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An Elevator Ride with the 'Devil' (Review)
Remember that time John Erick Dowdle crafted a clever little picture about the devil and the general public avoided it like the plague because M. Night Shyamalan’s name was attached to the project? No, I suppose you probably don’t, condering the film was treated with the affection of a herpes infected adult entertainer. It’s too bad really, because this film boasts some surpring qualities.
I faintly recall catching the film back when it hit theaters in September of last year. To be completely honest, I didn’t expect much, and I showed a serious disrespect toward the picture by heading into my local cinema highly intoxicated. Typically I’d say I wasted $10, but after reviting Devil last night, I don’t feel so bad about tosng my hard earned cash into the alcoholic toilet where memories are flushed away faster than last evening’s steak and potatoes. The flick is solid, and certainly deserved the cash of consumers.
: Devil is no perfect picture, but given the premise of the film, it’s surpringly well executed. The bulk of our conflict takes place in a well occupied elevator that suddenly seizes, leaving the bulk of our ensemble in a trapped panic, but don’t leap to concluons and conjure memories of other milar ideas, such as the horrendous Phone Booth, as this flick is gnificantly superior.<br /><br />
Within this elevator stand a group of lifelong douche bags who act as your run-of-the-mill, typical horror clichés. There’s a thug, a bitchy liar, a con artist, a bold faced thief and an ex-military man who seems to have a screw loose upstairs. Dowdle works wonders however, as he turns the expected into the unpredictable. For example, our thug is reformed, and looking to get his life on track, our con artist is clearly a very insecure individual (which is pretty accurate in terms of “real life”, though on screen ass caps rarely reflect this de of humanity), and our sketchy veteran certainly seems to have a bit of heroic measure left within his shattered psyche.<br /><br />The few key characters not trapped inde this elevator are enjoyable for the most part, and in a case or so directly linked to those in the elevator. One such link eventually leads to a fruitful revelation and rewarding climax. All in all, this one really does boast a fine attention invested in detail.<br /><br />http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y241/instantlegend/Devil_Movie_Stills_41-1.jpg)
Ade from a well-crafted script, there are some excellent performances in store for viewers. I found Chris Mesna‘s depiction of Detective Bowden to be a bit stiff and awkward in spots, but Bokeem Woodbine and Logan Marshall-Green are absolutely terrific as victims of the fatal elevator mishap, and they more than override any awkwardness presented by Mesna. Jenny O'Hara and Geoffrey Arend are terrific in mirrored confines; unfortunately they’re a bit underused.
If you opted to avoid this one, rethink that decion. There are potholes in the road, but the majority of the journey is smooth while stimulating. A few choice death scenes produce some awesome visuals, and there are enough high quality performances to conder this a bona fide sleeper success.
Grade: B-
Matt_Molgaard
Wednesday 9/14/2011 at 03:53 PM | 82697
I agree, this film did indeed exceed my expectations. However, I found it to be really slow at times, and I feel like this movie could have really used a little bit more meat in it (perhaps some back-story on all of the characters). All in all, I have to give this movie a 7 because the ending was awesome, but it's definitely a netflix kind of movie for me versus a go buy this immediately movie such as The Fouth Kind or Halloween.
RileyRose
Sunday 10/02/2011 at 06:49 AM | 83619
