There’s
no denying that M. Night Shyamalan has added some shaky material to his
catalogue lately. Some have even gone so far as to claim that he's
washed up. That opinion couldn’t be further from the truth as the man
who wrote and directed the bona fide classic The Sixth Sense has delivered another great story sure to send a chill through even the cynics out there.
The obligatory setting is of course Philly,
but this time the bulk of the action takes place inside a downtown
skyscraper. On the surface the basic premise - five strangers find
themselves trapped in an elevator with very annoying Muzak – hardly
seems worthy of a feature length thrill ride. You either turn the power
back on or crack open the doors – right? Of course, it’s not quite that
simple as the run-of-the-mill rescue attempt goes wrong at every turn.
Naturally, we slowly come to know the various members of the quintet
amidst a variety of creepy revelations as everything seems to go wrong.
As savvy as you may be, Devil is
not your typical, predictable horror flick. In fact the events are
initially presented as a mystery to solve for the two police detectives
who we meet in the beginning of the film. More importantly, this
thriller has a brain – and a philosophical one at that. Devil asks the question, “Who’s responsible for the bad things that happen in the world? People or the devil?” To this day The Exorcist is the only movie that has ever scared me. Devil didn’t actually shake me but you’d better believe I was on my best behavior for a few days after I watched it – just in case…
Totally agree on the review and comments of this film. M. Night, for whatever reason,has chosen material since his classic, 'The Sixth Sense', that I think he thought would be so unique and different that it would 'click' with audiences. However, the story lines and 'twists' and 'turns' in those other films just did not live up to the hype and expectations. However, I do have to say that the films he has made have not been as bad as most critics have made them out to be. Well, with the exception of 'After Earth.' I do not know what he was thinking but definitely a stinker! But he went back to good form with 'Devil.' The movie was engrossing, suspenseful and downright creepy in my opinion. I do hope he will continue making movies as he has the talent to be a great director and the latest I have seen advertised, 'Split', shows promise so I hope it lives up to hype.
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