Devil: Review

M. Night Shyamalan had a very promising movie career after the hugely successful, both critically and commercially, of The Sixth Sense. Since then, every movie he has written and directed has been as disappointing as the next, leading to the massive flop The Last Airbender. Well now, he has written the story and produced this supernatural thriller but left it up to someone else to write the script and direct, and maybe this is the line he should take, for this isn't half bad.

A cop, trying to cope with the death of his wife and son in a hit-and-run accident five years earlier, is sent to investigate the mysterious suicide of a jumper from a 32nd floor of a skyscraper. Meanwhile, five strangers enter an elevator. Halfway up, the lift stops for no reason. So begins a cat and mouse game as the lights keep going out and the strangers find themselves being bumped off while the cop can do nothing more than look on and try and work out who is doing it.

If you are expected the usual blood, guts and gore that modern horror films offer, you are going to be greatly disappointed. This follows the same routes as those classic TV series of the 50s and 60s, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. In fact, this would fit quite nicely into one of those shows. It has the same feeling.
It works as a creepy whodunit, and while director John Erick Dowdle keeps piling on the tension, we are heading towards a finale with not one but two twists.

It does overdo the religious connotations, but this is a film called Devil, and you could accuse films like The Exorcist for doing exactly the same thing. What I found most enjoyable is that we are asked to use our imagination. We never actually see anybody die. More of the time it is in darkness, as the lights go out, and we are left with the aftermath. This will probably annoy those who are use to seeing every bloody detail.

One of the best things about this movie is the opening credits, a strange and surprisingly disturbing trip around the skylines of Philadelphia, except upside-down, which really does mess with your mind.

Not the greatest movies of the year, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless, and maybe Mr Shyamalan should consider his future in the world of film. Oh, and you might not want to step into a lift again.