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"DEVIL"
(2010) (Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green) (PG-13)

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QUICK TAKE:
Horror-thriller: Five strangers are trapped inside a stalled elevator, and one of them is the Devil.
PLOT:
Police Detective Bowden (CHRIS MESSINA) and his partner, Det. Markowitz (JOSHUA PEACE), are called to the scene of a suicide in downtown Philadelphia. They ascertain that the jumper flung himself out of a nearby skyscraper, the same office tower where five seemingly random people are currently trapped in an elevator with all attempts to get them out having failed.

It soon becomes clear to one of the building's security personnel, Ramirez (JACOB VARGAS), and less so to his co-worker, Lustig (MATT CRAVEN), that the Devil is one of the five. The passengers include Ben (BOKEEM WOODBINE), a building security guard with a violent past; Tony (LOGAN MARSHALL-GREEN), an veteran of the war in Afghanistan who hides a terrible secret; Sarah (BOJANA NOVAKOVIC), a young temptress with a long history of blackmailing wealthy men; Vince (GEOFFREY AREND), a crooked salesman who has bilked people out of money in a past Ponzi scheme; and an elderly woman (JENNY O'HARA) who is eventually shown to be a pickpocket.

One by one, as the elevator's lights flicker on and off, each of these passengers dies a grisly death. So, too, does anyone who tries to free them. Bowden, meanwhile, resists the notion that the Devil is involved as he is still grieving over the loss of his wife and son years earlier in a hit-and-run accident. These elements all come together in a finale that could literally promise to be Hell on Earth.

OUR TAKE: 6.5 out of 10
Our reviewing policy for films that aren't shown in advance to critics is that we'll only provide a paragraph or two about the film's artistic merits.

Only the staunchest M. Night Shyamalan haters (and there are many) will fail to see the quality product that is "Devil." This latest effort is from the director's new "Night Chronicles" proposed series of films in which he comes up with the stories and serves as producer, but lets others direct and write the screenplays. In this case, director John Erick Dowdle of "Quarantine" and screenwriter Brian Nelson of "30 Days of Night" conspire to deliver with a solid, involving "Twilight Zone" episode of a movie about five sinners trapped in an elevator with one of them being Satan himself. Or, uh, it could be Satan herself as two of the trapped are women. The film has a lot of fun making the audience guess which one will eventually wear the horns.

If it wasn't for the fact that critics have their claws out for Shyamalan and audiences have come to guffaw at the mere mention of the man's name in a trailer, this flick wouldn't be the victim of a studio dump job. There's actually a lot going for it. The film has a running time of 80 minutes, which is absolutely perfect for this kind of story. It prevents Shyamalan and Co. from bloating the concept and giving into their worst instincts. I liked the lead (Chris Messina playing Police Det. Bowden) and the fact that the story is told from his perspective outside the elevator looking at the events unfold from a security camera inside the trapped car. And the film really benefits from the cinematography of Tak Fujimoto of "The Sixth Sense" and "Silence of the Lambs" fame. His photography inside the elevator creates an appropriate sense of claustrophobia and building dread.

It's not a great film. But it held my interest throughout and released me at just the right time. Yeah, one can joke that Shyamalan made a deal with the Devil years earlier and this is his tribute film. But it's a solid, pro job that I give a 6.5 out of 10. (T. Durgin)




Reviewed September 17, 2010 / Posted September 17, 2010


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