M. Night Shyamalan had a new supernatural thriller released this past weekend called “Devilâ€. The story is about five strangers who get stuck in an elevator together. When the lights flicker off and one of them is attacked in the dark, it causes everyone to become concerned with their co-passengers, and they all become defensive. They soon come to the conclusion that one of them is not who they appear to be.
Why, Why, Why. Why do I continue to go and see M. Night Shyamalan movies? I had to ask myself that, upon exiting this movie. I have said time and time again that he just doesn’t make good movies anymore and this one was no exception. First of all from the trailer, I had already figured out who the devil was going to be. Now I won’t spoil it for you, but I was right on the money with my assumption. This movie wasn’t scary or even thrilling. It was just another waste of my time. The devil in the movie only attacked when the lights would go out, so you didn’t even get to see any of the actual attacks. Now apparently this is the first of a series of movies that Shyamalan will be bringing to the big screen called “The Night Chroniclesâ€. If the rest are going to be anything like this one, he should just move on to a new project. Plus has M. Night seen the price of movie tickets these days? No one wants to spend $13 dollars for a movie that’s only 1 hour and 16 minutes.
The next movie in the chronicles is going to be called “Twelve Strangers†and it’s also categorized as a supernatural thriller. It will focus on a jury deliberating a case involving the supernatural. Yeah I think I’ll pass on that one. Anyway back to this review. The acting in this movie was good for what it’s worth, but it wasn’t worth the effort. Chris Messina who plays a cop in the movie is drawn to the building in question when there is a suicide at the location. The fact is he was lured there so that he can witness what is going on in the elevator, because he has a connection with one of the occupants. Then there was Bokeem Woodbine as the security guard. He was the only one in the movie who has been in a bunch of movies. Why would he sell himself short for this crap? Then the cap to all of this mess was the ending. All of this set–up to have a horrible ending for a horrible movie. I gave this movie ½ an elevator out of 4. It was an hour too long and a premise to short. The film runs 1 hour and 16mins. It’s rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images, thematic material and some language including sexual references. It was written by Brian Nelson & M. Night Shyamalan. It was directed by John Erick Dowdle & Drew Dowdle. It was distributed by Universal Pictures.
The next time you step into an elevator, make sure you check out the occupants. Ezo
Next Week’s Review: TBD
