2010’s Devil is not well-recognized among M. Night Shyamalan’s work, but it has developed somewhat of a cult following as a notable horror entry from the filmmaker.
What Is It?
Five strangers are trapped in an elevator in a high-rise office building, and they start to realize that one among them is a dangerous person. Building security, along with the help of the local police, works to free these people from their predicament, but as things continue to go awry, they begin to fear that a malevolent force may be controlling the situation.
Cast: Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Geoffrey Arend, Bojana Novakovic, Jenny O’Hara
Crew: John Erick Dowdle (Director), M. Night Shyamalan (Writer, Executive Producer), Brian Nelson (Writer), Fernando Velázquez (Music)
Original Release: September 17, 2010
Legacy:
This M. Night Shyamalan film went mostly under the radar when it was released, but it represented something of a return to form for the filmmaker, delivering an engaging story with some truly scary moments.
A Closer Look:
By 2010, M. Night Shyamalan’s brand had become somewhat tarnished as several of his recent films had received a critical drubbing, and his adaptation of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender was particularly savaged in its reviews. That one would go on to win five Razzies, including Worst Picture and Worst Director. But that same year, he put out the much more modest film Devil, which was made on a relatively small budget of $10 million and represented something of a return to his better days of filmmaking. Shyamalan did not direct the film, but the story came from him and he was closely involved as a producer. And make no mistake, this is definitely a Shyamalan movie, proving what he can do when at the top of his game (and perhaps collaborating with another director helped).
As is typical of a Shyamalan production, this one contains one of his signature twist endings, so this look back at the film will be broken into two parts: the first will be my impressions of the film that contain little or no spoilers, then I will take a deeper dive that will contain some minor spoilers. Those who have not seen this movie and prefer to approach it with as little foreknowledge as possible (highly recommended) will probably want to skip that section (clearly marked below) for now.
This relatively low-budget film delivers a muted contrast to the epic proportions of the CGI-heavy blockbusters of the last few decades with its confined location and cramped quarters, but you can also sense where the creative team tried to imitate those films to a degree, giving it almost an overproduced feel. Whereas a director like Vincenzo Natali (Cube, more on that one at this link) would have taken full advantage of the captivity of the elevator and delivered a claustrophobic tale, director John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine) eschews that angle and almost makes the elevator and its surrounding building feel roomy and spacious. This seems at odds with the core premise of the film and makes it a bit less accessible at first. That, along with the rather unlikeable characters who provide the focus of the story, may cause some watching the movie to disengage by about the halfway point.
However, right about the time that people might be losing enough interest to contemplate a bathroom break or a snack run, Dowdle takes a firm grip of the reins and returns all eyes forward. This leads to a gripping second half that ultimately delivers on the promise that the film almost seemed to lose its grasp of early on, and he guides it to a riveting, mostly satisfying conclusion.
WARNING! SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!!! SKIP TO THE LAST PARAGRAPH IN THIS SECTION TO AVOID!
The fact that we find the five people on this elevator rather unlikeable can actually be a deal breaker for some watching the movie, and I have seen that as a common criticism leveled at Devil. However, there is a crucial reason for the unsavory nature of these five people that plays itself out when the final confrontation with the malevolent force reaches its culmination. And what a mea culpa it delivers with the expected Shyamalan twist ending, which he finally gets right for the first time since The Sixth Sense (even though I loved Unbreakable, its final twist fired blanks for me). We discover that many of the perceived loose ends from early on start to fall into place and actually play an integral part in the overall scheme of the story. And while the script seems to leave a few dangling threads, a second viewing clears up the majority of these. This film definitely deserves one or more go-arounds to catch all of the intricacies that it tucks away throughout its relatively brisk hour-and-twenty-minute runtime.
The only thing that bothered me after the film concluded was the final actions of Detective Bowden. Whereas the actions of the last person standing in the elevator (not revealing male or female) made sense because that person had been put through Hell and back, the film did not make me feel like Bowden would have arrived at the decision he made at the end. The story did not really build to that point and seemed to take a leap of faith. Still, that did not detract from the movie for me the same way that the final twist for Unbreakable did, and Bowden’s decision was not the twist, just a reaction to it. And while some might find the coincidence of the detective’s presence a bit contrived, I believe the film fully established what brought him there with the voice-over narration.
I know there are a lot of Shyamalan-bashers out there who have dragged his reputation through the mud over the years, and their voices may deter many people from watching this film. But I say to ignore them and give this one a look. It put Shyamalan back on track for a while and delivers yet another notable production along the lines of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. And the fact is that the movie continued to resonate with me after it ended and demanded that I watch it again to revisit its implications and possible interpretations, truly the sign of an accomplished cinematic work. And while this one has fallen under the radar among Shyamalan’s output, it has become somewhat of a cult favorite, and it delivers an engaging viewing experience.
Why Was There No Sequel?
Devil did relatively well in theaters, pulling in $63.4 million in worldwide ticket sales vs. a budget of $10 million. And while that’s not blockbuster money, the film delivered a strong return on its modest production costs. It was also the first in Shyamalan’s planned trilogy of Night Chronicles movies dealing with the supernatural in urban settings (specifically Philadelphia, where this and many of his films take place). The second film was to be titled Reincarnate (originally Twelve Strangers) and would have dealt with a jury deliberating over a case involving the supernatural. Then the third film would have used a story originally intended as a sequel to Unbreakable. The latter idea did eventually become the basis for Split, and that was followed by Glass. But Reincarnate never did get produced, and the planned Night Chronicles trilogy did not continue as planned.
Should It Be Rebooted?
While Devil could be uneven at times, especially during the first half of the film, overall it delivered a well-crafted tale, and there is no need to reboot it. Much more interesting would be to continue with the Night Chronicles idea and perhaps set that in the same universe as other Shyamalan films, particularly Unbreakable (which seems to be where it was headed). And while Hollywood might not be interested in following that path because these lower-budget productions would not necessarily deliver blockbuster returns, it sure seems like one of the streaming services might take a flyer on these movies because of Shyamalan’s name recognition (which has improved to a degree in recent years). I don’t know if he plans on going forward with those at some point, but there seems to be plenty of potential there as well as venues that would be interested.
Interesting Facts:
The five characters trapped in the elevator are never referred to by their actual names during the movie. The end credits refer to them by their occupation (Mechanic, Salesman, Guard) or as “Young Woman” or “Old Woman.”
The folktale “The Devil’s Meeting” is mentioned in the film, and that was the inspiration for the story. That piece of American folklore with Mississippi roots finds the Devil roaming the Earth in human form and tormenting the living.
Where Can You Watch It?
The film has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, and you can also purchase it VOD. It is currently available for streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video.
