depend on the production value of the movie. Compare things like House or Re-Animator to things like Poltergeist. Different budgets. Different productions. Different audiences.

[–] FlyingSaucersAreReal 10 years ago

Why is this so difficult for people to understand?

It's not like we all started dressing in pastels and the women started wearing big hair when the calender flipped to Jan 1, 1980.

Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Strange days indeed -- strange days indeed - John Lennon

[–] PenguinCat 10 years ago

by FlyingSaucersAreReal » 1 day ago Why is this so difficult for people to understand?
It's not like we all started dressing in pastels and the women started wearing big hair when the calender flipped to Jan 1, 1980.

It's not difficult to understand. You are right it's true. You have answered their questions.

With that theory being correct though, if the director wanted to pay Homage to the 80's then why choose the first 2 years when the 80's still looked like the 70's? It's pretty much the lack of High hair that have people wondering why this is called an 80's film.

Maybe it is regional - I grew up on Long Island in NY and our High Pink hair started at least by 1981. There were High Top sneakers and Parachute pants galore. It was wretched really. Madonna was looking like an idiot and all.

I just would've liked to see a Molly Ringwald type dancing around that creepy house getting impregnated by a creepy family while eating Pizza. THAT would have been 80's.

But basically the Director decided, "I am going to base this film in 1980-1981 before the hair but after the 1970's". Weird choice in my opinion but it's his movie so...

The reason it's set in the 80s is because that's when Satanic Panic happened, but that doesn't inherently mean the movie has to have been crafted with an 80s style in mind.

Regarding Satanic Panic:

Yes that was indeed the 80's to late 90's. Unfortunately most people aren't even aware of that. Especially if they are younger than 50. I wasn't aware and I love that kind of stuff. I even grew up next door to the Amityville Horror town and I don't remember Satanic Panic. We were even reading the Daily News while the murders were being covered. However that was in the 70's and I was 5 when they happened.

I also agree that he didn't HAVE to aim it at the High Hair 80's. But it would've have caused a lot less curiosity had I known it was Satanic Panic he was going for and not the 80's Horror Film genre itself (which I find to be more slashers than satanic). But it makes more sense now.

That is exactly why I came on her. To question how this was supposed to be the 80's when it looked like the 70's AND most of the popular Satanic Movies came from the 60's and 70's.

I do believe now it was the 60's/70's horror films that may have helped push the Satanic Panic to begin with.

Amityville Horror (1979)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
the Exorcist (1976)
the Omen (1976)
Satan's Black Wedding (1975)
The Sentinel (1977)

[–] FlyingSaucersAreReal 10 years ago

"Maybe it is regional - I grew up on Long Island in NY and our High Pink hair started at least by 1981. There were High Top sneakers and Parachute pants galore. It was wretched really. Madonna was looking like an idiot and all. "

I guess the movies hadn't started reflecting those new fashions yet. The parts of the country near the big cities tend to be ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to fashions and other trends, a lot of the time.

If you look at movies like Amitville 2, Friday the 13th 2 from around 1980-82, the clothes, the hairstyles, and the general look of the movies were pretty close to what you see in House of the Devil.

Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Strange days indeed -- strange days indeed - John Lennon

[–] superherolu 10 years ago

Disagree about the rotary phone. I remember people using rotary phones when I was little and I was born in the late 80s.

[–] stitchesaresore 9 years ago

True that! I remember my aunt having a rotary phone in '91.

[–] DirectorLawrence 10 years ago

OP, you should have just stuck to your observation about the credits without interjecting all that other stuff. People are focused on phones and hair rather than the credits.