Devil
Devil (2010)
★★★ / ★★★★
The plot of “Devil,” based on the story by M. Night Shyamalan, is simple: five people (Bojana Novakovic, Jenny O’Hara, Bokeem Woodbine, Geoffrey Arend, Logan Marshall-Green) are stuck in an elevator and a cop (Chris Messina) tries to save them. But here’s the first twist: one of the five is the devil and it is up to us to determine who it is. I know it’s strange to mention but I really liked the opening credits. The images were upside down which suggested that what we were about to see was not ordinary and we should expect the unexpected. The film was not particularly scary. I was more curious than scared. Since the movie is only about an hour and twenty minutes, it had no choice but to get to the meat of the happenings beginning with a suicide that supposedly signaled that the devil was coming. Since the material wasn’t too scary, I wished it was more character-driven. Instead of merely mentioning the characters’ respective backgrounds, I wanted more flashback scenes. By showing us actual images regarding where they come from, the audiences become active participants and it allows us to interpret what we see. It also allows us to judge whether the characters deserve to be in their current situation. Since the film had religious overtones (Jacob Vargas had some funny moments which were nice breaks between intense scenes), allowing us to judge implies that we are gods and it is up to us to categorize the sinners. The movie gave me the creeps. The characters trapped in the elevator were observed by the cops and the maintenance people through a camera. (The film could have commented on the nature voyeurism and the difference between experiencing something first hand versus through the lens, but it didn’t.) In one of the scenes, the devil’s face appeared on screen. That didn’t do much for me. But for one barely noticeable split second, as a person who likes to relish every frame, I saw that one of the characters had horns on his/her head. It led me to the correct answer regarding the identity of the devil. Indeed, I questioned whether I was right again and again because I had this feeling that the filmmakers were trying to trick those who saw the minute detail, but it was nice that they didn’t. I desperately wanted a rewind button to see if my mind was simply playing tricks on me because I was very into the moment. In the end, I had a plethora of questions left unanswered. For instance, I didn’t quite understand why the devil gave one of the characters a chance to come clean but the others weren’t given the same chance. If the devil, as it claimed, really wanted this particular person’s soul, why give that person a chance? But perhaps I’m just being too analytical. I am aware that “Devil,” directed by John Erick Dowdle, is the first of “The Night Chronicles” trilogy. Hopefully, the series continues not only for the purpose of possibly answering some of the questions in my head but also because I thought the film was a nice treat. It had a concept that reminded me of situational horror movies of the 1970s and 1980s. It was a refreshing break from the torture porn so-called horror movies like increasingly uninspired “Saw” franchise. What “Devil” lacked in blood made up for its curious nature.
