Devil

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with a person committing suicide by jumping from a building narrated by Ramirez (Jacob Vargas) who mentions that his mother tells him stories of the Devil roaming the earth, and it always begins with a suicide. Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) is called to the scene to aid in the investigation. Bowden is a recovering alcoholic devastated by the death of his wife and child in a hit-and-run accident by a driver who was never caught. As this is happening, five strangers, who have committed various crimes in the past, step onto an elevator located within the same building where the suicide has taken place.The five strangers include Ben Larson (Bokeem Woodbine), a temp security guard with a violent past; an elderly woman (Jenny O'Hara) who is a compulsive thief; Vince McCormick (Geoffrey Arend), a mattress salesman who moonlights as a con artist; Tony (Logan Marshall-Green), a former mechanic who served in the U.S. military during the War in Afghanistan who is now seeking employment within the building; and Sarah Caraway (Bojana Novakovic), a greed encompassed heiress meeting with her lawyer in the building.Strange things start to occur beginning with the elevator becoming stuck between floors. Then, after the lights go out, Sarah is inexplicably wounded on her back. The remaining occupants of the elevator quickly begin to suspect Vince of having committed the assault. Slowly, one by one, the five strangers start to die. Ramirez and his colleague also see a strange devil-like face appear on the screen of the security camera. First, Vince is killed by a shard of glass from a mirror which slices his jugular vein. Detective Bowden, sensing a connection between this and the man who earlier committed suicide in the same building, is compelled to further investigate. Checking the building's guest log, Bowden finds that only four people have missed their scheduled appointments that day: Sarah, Vince, Ben, and Janecowski. The investigators misinterpret the latter as Jane Cowski and assume this is the old woman's name, leaving Bowden suspicious of Tony who appears to be the only undocumented occupant.With the help of the building's security team, Bowden examines security footage and discovers that the old woman had stolen a wallet prior to entering the elevator. The office building's repairman is sent down the elevator shaft to fix it, but plummets to his death. During a power outage, the old woman is found hanging by the neck from an electrical cord dead, during the onslaught of the power and the gripping darkness a flash of an evil figure is seen. Sarah and Ben turn on Tony, while Bowden begins to suspect that Sarah's husband has hired Ben to kill her. A security guard inspects the basement and electrocutes himself attempting to secure a hot fallen wire. The lights go out again and Ben is dead with his neck completely twisted around. Each thinking the other must be responsible for the murders, Tony and Sarah prepare to fight each other with broken glass, but Bowden seemingly manages to calm them. As Sarah prepares to take out a shard of glass hidden in her back pocket, the lights once again go out and her throat is slashed. The mystery seems solved, when a tattooed woman arrives and informs Bowden that Tony is her fiance, and was at the building for a job interview. Only then is his full name revealed to be Tony Janecowski.The old woman suddenly rises as she is then suddenly taken by the devil and appears behind Tony. It is now apparent that she is the Devil who has taken a human form. Having dispensed of the others, The Devil tells Tony it's his turn to die and Tony accepts it, even offering to be taken instead of Sarah, who's still struggling to breathe. Detective Bowden watches through the CCTV as Tony confesses to killing two people in a drunken hit-and-run accident and showing that even though all the other people in the elevator have sinned it is he who truly represents the devil among them as his sin is so bad. Tony had been trying to grab another beer while driving and had not seen where was going. Tony says "I'm so sorry." and Bowden had a car wash coupon that says "I'm so sorry" on the back. At which point the Devil is forced to spare him (as he confessed his sin and apologized for it) and disappears as the firemen finish breaking into the elevator. Detective Bowden realizes Tony is the one who killed his wife and son, but expresses his forgiveness en route to the police station following his arrest.The film ends with Ramirez telling the audience that his mother always reassured him at the end of her stories, "If the Devil is real, God must also be real."

Tags: murder, paranormal, horror, plot twist, flashback, suspenseful

Review:
I know this was "from the mind of Manoj Night Shyamalan" and it was riding on a wave of pretty bad press, but strangely enough, I found the movie to be pretty good.This movie delivered what it promised, a solid taut thriller which can keep one on the edge of the seat for the optimum 1 hour and 20 minutes of running time.
The acting was surprisingly consistent and good throughout by all the actors involved (tough for a low budgeter to achieve), the screenplay didn't indulge in unnecessary Boo moments to propel things forward, the script was solid and everything tied up well at the end.I mean cmon critics, for once please give Shyamalan a break!
The story is fresh and makes a clear connection between all characters.The bottom line is-- sure, it's not the best film ever, but it is a pretty darn good one.
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.
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.
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.
He concentrated on the script and preferred to let other people direct the movie and so you might expect that this first part of Shyamalan's renaissance must be a well elaborated and twisted masterpiece.
There are only two minor twists and the first one is not that much surprising while the second one is an interesting turning point of the story but also a little bit predictable towards the end of the movie.
But here's what I have to say with solid performances, suspenseful pacing, a clever and original story line and really good direction Devil is without a doubt one of the most effective genre pieces to come out in some time.
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..
Maybe 7 out of 10 is generous but I mark it highly perhaps because I had such low expectations which were thankfully unnecessary.This film's credits open with the title The Night Chronicles 1 which suggests to me his fan-boy homage to Spielberg has stretched to emulating the guru's Amazing Stories phase.
This film does feel rather like one of those episodes rather than a full-blown movie: no stars, little location etc.However, as a story, it's rather good (suspension of disbelief taken for granted).And, it's rather well handled directorially.
With that said, I can assure you that "Devil" is a another independent film that has great acting, fine direction, and a reasonably well developed plot.Shot much in the same suspense filled moments of "Phone Booth".
Detective Bowden, a New York cop, who lost his family 5 years ago, finds himself investigating a suicide that leads him to possible a murder case.However when confronted with the possible suspect being the Devil himself, Bowden must wrestle with not only his own demons, but the past sins of all his suspects inside the broken elevator.If you were expecting a horror film with some gruesome special effects like Freddy or Jason, then "Devil" is not your film.
This is a thinking man's horror film, something you could actually enjoy with people and talk about after the movie over coffee.
It went from a mystery with good character development - the detective was definitely someone you would want investigating a murder case, and the five victims were all memorable in their own right - to a horror story with many suspense scenes added in to keep your attention.
How about instead of telling me the story at the beginning of the movie LET ME WATCH IT.I get the sense that MNS was worried people wouldn't understand the movie was based on a bedtime story some grandmother told a kid, like some did with Lady in the Water.The actual movie itself was good.
You never know what going to happen and it is reveal to you just until the very end.Having said that, I do recommend "Devil" - especially if you're a genuine suspense film fan (like me).
I went to watch this movie with my friends who were really bored and have nothing else to do at that moment.Of course, we all went into the cinema expecting nothing more than another film with a weird twist at the end, but surprisingly, this one turns out to be really good.
If it just wasn't for some obviously bad acting...by a certain female character this movie would be great, by the way she is a great actor she makes up for her bad performances later on in the movie.A movie that I could watch a couple more times is worth buying you see...this really is like an Alfred Hitchcock film, not like an old M.
most of this movie is filmed in an elevator made me feel like I was watching Phone Booth.
But after a sequence of weird events, they realize that the devil is inside the elevator car and the fiver persons may be the evil supernatural being."Devil" is a low-budget horror and thriller with good story and performances.
Much like Shyamalan's most recent movies.Devil has its scary moments, but overall the effect is muted by the predictable, pedestrian plot.
All in all, I liked DEVIL and can't wait to watch the two other movies in the Night Chronicles.
Night Shyamalan, 'Devil' consists of a traditional story containing a battle between good and evil, set within the confines of an office towers elevator in contemporary Philadelphia.
It is an interesting, and new take upon the premise that the devil may be "walking among us," and while it is competently filmed and at times dutifully suspenseful, it lacks the intelligence and the inventiveness to the keep an audience hooked for the full eighty minutes of its running time.Five strangers, consisting of a soldier (Logan Marshall-Green), a temp security guard (Bokeem Woodbine), a cocky mattress salesman (Geoffrey Arend), a young woman (Bojana Novakovic), and a pensioner (Jenny O'Hara) are all seemingly innocuous people who enter an elevator together in the '333' office building.
While outside the elevator, Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) and his partner Markowitz (Joshua Peace) alongside the tower's security guards Ramirez (Jacob Vargas) and Lustig (Matt Craven), must also try to figure out what is happening inside the small, enclosed space, is it an aggressive attack by one of the strangers who has something to hide, or are there supernatural forces at work, gaining pleasure from torturing five apparently innocent citizens.The film begins with a voice-over narration which details the story of the devil, and how he would purportedly occasionally take the place of a living being to torment those around him.
While the acting by Bowden, Marshall-Green and Bojana Novakovic manage to keep the film on a professional level and stop it from failing on a most basic level (if a film is primarily set in one enclosed location, then the actors involved need to be able to portray to audience their different, and various contrasting emotions competently enough over a short space of time).'Devil' is an adeptly made film from a story by one of the most notorious filmmakers currently operating at the moment in M.
While it doesn't contain a final-act twist of 'Sixth Sense' proportions that will completely revive the horror-mystery-thriller genre for years to come, it is also an enjoyable film that isn't completely predictable within the first five minutes of screen-time if you can look past its visual flaws..
Any five year old could have figured it out half way through and I'm pretty sure Shyamalan just showed up on set for 5 mins so they gave him a credit in the movie.Go see Devil if you are really bored but don't expect any thrills.
Every time a movie comes out It plays on old story lines and try's to make a bigger twist forever ruining any concept they may have been going for.
He's listed as producer and originator of the story, but Brian Nelson gets the screen writing credit, and Drew Dowdle and John Erick Dowdle directed.If you've seen the trailer (and possibly heard or participated in the groans from the audience when Shyamalan's name flashed on screen under "from the mind of"), you already know that 5 people are trapped in a stalled elevator, and that 1 of them is probably the Devil, who (as they say in the trade) needs no introduction.
Plus which, it really cuts down on production costs for set design and props.The strandees in Elevator #6 are, in alphabetical order:  Ben Larson (Bokeem Woodbine), a burly temp working as a security guard in the high-rise office building, who had initially intended to run a package up the stairs to the 39th floor rather than ride the elevator  Jane (Jenny O'Hara), a purse-lipped, somewhat dowdy older woman  Sarah Caraway (Bojana Novakovic), a quiet, attractive, well-dressed younger woman  Tony Jankowski (Logan Marshall-Green), an unshaven young guy looking uncomfortable in a tie and poplin windbreaker  Vince McCormick (Geoffrey Arend), spiffily accoutered, glib, sarcastic, purporting to be a sales agent for Mattress ManiaWorking the video-observation monitors at 333 Locust St. in Philadelphia are security guards Lustig (Matt Craven) and Ramirez (Jacob Vargas); they can view and speak to Car #6 but not hear what's going on in there.
Bowden resolves that it's not going to happen on HIS watch, but it's proving remarkably difficult to reach the elevator, which is an express car in a shaft with very few doors.And, since this is a terror thriller, where it's all about the anticipation, I can't say any more without giving too much away.The cast of unknowns is credible, the dialog is realistic, the suspense is effective, there are no cheap tricks or jumpatchas, and props for not having the black guy die 1st.
Then the make-up artist comes in, and the actor has to lay still.You can better watch gory pictures from about any horror movie (or "this is it") and get a bigger thrill/shudder.I expected much more from this, since the idea could have offered so much more, (for instance, Chuck Norris kicking Satan's ass in this elevator with no way in or out).
the only reason this movie is even remotely decent is because of some very good acting from little known actors especially the elevator security officer, Ramirez, who really shows some great acting of fear..
A intreeging concept that dose not go on too long or is not too short it may not become a classic but it is very close to been this is one to watch if your a fan of m night shyamalan or you just want a different horror movie.
I thought that the story line for this movie was different and played to fears of people who are afraid to ride in elevators.
The film centrers on a group of people that are trapped in an office building elevator and apparently one of the them is supposedly the devil.
I heard a lot of bad things about this movie, especially from the Shymalan backlash crowd, but after watching it on DVD I would say that it is an acceptable mystery/horror/thriller with not too much compelling about it, nor really anything remarkably annoying about it either.The whole set-up is like a Twilight Zone episode stretched to 80 minutes, or, more likely, an episode of The Outer Limits, as that series was more known to truck in serious thrills rather than The Twlight Zone's sometimes flights of whimsy.By saying that, you might think I was saying that the story was overlong or bloated.
The gore is very limited (for nowadays, in the post "Saw" torture porn era) and the appearance of the Devil is fleeting and quite subdued.The story is tidy, and everything is pretty much wrapped up by movie's end, except that guy on top of the truck in the very first shot of the movie was never really explained to my satisfaction.None of the actors have anything to be embarrassed about, and the directing is quite acceptable, if not stunning, though there are a few fun tricky set-ups, such as the strange upside-down opening (effective for making the viewer disoriented and queasy) , and the crane shot on the roof when the guy's hat gets blown off the building.It's just that the whole story and concept is nothing more than okay.
That's how far away this story is from taking advantage of the language of film.If it's on TV, or you're streaming it online, I think it's okay if you are a thriller or horror movie fan.
Night Shyamalan coming up with a story, and then letting other people write the screenplay and direct the film - and it works.
Night Shyamalan had me wondering if I wanted to watch it (because, let's face it, after some really good movies Shyamalan's recent work has left a lot to be desired) but in the end I'm glad I did.
One of interesting things in the movie for me is to think that someone of those people in the elevator, is the devil!
The story kept me on edge trying to guess which one was the devil with the story from the opening monologue about the suicide and then those becoming trapped.This playing in with the multiple deaths over the timing of the film had you guessing who it was going to be and then when you found out you were in shock as it wasn't who you thought.
A pretty interesting idea for a horror thriller and movie succeeds in making a impression in its short run-time of 80 minutes.
Very nicely done cinematography and crisp dialogues written for back ground narration explaining about the working procedure of Devil set the right haunting tone and it is helped by good acting of Chris Messina who plays the helpless detective watching the horror unleash.
This film is for those that enjoy a good story, a good horror movie but none of the over the top gore that comes with it.Stuck in a lift 5 people have to endure what can only be described as a nightmare of a time as their fates become entwined.We start with the detective taking a seemingly innocuous job of a suicide and from there on the story develops as all the characters enter the lift where in essence the entire story is based.You will be good if you work out what has gone on and why , because this story doesn't give us the obvious "I will be right back lines" you know this character is going to die immediately.Listen carefully to the story or you will miss the clues that are subtly hidden..
The story itself is a very good one as being stuck with strangers while they're being picked off by the devil is something interesting but what really hurts the film is its direction.
As the movie went along I couldn't help but find myself enjoying the characters and the story but at the same time thinking to myself that this thing should be so much better.
Shyamalan's name is all over this thing and I think the story of his is a very good one but what makes this film worth viewing is one sequence that I won't spoil.
With that being said, DEVIL is a good little movie but at the same time you can't help but say it should have been much, much better..
Shyamalan makes up the story and lets other potential filmmakers write and direct his idea, which is probably a good thing since a lot of people hate him at this point.
A group of people are trapped in an elevator and the Devil is mysteriously amongst them.This movie got some bad press when it first came out for any number of reasons.
It isn't controversial to say that Shyamalan had made a lot of terrible movies before the release of "Devil" and I think a lot of people simply assumed this was going to be one of them.
And, in this case, he chooses five people with dubious pasts to trap in a lift and then generally mess with in the most grisly way he can think of.The first thing I should say about Devil is that it's quite a short film, therefore talking about the plot may give away a few twists that might spoil the enjoyment.