M. Night Shyamalan has given us some of the most iconic twists in cinema history, and while many of his films are a gamble, this often overlooked psychological horror film is an all-around entertaining film. In 2010, Shyamalan produced and created the story for Devila film that is imbued with its winding style and sweeps us away with its dizzying cinematography. It’s the perfect watch for a quick adrenaline rush, which works because of its unearthly claustrophobia and 80-minute running time. John Erick Dowdles film, based on Brian NelsonShyamalan’s script combines a crime thriller with a supernatural atmosphere that leaves us in the dark about where it is going at every unpredictable moment. Simplistic and yet disorienting, Devil may get lost in Shyamalan’s extensive filmography, but it waits patiently for our attention and promises us a truckload of high-energy tension and thrills.

Devil

Release date

17 September 2010

director

John Erick Dowdle

Duration

80 minutes

What is “Devil” about?

The premise of Devil is relatively straightforward: Five people are stuck in an elevator, one of whom could be either a serial killer or the devil. Who is it? The beginning of the film follows the coincidences that five characters find together in an elevator: the security guard (Bokeem Wood Vine), the mechanic (Logan Marshall-Green), the older woman (Jenny O’Hara), the young woman (Bojana Novakovic) and the businessman (Geoffrey Arend). When the elevator gets stuck, the maintenance crew runs around trying to help the occupants, but to no avail. Tempers flare and tensions rise in the elevator – then the lights start to flicker. Every moment of darkness brings a new terrible scenestarting with a huge cut, probably a bite, on the young woman’s back. Many suspect the suspicious businessman of the attack and push him into a corner of the elevator. This injury also causes the security guards outside to call the police as they redouble their efforts to reach the elevator, but every time something goes wrong.

When the first mysterious murder occurs, the tension immediately rises. Just like during the attack, the lights flicker and when we can see again, someone is inexplicably dead. From shards of a broken mirror embedding themselves in someone’s neck to someone being hanged, every death is clearly murder and not an accident, leaving the inmates frightened and suspicious of one another. The rest of the film focuses on character dynamics and solving the seemingly inexplicable deaths. Since the film takes place primarily within the confines of the elevator, the twisting revelations and unfolding events are easy to follow. With a simple and solid foundation for the plot, the film is able to go wild in its cinematic style and stressful approaches, creating a nerve-wracking atmosphere that is captivating.

The plot also goes beyond the elevator where we meet Detective Bowden (Chris Messina). Bowden is the typical gruff and sarcastic detective, haunted by a trauma from his past and stubbornly relying on logic. This is how it is whenever security guard Ramirez (Jacob Vargas) tries to bring satanic implications into the investigation, Bowden laughs it off and continues with his rational approach. This leads to a thrilling And then there was none Style crime plot, like every Insight into each character makes them all plausible suspects. The security guard has a criminal record full of assault; the mechanic is a military veteran who was carrying a mysterious backpack before entering the elevator; the old woman has a penchant for stealing wallets; the young woman is a world-class liar who is divorcing her rich husband; and the businessman is a con artist. The Bowden can only conveniently eliminate suspects through their sudden and cruel deathand we wonder if Ramirez isn’t too far off.

Claustrophobia and tension permeate the “devil’s atmosphere”

What really gets on our nerves and provides the energetic kick in Devil is the insane level of claustrophobia that the film reaches. The elevator as a setting automatically creates a first level of restriction and inevitability. The cinematography builds on this by The camera was placed inside the elevator walls to draw the audience into the fear of the passengers.. But the bizarre camera angles really captivate us, as the images constantly switch from top to bottom and then directly to the characters’ faces in seemingly random and jarring sequences. Dowdle creates a kaleidoscope of expressions marked by anger, fear and stress, imbuing us with the same emotions. As the camera switches angles without rhyme or reason, we are just as disoriented as the characters, both the inmates and the detectives trying to unravel the situation.

Related

2024 was already a great year for Satan … in the cinema

It burns… literally.

The unique camera work is combined with extreme flashes that range from pitch black to pure white, giving us glimpses of chaotic action in between. Combined with the unsettling sound effects of shattering mirrors and gruesome screams, these nightmarish scenes leave our hearts pounding and our mouths dry as we squint to catch a glimpse of the perpetrator. The overall sound design heightens the tension, especially with the contrast between the initial elevator music that makes us grind our teeth and the somber soundtrack that haunts the film afterwards. It also creates a tumbling pace as The rhythm gets faster, the beat thunders harder and the resulting chaos sweeps us into the ever-changing tide of unfolding eventsWe are so caught up in this gripping and all-consuming atmosphere that it becomes difficult to concentrate on solving the murders.

“Devil” takes up an otherworldly and satanic horror

While the audience and the detective try to identify suspects rationally and instinctively, the fast flow of the film is constantly interrupted by religious, namely satanic, tones. This is made possible entirely by Ramirez, who also provides accompanying narration at certain points in the running time. The voiceover recounts a story his mother told him when he was young about meeting the devil. It tells of how the devil came to earth and punished people for their sins. It begins with a suicide, which we see in the absurd opening credits. Everything goes wrong when the devil is around, as Ramirez demonstrates by dropping a piece of toast that falls jam side down. Then a group of people with unsavory pasts are picked off one by one in a closed environment – the devil only “gets” the last person in front of a loved one and in front of someone who needs to see it.

The narrator slowly reveals more information about the meeting at various points in the film, slightly distorting our perception of events. This is particularly evident in the fact that no one can reach the elevators, from the first maintenance man who is sentenced to a grisly impalement, to the firemen who are constantly upgrading their tools and trying to cut open the walls. Nelson’s decision to include a narrator gives the film a fabulous effect that contrasts the logical police work we are watching. This otherworldly and mystical element of the film, in addition to the claustrophobia, adds to the unhinged atmosphere that leaves us completely dazed but electrified.

“The casting of the devil enhances the claustrophobic horror of the film”

Dowdle’s cinematography and Nelson’s narrative techniques in Devil certainly create a harrowing atmosphere, but it’s the cast that drives the terror home. In the elevator, the characters are fairly one-dimensional, endowed with traits that arouse our suspicion and make them all potentially guilty. But where the cast shines is in their interactions, as they lash out at each other, roll their eyes, and make accusations against each other. All of this heightens the already claustrophobic tension in the enclosed space, making it oppressive as their threatening words eat away at the air. The fear reaches unbearable heights in each confusing shot in the elevator. especially since corpses invade their space and force the unreliable characters closer together and we are caught in the foul air that simmers between them.

This crushing tension is contrasted by a different kind of stress outside the elevator as the detectives and guards run through the huge building with seemingly endless floors. It almost becomes a rat maze where one desperately searches for answers and only finds dead ends, coupled with bouts of vertigo when someone is on the top floor and looks down the elevator shaft. While this serves to emphasize the crushing tension inside the elevator, Messina’s compelling performance also creates a different kind of stress that comes with the barrage of failures that come with solving this seemingly unsolvable case. As Bowden, Messina creates a superficial layer of rationality, threatened by anger and frustration that constantly threaten to bubble to the surface. It only really erupts when he speaks about his grief, which makes the finale all the more chilling and grim. Thus, the elevator in Devil becomes a breeding ground for fantastic claustrophobia and gives us a lively dose of thrills in just 80 minutes.

Devil can be rented or purchased from Amazon in the USA

Rent from Amazon