This is the second movie I've seen in a week about people trapped on an elevator and bad things happen to them (of course, otherwise there wouldn't be too much of a movie). And I'll have to say that despite reviews I've seen for the first one (The movie "Blackout" which you can read my review for it here) and not knowing anything about this movie, Devil, I have enjoyed both of them very much.

I was a bit skeptical in seeing this movie, because people getting stuck on an elevator is a bit unoriginal. It happens to people all the time. Okay, kidding. But really, I was a bit skeptical about seeing this movie because 1) M. Night Shyamalan helped with the movie, and from his previous work, brought my hopes down for this movie greatly. And 2) it's directed by John Erick Dowdle, one of the directors of the horrid Quarantine (but also one of the directors for a big favorite of mine, The Poughkeepsie Tapes), so that was also a downer on the movie for me. But, the plot intrigued me so much (or from what I knew about the plot), that I decided to go see it.

SPOILERS BELOW



Devil is about five people who board an elevator in a large office building, going about their daily business. And then they get stuck. Now being assured by the security of the office and being monitored on a security camera, they wait for help to arrive or for the elevator to start working again. But soon, tensions strangely begin to arise between one another, and trust is lost very quickly after the elevator stops operating. And soon, people begin to die. Are one of those people a murderer in disguise? Or are there supernatural forces causing the problem? An FBI agent with a dark past tries to figure out what's going on inside the elevator before everyone dies, or before anyone tries to kill everybody else.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. The directing was much better than from what I saw in Quarantine, and since M. Night Shyamalan only helped produce this movie and had come up with the story, you didn't have to worry about any stupid twist that he was going to throw in there. Quite honestly, the twist in this movie was much better than the ones in his recent films.

The way they filmed inside the elevator really helped bring on the sense of claustrophobia (and if you read in my review for "Blackout," you'll know that I am claustrophobic), but only for a short while. Because one of the characters is claustrophobic. Or so we think. It turns out that it might be show of some sort. Don't worry, that's not a big part of the story. Any way, I think they did a good job with that but sticking the camera in the actors faces to make it seem like you're in a constricted space, which was very well done.

The acting was fairly well done, and the younger woman inside the elevator was pretty good at portraying fear, the older woman was pretty good at portraying an older woman, the cute guy was pretty good at being cute, but the other two guys were just annoying. Didn't really like them. Though, they each had their own little personality that made you not like them. They were annoying, or lied, or got very defensive when they didn't have a reason to be, and you just didn't like them, even though they're our protagonists—well, for the beginning. After bad stuff starts to happen, then you can't really trust any of them, and you really want to know who's really good and who's bad.

You had some really suspenseful moments in this movie too. There were so many instances to where I was shocked to see something happen. They used the flickering of the elevator lights very well, and they also used the lights going out very well too, as when the lights did go out, somebody would die. And the way they died really shocked me because I wasn't expecting this movie to be so graphic about all of it. One moment, everyone's fine, the next moment, someone's bleeding all over the place. The movie was also pretty eerie. The lights would go out, and you'd hear noises that you wouldn't normally want to hear when you're stuck in an elevator in the dark (i.e. something crawling on the outside of the elevator, ghostly moaning noises, banging), and there's even one part where the lights go out, and the security guard stuck in the elevator lights a match, only to show a figure standing right next to him that's not human. It was so quick and so well done that you only see it for a second, but it's stuck in your mind that makes it very scary (plus, it's also in the trailers, so that made it kind of less scary. Now I really wish they didn't have it in there).

The stories were pretty good. There were two: one focused on the people in the elevator, and the other focused on the CSI/FBI officer who was first at the scene for a suicide when someone jumped through a window of the building the elevator gets stuck in. Then he's called on to help the people in the elevator. And there's a reason to it. He has something to do with it, too. And when his story and the people in the elevator's stories come together, I wasn't really expecting it at all and was pleasantly surprised by this twist, whereas with M. Night's, I just wanted to kind of wish I never saw the movie. I saw the twist coming for the people in the elevator when we find out who was causing all the trouble to happen, but it was very well done because if I hadn't known who it was, I probably never would have expected it. It was creepy too, and really just set a great, ominous mood for the entire flick.

The death scenes were well done, and some of them even made me cringe a little bit. But there were moments when the camera was moving way too fast, and I had no idea what was going on, which kind of disappointed me because it doesn't show what's going on long enough to really know what's happening. I wanted to see more gore! Nah, there was enough in there. And there wasn't even that much to begin with. They used enough, but not too much.

So yeah, I thought this movie was good. I like ideas like this where people are stuck in small places and tensions rise and whatnot, and this movie just made that idea a lot more creative by taking something supernatural and putting it in there. I know that when I get on an elevator, this movie definitely will cross my mind, so that'd be great. But then again, I DID like the movie "Blackout" and I happen to be the only one who likes it, so hopefully I'm not the odd man out for this movie as well. I tend to have a bad taste in movies most of the time, so if this movie disappoints everyone else here, then I should expect it. Which I do.

Anyways, see this movie if you want. It has some pretty good suspense in it, some pretty creepy and startling scenes, and it's just a neat little idea that I really try not to think about how it's by M. Night Shyamalan, and I think that if you block that fact out too, then you'll probably like this movie.

Sean

Sean, would you say that these were two different movies?  Or was Devil a remake/copy of Blackout?


Phil

They're two different movies. Blackout is about three people on an elevator and one of them turns out to be a serial killer.


This one was surprisingly different, so I liked that. I was afraid that these two would end up being the same thing.


Sean

good to know.


Phil

This was pretty good, much better than I thought it would be anyway.

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW



I had the twist figured out within 20 minutes so I was a little annoyed at the ending. Me and a guy from work figured they would use the original SAW ending (the person we thought was dead all along getting up at the end) from the trailer. They all suspected each other at one point in the elevator, apart from the old woman. They only showed her as a theif, and if she was the devil, she would need to steal some form of ID, so I think it was easy to see coming.  I also didn't like the fact that the guy was allowed to walk away, it would have been much better if it ended the way the security guy said it would (the last dies in front of the person he loves most).  

Otherwise, I was very impressed. 7.5/10

There is something odd going on in the world, I am serious. According to a character in this film, when the Devil is close then things don't work like they usually do. Toast falls jam side down, nasty accidents normally avoided happen more frequently. I think something bad must be about to happen in the world because things certainly are not working like they should...

England are beating Australia in the cricket, in Australia, which never happens. Qatar, unbelievably, beat the USA and Australia in the battle to Host the 2022 World Cup. The Pope has given the thumbs up to condoms. And, the most strangest of all, the phrases "M. Night Shyamalan" and "great film" can finally be used in the same sentence again.

Strange days indeed.

This was brilliant, I don't know how it happened, but I really enjoyed this. I might be prepared to admit it has something to do with the fact that I was fully expecting a turd, so it is possible that it is just relative brilliance, that is relative to a turd, which I guess does not say much. But I am not sure I quite believe that. It is good timing, after today's great little horror conversation, this is an old fashioned horror, full of suspense and scary moments but without the stupid gore and violence than plague the so called horrors of today.

Right from the word go there were some lovely little touches, the guy on the roof when his hat blows off, even that gave me a scare. Same as when the glass came falling down on the street, a little touch that reminded me of The Omen, a proper horror film. And this is before they even got in the elevator (or hellevator). After that it was was just full of great suspense, and while a simple story it delivered it really well. It is a great B-movie, more akin to Hitchcock or The Twilight Zone than anything made today, and I don't think it has any pretensions to be any more than that, for what it tries to be, it is brilliant.

For writers there are some great lessons to be learned from this film, one is certainly is to look to the past to draw inspiration. There is no need to keep trying to re-invent the genre by making it more bloodier and gorier than what came before. This was inspired by an old Agatha Christie novel called "And then there were none" (Thanks wikipedia) which, amazingly, by all accounts still stands as the most widely read piece of fiction ever (I don't include the bible in this) - The Christie book was actually published as "Ten little niggers"* and for some some reason was changed when published in the US (the original title was nothing to do with the more common meaning of the word) Anyway, It seems there is some value to go back to basics and draw inspiration from the old, good stuff.

I also loved the fact this was only 80mins. 80 pages of screenplay, the perfect length for a film, I do think that most films made today are too long, They do say the shorter your script the more likely it is to get a read. Why are people churning out so many 110 page screenplays? I think we should be seeing more 80 pagers on here than we do, I think the old films prove that 80mins is more than enough to tell your story, this film is a good example of that. And even better it meant we had left the house, gone to the cinema, watched a film and were back home in 2 hours. Perfect!

Anyway, like I said, this is not re-inventing the wheel, but nor is it trying to. It is just a bloody good suspense film that is easily forgettable but highly enjoyable. Well worth watching.


* Okay, I was just going to let this slide, but I can't help saying something, just to put it out there. Are Apple racist? I say that because I obviously wrote the niggers word, something I have never done on my iPad (not a word I use often of course) and the autocorrect feature offered me muggers instead. No lie. I'll just leave it at that.

Sean,

Do you think M. Night stole this from here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjfQCiYb7-o

Major LOL!

Since when did it become acceptable to charge $10 for a 75 minute non animated film?
The two act gutted plot structure that passes for features is getting on my nerves.
The premise here had some merit, but fails to generate much suspense.
It reminds me of The Monsters are on Maple St., great Twilight Zone episode.
This film is loaded with red herrings and cardboard cutout characters.
Perhaps if they stayed in the elevator, they could have made it more intense.
The film did not feel claustrophobic at all to me.
Truncated down to 30 minutes as part of an anthology, this could work out nice.
As it stands, I wasn't impressed. The Devil here is a bore, not playful at all.
Overwhelmingly mediocre film with squandered potential.

E.D.

Firstly, why all the badmouthing of M. Night Shyamalan? It's hardly restricted to these boards, but it's curious why the guy is seen as something of a hack. Complete and utter nonsense. Not an insult to fellow SSers, but a view in general: His style - while not appreciated by all - is distinct, creative and he plays with conventional narrative, "Hollywood cookie cutter" deliveries while being rejected by many critics who bemoan a lack of creativity and independent expression. Give me his movies over the imaginary movies of frustrated critics, fanboys, film students without the sufficient talent to actually make movies but talk a good game (the equivalents of political purists who never get their hands dirty or understand pragmatism) and intellectual know-it-alls the world over.

Anyway... this was a pretty decent movie. The cinematography was interesting and the tension was cranked up by matching the claustrophobia of the lift with the camera work outside of the lift. The performances felt pretty spot on for the tone I assume they were going for. To my mind, they actually produced a far better movie than the script would have appeared destined for.

Quoted from Electric Dreamer The two act gutted plot structure that passes for features is getting on my nerves.

The third act begun the second they found out the old lady was the devil. Sorry E.D., this is a more complete story then eighty percent of horror out there.

I had to sleep on it a bit. But, I really liked it. I thought the claustrophobia could have been amped up a bit. Other then that, I found it very enojoyable.

Yes, M. Night is in the shitter. He didn't even write this screenplay. Twas based on his original story. I wish he would bow down and direct some stories based on other scripts. He's talented beyound what most of us could fathom.

James

Quoted from jwent6688 The third act begun the second they found out the old lady was the devil. Sorry E.D., this is a more complete story then eighty percent of horror out there. I had to sleep on it a bit. But, I really liked it. I thought the claustrophobia could have been amped up a bit. Other then that, I found it very enojoyable. Yes, M. Night is in the shitter. He didn't even write this screenplay. Twas based on his original story. I wish he would bow down and direct some stories based on other scripts. He's talented beyound what most of us could fathom. James

James,

No need for an apology, you're entitled to your opinion about the film.
And I am entitled to disagree with it. I didn't see a three act structure here.
I saw a protracted set up that went right into the whodunit third act.
The film chose to merely be about the identity of the devil and little more.

Why not have the devil reveal themselves and their powers early on?
And the quartet in the elevator play their hand according to their past.
We would learn about them as they jockey for position to stave off damnation.
Can they play the game long enough and well enough for the police to intervene?
Now that's a true race against time with your soul as the bargaining chip.
There's a movie I want to see, not some half baked cheater of a whodunit.
And this movie flat out cheats, a "dead" character is the culprit, Saw much?
Tack on a schmaltzy ending with the cop and the chip on his shoulder.
One character lost a loved one in a car wreck and another character caused a wreck.
Gee, I wonder if the two are related somehow and will find salvation by the credit roll.

It's cool that it worked for you, Devil didn't seduce me at all.
I did enjoy the photography of Philadelphia, too bad this is an elevator movie though.

E.D.

I have to agree with ED on this.  Devil played as a two act television drama - even down to the nods at Maple St.  

And even though what was going to happen was fairly transparent,  it's the kind of movie that doesn't do too well dramatically after you know some things about it, I still enjoyed this movie.

The only thing that pulled it down IMHO was the awful acting by the police guy, though it could always have been the script that was put in front of him.

E.D.

I have to agree with you on that. Too much time was spent outside of the elevator with the cops and security. If there was any chance for some suspense build-up or claustrophobia going on, it went out every time they left the elevator. For the type of film they wanted to make, there wasn't enough story provided from the participants in the elevator.

Rob

Screw you E.D.!

Feel like I just got my ass kicked. I know, we all have our own views on film. I just really felt this was complete.

Meh, tis why i don't normally review movies. I suck at it. Take a movie like "The Strangers" for instance. That felt like a two act structure to me. They kill everyone, then head on down the road with no explanation of their motives or who they even were...

Will tuck my tail between me legs and stick to reviewing scripts...

James

Quoted from jwent6688 Screw you E.D.! Feel like I just got my ass kicked. I know, we all have our own views on film. I just really felt this was complete. Meh, tis why i don't normally review movies. I suck at it. Take a movie like "The Strangers" for instance. That felt like a two act structure to me. They kill everyone, then head on down the road with no explanation of their motives or who they even were... Will tuck my tail between me legs and stick to reviewing scripts... James

James,

I'm sorry if I said anything that you felt was some kind of personal attack.
I enjoy reading your reviews and was only expressing my opinion in return.
I'm not trying to invalidate your opinion. To each his own.
We agree to disagree, it's cool that you enjoyed it.
And I don't think any differently of you because you like this movie.
It's just an opinion, nothing personal, if it came across that way, my bad,
If you're putting me on, then you got me.
If not, well then, there's nothing left to say.
Post your reviews if you enjoy them,  no one here is complaining.

Regards,
E.D.

E.D.

Sorry, thought you knew my persona by now. I'm very crass. I think its funny. Sorry that you felt you needed to write thast whole explanation. I never gaged it as a personal attack. Just how I talk to people here. Most know to let me slide by now.

I'm pissed that most people seem to side with you. Twat. - its a joke...

James

Quoted from jwent6688 E.D. Sorry, thought you knew my persona by now. I'm very crass. I think its funny. Sorry that you felt you needed to write thast whole explanation. I never gaged it as a personal attack. Just how I talk to people here. Most know to let me slide by now. I'm pissed that most people seem to side with you. Twat. - its a joke... James

LOL, you got me. filed for future reference. Twat. =p <-- sarcastic emoticon

E.D.

Finally saw this, and boy oh berto, was I ever impressed!

Just a great movie on all fronts from the opening to closing frame.  Well put together, beautifully shot, well acted, intense, scary, down right enjoyable.  What worked for me personally, most of all, was that it was played for reals and took itself completely seriously.

IMO, this is a perfect example of how a good movie doesn't have to follow any preset structure.  Are there 3 acts here? Who gives a shit?  I sure don't.  It worked on every level.


SPOILERS     SPOILERS     SPOILERS     SPOILERS

I called the old woman as the devil as soon as I saw here, and stuck to my guns as things unfolded.  When it was down to the final 2, I told my girlfriend not to be surprised if one of the dead characters really isn't dead at all, and watch for the old woman.  BUT, I also said over and over that I really had no idea what was going to happen or who would finally be out antag.

As a horror connoisseur and writer, I tend to be able to pick out a hiding antag pretty easily, and unravel a twisty plot.  But even though I was correct, I didn't know, and I was kept "guessing" far into the movie.

I think one reason this worked so well in terms of keeping its audience guessing, was the fact that there was such a big cast of extras, doing all sorts of different things throughout the movie.  You've got the guards (well acted and fleshed out, not your cookie cutter variety, either), you've got the cops (again, although maybe a bit cliche, well rounded, deep, with personalities), you've got the firemen (who I thought were a great diversion), and you've got all the office workers, as well as the one dude's fiancee, who seemed to appear out of nowhere (I really thought she'd have a bigger role in the reveal, so I give credit where due for including this red herring).

Shot on a budget of approximately $10 Million, it grossed $57 Million WW.  This looked like a much bigger budget to me, and IMO, everyone did a great job working with what they had.  I'm actually surprised it didn't do better at the box office.  Word of mouth seemed to be pretty good, and RT had it at 55%, which is pretty good for a horror movie.

I think Mr. Shyamalan's tarnished image may have been the issue here. Hopefully, this well done film will redeem him a bit.  I like the concept of his new Production Company, and hope the next 2 flicks will be as good as this was.

Don't worry M. Night, I'm still a fan!