Devil (2010)

I entered the screening room last night with zero trepidation. This, a new Supernatural Horror produced and written by M. Night Shyamalan (don’t worry, he didn’t direct or star) was never going to be as scary as the possibility of another Lady in the Water (2006), or The Last Airbender (2010).

As it turns out, this small scale, above par B-movie could have been a legitimate opportunity to roll back his outrageous, high concept, super-ambitious monstrosities of late. Alas, he’s handed the responsibility over to the guy that brought us Quarantine (2008), a sub-standard [Rec] (2007) rip-off. Here though director Dowdle benefits, as to be expected from Shyamalan’s stable of fables, from a super tight narrative, an old wives tale exploring what happens when El Diablo traps five not-so-good-doers in an elevator in Manhattan. As the opening credits suggest (an uncomfortable barrage of continuous establishing shots of the city upside-down) this film is going to flip the modern-day heroes of New York 180-degrees to show their (until now) hidden anxieties within.

Devil touches briefly on class and race but is restrained from going beyond its scope by it’s beautifully paced 80 minutes. Catch this one if you can, it’s a great ride.