M. Night Shyamalan, for those of who you don't know the M stands for Manoj and the fact his dad was a malayali may just be one of the hidden reason why i continue to watch each everyone of his weird yet somehow distinguished movies. But this movie was different , i don't know whether it was the bare title or the concept of 5 strangers stuck in a lift and one of them been the devil , it could happen to any of us , think about it (except maybe the devil part). So i set out to catch this intriguingly titled movie and hoping not to be a partisan to the ethnicity of M.night shyamalan .
Here's a short synopsis that devil may care about-
The movie starts off with a narration by a stranger who re accounts of a bed time story his mother used to narrate when he was a child, how the devil would visit the planet to seek the souls of those who have sinned ( what a cruel mother ;) and then the movie starts with an amazing scene of suicide and you know your in for a ride.The main theme of the movie is set inside the lift which entraps 5 strangers who are stuck and left to wait it out for help to arrive. In the midst of all this confusion , is when the realization comes to the point when the lights go off each one of them is mystifyingly executed one by one. So the trick of the movie is you have to make a first guess in your mind who the devil is and play a game with your friends and see who wins even before the first person dies.
I know the plot line sounds kinda narrow but M.Night shyamalan does wonders with the concept and director John Erick Dowdle makes the thriller an absolute roller coaster as your put on the edge trying to figure out who the devil is. This movie unlike the other nights's movies doesn't have a complex puzzle or long back story to be narrated , it just keeps it simple and brain teasing at the same time . I think Night might have just found the perfect balance he was looking for after sixth sense. The movie's soundtrack and compelling narration make it a nail bitter same as the movie phone booth with a bit of horror element. The weirdest part was that when i watched this movie the lights kept going off in the theater too, which added to the effect created by the director . In short i had one hell of a chill after this one. As for claustrophobic people , kindly stay as far as from this movie , cause you will never enter a lift after this show is done.
Details-
Directed by John Erick Dowdle
Produced by John Erick Dowdle
Drew Dowdle
M. Night Shyamalan
Sam Mercer
Screenplay by Brian Nelson
Story by M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Chris Messina
Bojana Novakovic
Bokeem Woodbine
Logan Marshall-Green
Jenny O'Hara
Geoffrey Arend
Music by Fernando Velázquez
Cinematography Tak Fujimoto
Editing by Elliot Greenberg
Studio Media Rights Capital
The Night Chronicles
Blinding Edge Pictures
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) September 17, 2010
Running time 80 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $10 million
Gross revenue $57,417,973
Theater seen from- PVR cinemas , Bangalore
Audience recommended to - ALL except claustrophobic people and wusses .
Final word-
I am going for 3.5 /5 for M.Night shyamalan's DEVIL . This movie might just be his best work yet.
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