And you thought being trapped in an elevator was frightening enough.
M. Night Shyamalan intensifies this phobia by producing a film where a group of strangers are trapped in an elevator with the Devil. He adds to the creepy atmosphere by having a cast of relatively unknown actors, which helps the realism that, hey, it could be anyone stuck inside this elevator.
The ever-present creaking of the elevator added to the climate of mistrust among the passengers. I’m not easily frightened or horrified, but, I gotta to tell you, I jumped quite a few times. And when the Devil finally reveals himself, it was one hell of a “Night shock.”
And perhaps that is the ultimate genius of “Devil.” It plays on the terror of the unknown. It preys on our fears of the monster lurking in the dark that we cannot escape. It preys on our fear of being trapped in an enclosed space, of a freefall to our death. And most of all, it plays on our fear of the darkness within us.
Yes, there is a supernatural element to the film, but it’s almost as dangerous as the human threat. The Devil kills in the blackness, but the darkness within the human beings allows him to walk among us and to take our souls.
After a series of failed attempts, Shyamalan has finally gotten back on track. His last few films have lacked a certain essence that captured the audience the way that “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs” did. In “Devil,” Night returns to his roots of setting up the ominous atmosphere instead of having large amounts of gore like in “The Happening.” In “Devil,” he also developed sympathetic and well-rounded characters instead of telling a bizarre story, like the fairy tale in “Lady in the Water.”
To my shock, I found the supporting cast just as engaging as the main characters who were in immediate peril. The two security guards, located safely away from the evil entity haunting the elevator, almost stole the movie as they witnessed the horror through security cameras.
One of the security guards and narrator of the film (Jacob Vargas) is especially captivating. I know what you’re thinking. Narrator, really? But the man explains the mythology of the Devil as the story progresses with such chilling detail that I’ll never forget the warning signs of when the ruler of hell is near. And I’m not even religious.
As the movie progresses and you become more attached to the characters, as well as the realism of the scenario, an ever-present question looms in the air. How do you beat the Devil? Well, you can always take the stairs.
