I trust you heard of the response that average movie-goers had when M. Night Shyamalan‘s name appeared at the end of the trailer for Devil. If you did not, (Spoiler alert!) they laughed heartily. Honestly, after the string of dreck that the man has churned out over the years, any goodwill his name would have afforded ten years ago has mostly evaporated. However, Devil is allegedly the first in the Night Chronicles, a series of films based on ideas from Shyamalan acting as a producer only. Given the output of this film, I’d say this is a better way for him to rebuild his fanbase.
Admittedly, the premise doesn’t sound like much other than a 30 minute episode of some anthology series. Five strangers are trapped in an elevator. One of them is the devil. I shouldn’t have to put a spoiler warning to let you know that not all of them survive. As a movie focused only on that would run thin rather quickly, there are also a couple security guards, a maintenance man, and a Philadelphia detective to switch to as they try to figure out the failure causing the stuck elevator but also who the five strangers are.
Given the slim cast of mostly unknown, or underknown, actors, writer Brian Nelson off of Shyamalan’s story weaves back and forth between those trapped and those outside in a largely effective fashion. Normally the problem with a bifurcated story such as this is generally one half is more interesting than the other. But with a brief runtime and very tight pacing by director John Erick Dowdle, there is always something going on worth paying attention to. The five in the elevator must combat the tight space, their increasing agitation, and of course that pesky devil who picks off one of them every time the lights go out. Meanwhile, Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) and the security guards race around the building to try to access those trapped when they are not glued to the security monitors watching as everyone unravels.
This is not a traditional horror film in the standard jump-scare sense but Dowdle is able to create a very palpable and tense atmosphere. The possible outcome in the elevator is somewhat limited due to the confined space but that doesn’t stop other random occurrences around the building with people jumping to their death, falling to their death, or being pretty stupid to their death. The whole devil aspect was a bit clumsily handled as its introduction and progression occur mostly due to an uber-religious Hispanic security guard. His evidence that the devil is abound? A piece a toast falls jelly side down. The devil does however leave some pretty unsettling images on the security camera (I had goosebumps, that should say something) and had a pretty effective way of getting his point across.
The crew in the elevator is pretty decent even though some of the characters are somewhat flat. The one that counts though (no spoilers) has a nice tie in with the rest of the story. Given that it’s a Shyamalan-based film, you might be looking for a twist. There isn’t one but the reveal of who is who is pretty shocking. Messina’s performance is damn terrific though and I look forward to more of him in the future.
It’s not a perfect film to say the least but with some great visuals from DP Tak Fujimoto, a delightfully creepy score by Fernando Velázquez, and acting that doesn’t make you want to hang yourself from a tree Happening-style, Devil is proof that Shyamalan can be involved in something worthwhile in the world of film.
Admittedly, the premise doesn’t sound like much other than a 30 minute episode of some anthology series. Five strangers are trapped in an elevator. One of them is the devil. I shouldn’t have to put a spoiler warning to let you know that not all of them survive. As a movie focused only on that would run thin rather quickly, there are also a couple security guards, a maintenance man, and a Philadelphia detective to switch to as they try to figure out the failure causing the stuck elevator but also who the five strangers are.
Given the slim cast of mostly unknown, or underknown, actors, writer Brian Nelson off of Shyamalan’s story weaves back and forth between those trapped and those outside in a largely effective fashion. Normally the problem with a bifurcated story such as this is generally one half is more interesting than the other. But with a brief runtime and very tight pacing by director John Erick Dowdle, there is always something going on worth paying attention to. The five in the elevator must combat the tight space, their increasing agitation, and of course that pesky devil who picks off one of them every time the lights go out. Meanwhile, Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) and the security guards race around the building to try to access those trapped when they are not glued to the security monitors watching as everyone unravels.
This is not a traditional horror film in the standard jump-scare sense but Dowdle is able to create a very palpable and tense atmosphere. The possible outcome in the elevator is somewhat limited due to the confined space but that doesn’t stop other random occurrences around the building with people jumping to their death, falling to their death, or being pretty stupid to their death. The whole devil aspect was a bit clumsily handled as its introduction and progression occur mostly due to an uber-religious Hispanic security guard. His evidence that the devil is abound? A piece a toast falls jelly side down. The devil does however leave some pretty unsettling images on the security camera (I had goosebumps, that should say something) and had a pretty effective way of getting his point across.
The crew in the elevator is pretty decent even though some of the characters are somewhat flat. The one that counts though (no spoilers) has a nice tie in with the rest of the story. Given that it’s a Shyamalan-based film, you might be looking for a twist. There isn’t one but the reveal of who is who is pretty shocking. Messina’s performance is damn terrific though and I look forward to more of him in the future.
It’s not a perfect film to say the least but with some great visuals from DP Tak Fujimoto, a delightfully creepy score by Fernando Velázquez, and acting that doesn’t make you want to hang yourself from a tree Happening-style, Devil is proof that Shyamalan can be involved in something worthwhile in the world of film.
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