It sounds like you are displaying local files in Compatibility view. In IE, go to Tools/Compatibility View Settings. Check to ensure that your local server is not in the list of sites to display in Compatibility view. Also, ensure that the "display intranet sites in Compatibility View" checkbox is unchecked.
There is also a way to ensure IE does not display in Compatibility view by using the following vendor specific meta tag in the html head:
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge" />
You can read more about that here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ie/ms533876(v=vs.85).aspx