Movie Review - Devil

Devil (2010)

Starring Chris Messina and Five People Trapped in an Elevator

Directed by John Erick Dowdle

I'm not someone that finds M. Night Shyamalan laughable.  Reports spread that the trailer for Devil was receiving more than its share of chuckles when "From the mind of M. Night Shyamalan" popped up on the screen.  Yes, he's had his share of failures, but The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs are a mighty successful one-two-three punch.  So, I actually kind of wanted to see Devil simply because of Shyamalan's name.  Maybe what the famous director needs is to do exactly what he does in this film -- simply think up a story and have someone else flesh it out and direct it.

Unfortunately, Devil falls a flat, but not because of the premise, so in that regard, Mr. Shyamalan has redeemed himself.  It's the screenplay, actors, and direction that cause this piece to disappoint.

This is a story that would have been incredibly successful as a Twilight Zone episode -- five people are trapped on an elevator.  One by one, the passengers are killed.  Who is the murderer?  Is it possible that some supernatural forces are involved?  Yes, it all sounds a bit insubstantial, but as a 30-minute tv show, I have no doubt it would have worked.  Stretching it out to a still fairly short 80 minutes, some silly backstories are thrown into the mix (including one very reminiscent of what Mel Gibson's character was going through in Signs) and none of them really stick.

Director John Erick Dowdle isnt' able to really build any suspense.  Granted, I will say that there is a good sense of claustrophobia as Dowdle is quite successful at bringing the audience right into the elevator with the five passengers.  However, there was never a moment where I felt tense or worried for any of these characters...and in a thriller that's a bit of a problem.

Dowdle also wasn't able to draw good performances from his actors.  I've seen Chris Messina in quite a bit over the past year (he took spot #4 in my Best Supporting Actor list and spot #5 on my Breakthrough  list in the 2009 RyMickey Awards), but he was just passable here as a cop trying to figure out what the hell is going on in the elevator.  It's more the fault of the silly lines he's forced to spout than anything else.  While Messina may be adequate, some of the passengers on the elevator didn't fare so well.  I understand the desire to not use any "stars" here, but you need believable actors that can spike up the tension in a film like this and none of the people stuck in the elevator were successful in that regard.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-