“Devil” is tagged as being “from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan.” Worried? If not, you should be. The story itself came from the mind who made us suffer through “The Happening,” “Lady in the Water,” and “The Last Airbender.” Shyamalan, thankfully did not direct this poor excuse for a horror film, but some other poor sap did.
The plot of the film is simple. Five people are trapped in an elevator. One of them happens to be the devil. Scared or mildly intrigued yet? Didn’t think so. A cop is dispatched to the office building in downtown Philadelphia for a suicide, but gets quickly wrapped up in the people trapped in the elevator. One of the guards doing surveillance is apparently an expert on the devil, as he tells stories about how the devil works. He is wearing a gold cross, so it’s left up the audience to assume he knows what he’s talking about.
All the pople in the elevator have a shady past, and as the pope watching them get suspicious of one person in the elevator, suddenly the lights inexplicably got out, the elevator shakes, someone screams, and the lights pop on to reveal one of the devil’s casualties. None of the people though, are overly concerned that someone is the elevator is violently murdering the other passengers. They are frightened that someone has died, but then just continue talking.
The dialogue is laughable. When the audience is laughing during a horror movie, something is fatally wrong. The acting is mediocre at best, with actor Logan Marshall-Green (Trey from “The O.C. when it was still kind of cool), and Chris Messina (playing obscure parts in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Julie & Julia,”) turning in a slightly better performances from the rest of the cast of nobodies.
Also notable, is the ridiculously overdramatic music. It was completely grating and distracting, which is the opposite of what a film’s soundtrack is supposed to do. The camera work was equally dismal: it didn’t accurately capture the claustrophobic, tension-filled atmosphere of the elevator. The director starts with uncomfortably close-up shots of his actor’s face, but abandons this technique through the rest of the film. Though, the film starts with a mind bending sweeping aerial shot of Philadelphia, but it’s upside down. It concludes with a right side up shot of Philadelphia, symbolizing the world (once upside down) is now right side up again. This was a kind of nice technique to use, but it’s a heavy handed metaphor that makes absolutely no difference in how awful this film is.
The film tries to be surprising and shocking, but I was able to guess the majority of the so-called “twists.” They’re neither surprising nor shocking. All in all, a film relying so heavily on its actors’ performances, “Devil” fails miserably. The writing could have been much better. The tension and suspense could have been ratcheted up several notches. Do yourself a favor and don’t give your money to another one of Shyamalan’s sinking ships. Instead, stand on shore and wave before him and his misguided, over inflated ego submerge into both darkness and obscurity.
Rating: 1 ½ stars
Where to Find it: In theaters, 9/17
The plot of the film is simple. Five people are trapped in an elevator. One of them happens to be the devil. Scared or mildly intrigued yet? Didn’t think so. A cop is dispatched to the office building in downtown Philadelphia for a suicide, but gets quickly wrapped up in the people trapped in the elevator. One of the guards doing surveillance is apparently an expert on the devil, as he tells stories about how the devil works. He is wearing a gold cross, so it’s left up the audience to assume he knows what he’s talking about.
All the pople in the elevator have a shady past, and as the pope watching them get suspicious of one person in the elevator, suddenly the lights inexplicably got out, the elevator shakes, someone screams, and the lights pop on to reveal one of the devil’s casualties. None of the people though, are overly concerned that someone is the elevator is violently murdering the other passengers. They are frightened that someone has died, but then just continue talking.
The dialogue is laughable. When the audience is laughing during a horror movie, something is fatally wrong. The acting is mediocre at best, with actor Logan Marshall-Green (Trey from “The O.C. when it was still kind of cool), and Chris Messina (playing obscure parts in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Julie & Julia,”) turning in a slightly better performances from the rest of the cast of nobodies.
Also notable, is the ridiculously overdramatic music. It was completely grating and distracting, which is the opposite of what a film’s soundtrack is supposed to do. The camera work was equally dismal: it didn’t accurately capture the claustrophobic, tension-filled atmosphere of the elevator. The director starts with uncomfortably close-up shots of his actor’s face, but abandons this technique through the rest of the film. Though, the film starts with a mind bending sweeping aerial shot of Philadelphia, but it’s upside down. It concludes with a right side up shot of Philadelphia, symbolizing the world (once upside down) is now right side up again. This was a kind of nice technique to use, but it’s a heavy handed metaphor that makes absolutely no difference in how awful this film is.
The film tries to be surprising and shocking, but I was able to guess the majority of the so-called “twists.” They’re neither surprising nor shocking. All in all, a film relying so heavily on its actors’ performances, “Devil” fails miserably. The writing could have been much better. The tension and suspense could have been ratcheted up several notches. Do yourself a favor and don’t give your money to another one of Shyamalan’s sinking ships. Instead, stand on shore and wave before him and his misguided, over inflated ego submerge into both darkness and obscurity.
Rating: 1 ½ stars
Where to Find it: In theaters, 9/17
No comments:
Post a Comment