DEVIL film review

English (A) 
Cast: Bojana Novakovic, Bokeem Woodbine, Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green
Director: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle

Promoted as M Night Shyamalan’s baby, Devil is a film where you get to see toned-down version of a horror flick. It tells a story of an event during a normal day in Philadelphia when five people with dark pasts are trapped in an elevator with a possible devil among them.

The devil turns them against one another with an ultimate aim of killing them one by one. Can they solve the mystery before they all die?

Co-written and produced by Shyamalan, Devil does not live up to expectations though tightly packaged in terms of ideas and screenplays. The directors also employ rarely-seen screen angles to build up enough tension. Devil also has its share of gore. Though actual killing scenes are not visible, one gets a clear idea of what the killer would look like.

So, there’s a creepy feeling all the time at the thought of who would be the next target. It does get a bit out of focus towards the end but by then Shyamalan’s mind seems to have controlled everything. The injection of human values like team work and forgiveness make this Devil worth watching.

By Robert L Sungte, Deccan Herald