Demônio

M. Night Shyamalan is one of those love him or hate him directors for whom there's no middle ground, so it hasn't helped that he's given his detractors a lot to crow about with his recent downward spiral with successively poor to abysmal movies ranging from The Lady in the Water to 2010's biggest stinker, The Last Airbender. It's been a critical pile-on for the one time golden boy who wowed audiences and critics alike with The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.

Things have gotten so bad that when the trailer for Devil hit theatres with the on-screen tag line "From the Mind of M. Night Shyamalan", guffaws were reported from audiences and on-line gadflies like Perez Hilton had a field day posting viral videos mocking the promos.

All of which is too bad because not only is Devil a compelling, riveting bit of movie making, but Shyamalan's involvement was limited to writing the story and co-producing, which, given his recent track record, was probably for the best.

Smartly directed by John Erick Dowdle, whose last effort was Quarantine, the equally tight and faithful remake of the Spanish horror REC, Devil marks the first instalment in a trilogy of films dubbed The Night Chronicles, which revolve around the supernatural in modern urban settings (the second film is tentatively titled Reincarnate, about the jurors of a murder trial who are haunted by a supernatural being, and Unbreakable 2 rumoured as the third instalment).

In Devil's case, the plot could easily function as a textbook case of film school 101, tasking a writer and director to fashion a small story, restricted in scope, set in the cramped environment of a stalled elevator. You can almost hear film school professors saying "if you can pull this off, you can do anything". Happily, Dowdle succeeds with flying colours.

Devil is as compelling as the story is confined. It's smart from beginning to end, almost like the hybrid elevator equivalent of Hitchcock's Lifeboat and Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. A disparate group boards a Philadelphia office tower elevator, only to become trapped between floors and mortally victimized by someone among them who clearly possesses supernatural ability every time the lights flicker and momentarily go out.

Don't look for spoilers here as I won't be providing any. Suffice to say that Devil is one of the most smartly written, acted, and directed films I've had the pleasure to enjoy this year.

Who knows, maybe this is the beginning of Shyamalan's road back to respectability. If nothing else, it shows that he still has the chops as a top notch story teller.

I enjoyed the cinematography. Especially the opening scenes and the scenes inside the elevator shaft. The music was typical string instruments going back and forth... could have been more eerie and composed with more feeling.

I was pretty shocked to be sitting in an empty theater on opening night. Guess MNS has sort of blown his reputation.

I didn't try to guess the ending, I decided to just enjoy the ride. It did end rather abruptly, as if it was a TV show that had to end by a certain time. They could have fleshed out certain scenes longer and made a more comprehensive experience.

I went to see this alone as nobody I knew was interested... I'm glad I went, it was enjoyable, more so than I expected it to be.

Produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Devil is an intense supernatural thriller. The story follows five strangers who get stuck in an elevator and begin to turn on each other after one of them is attacked and killed during a power outage, meanwhile some unknown force seemingly prevents rescue from the outside. The script is especially well-written, and really brings dramatic tension to the situation. The storytelling too is quite engrossing; drawing the audience into the mystery of who the characters are and what is happening. A riveting and well-crafted film, Devil does an extraordinary job at exploring the themes of paranoia and fear.

Great acting, funny, thrilling, edge of your seat fun. I am not a fan of M. Night Shylaman, but I have to admit I really enjoyed this movie. I went in with very low expectations being that as I said I'm not a fan and really, how much action can you put in an elevator? I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

The movie had me hooked from the very beginning. The cinematography was amazing. The swooping shots of the city, the creepy elevator shaft, all set the mood for shivers as it reminded me of my fear of extreme heights and confined spaces.

As the story progressed and you learned more about the characters I found myself completely engaged and sitting at the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next.

ZombieSteak.com - Discover a new world of horror films, designed just for you.

First of all, the plot of the movie was very interesting and when I first watched the trailer of the movie, I really liked it. The storyline was very well written and most parts of the movie were well-explained. The characters were kinda interesting and well-developed, but not really likeable. The filming location of the movie was basically an elevator in a huge skyscraper, it was very claustrophobic. The killcount of the movie wasn't really bloody, but most kills were done in a really shocking way. The casting and the acting were both just fine. Also, it was a very intense movie and there were too many shocking scenes! The ending scene was definitely unexpected and the plot twist was really good. Moreover, there were many jumpscares and scary scenes during the movie and most of them were definitely unpredictable. Overall, it was a really good movie, full of plot twists and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.