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Released By: Universal Pictures
Released On: 12/21/2010
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Cast: Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Bokeem Woodbine
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The Film:
M. Night Shyamalan is one of those filmmakers that people love to trash-talk. I am one of those people. Don't get me wrong. My skull almost exploded when I saw the ending of The Sixth Sense in the theatre. It absolutely blew my mind. Like a lemming, I rushed out to see Shyamalan's next film, Unbreakable, and felt sorely let down by its lame ending. Ditto for Signs. Still cautiously hoping for the best, I rented The Village on DVD, and was annoyed within the first 20 minutes; which was, coincidentally, about the time that I figured out the ending of the film. Mentioning Lady In The Water or The Happening to me in conversation is pretty much asking to be smacked in the head. Despite the brilliance that was The Sixth Sense, it seemed that M. Night didn't have it in him to make another good film. Well, that's not entirely true. I think that for the most part (Lady In The Water is the exception), Shyamalan has great ideas and some pretty nifty directing skills, but lacks the talent to close the deal.
So, why waste my time with the film Devil after all of these betrayals? Well, for one, the story was M. Night's idea, but the screenplay and the directing handed off to somebody else. It's not a perfect film by any means, and certainly doesn't measure up to The Twilight Zone, but a good indication that there may be some decent films coming down the pipe in the form of Shyamalan's “Night Chroniclesâ€.
A suicide jumper from an office building in downtown Pittsburgh brings Detective Bowden, a former alcoholic who lost his family in a hit-and-run accident, out to investigate. At roughly the same time, five seemingly random people get into an elevator together; a claustrophobic security guard, a mechanic who was a soldier in Afghanistan, a slimy mattress salesman, a rather crotchety older woman, and a younger woman who appears to be financially well-off. For reasons unbeknownst to them, the elevator stops before it reaches its destination. Not too much of a problem…until the lights go out briefly, and one of them ends up dead.
Now investigating a murder as well as a suicide, Detective Bowden has to figure out what's what quickly, as the people in the elevator car start to turn against one another out of mistrust. Only a couple of things are standing in his way; he doesn't know anything about the people in the car, they can hear him but he can't hear them, and some unseen force is stopping the maintenance crews and fire department from rescuing them. Add to that the demonic faces popping up on the security monitors and a security guard is babbling on about the Devil, and you know that this is not going to be an easy crime to solve.
The story is simple enough, and if it weren't, a narrative was added in the form of a security guard talking about a story he heard from his mother as a child. This is the biggest flaw in the film, and one that rears its head fairly often. Like the all-knowing story shaman found in Lady In The Water who can explain the events unfolding because of a fairy tale her grandmother told her, the security guard known as Ramirez pops in to quote portions of the story that he heard from his mother. Trust me, it gets annoying, especially when Ramirez starts frantically throwing toast and jam around to prove his point. Without the security guard, the film would have been much more effective.
The saving grace here is that just about everything outside of the story time narration is very well-done. The characters are realistic and well-acted, and relative newcomer John Erick Dowdle pulls off some pretty slick moves as Director, keeping the elevator scenes fast and tight, with a whack of claustrophobia thrown in. It's got to be difficult to keep a film interesting when it takes place in an elevator car for the most part, but Dowdle does a good job. Likewise, the score mixes in well with the scenes, building slowly and offering the occasional punch to emphasize the action. If only they would have cut that security guard….
Video/Audio/Extras:
Devil comes to Universal blu-ray in a 2.40:1 transfer, and it looks great. Black levels are strong, contrast is well-balanced, and there are no issues with the transfer to speak of. The DTS HD 5.1 audio track makes good use of the surrounds when necessary, and the dialogue is always clear and mixed well with the effects and score.
Universal has included a few extras with the disc as well. First up are the Deleted Scenes, which run approximately 4 minutes. They're broken up into 3 different scenes, each one introducing a little more character backround for some of the players in the elevator. Though they do add a bit more personality, they don't add much to the film overall, and detract a bit from the mystery surrounding the characters.
The Story is about 2 and a half minutes long, and features John Erick Dowdle, Writer Brian Nelson, and M. Night Shyamalan briefly talking about the film and the ideas behind it. With its short running time, it seems to be more of a promotional piece than anything.
The Devil's Meeting also runs about 2 and a half minutes and predominantly features a scholar of some type talking about how the Devil acts on earth, and the origins behind the myth of the Devil's Meeting.
The Night Chronicles is just over 2 minutes and features a discussion on The Night Chronicles; a series of films that M. Night has come up with the ideas for, but has turned over to up-and-coming filmmakers.
The Final Word:
Universal has put out a decent release of a decent film. Devil is a worthwhile start to the Night Chronicles, and a sign that there may be some good films to come.
