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…
