tomlawless3

18 May 2012

Lots of potential, but completely fails to scare...

** I only recommend reading this review if you've seen the filmyourself! ** This is a film about the Devil himself set in one confined space with asmall cast. That sets it up well to be a terrifying and unique film;but it unfortunately fails to be. The entirety of the horror is basedaround individual events, in that every time the lights go outsomething bad's gonna happen; then it's just a couple of muffled bumpsounds and then a corpse. That's about as scary as it gets; and if thisfilm wasn't supposed to be scary then they should have re-thought theiradvertising campaign. That style of horror construction reminded mevery much of Paranormal Activity: every time they went to bed andnight-cam came on you knew there was an event coming. The difference isthat Paranormal Activity did this very well, while Devil probablyneeded something more. I'm a huge fan of the power of the psyche inhorror (i.e. not actually seeing anything but letting your imaginationscare you), but I feel that Devil probably needed some more actualvisuals and certainly more scares.Also it didn't help that the "twist" was completely obvious. It wasclear that it was the old woman who was the devil all along. She wasthe least conspicuous and the one whom the director focused on theleast. I also thought it was a pretty feeble back story that the devilsteals purses. The same applies for all of the characters actually;rushed back stories that make them out to be petty criminals. If M.Night wanted to do this properly one would have thought that he wouldhave constructed some deep, dark characters with strong back stories.Instead there's a liar, a tough guy, a thief, a conman and ahit-and-runner. Pretty poor if you ask me. When you're making a movieabout the Devil appearing in human form to claim the souls of thedamned then you'd expect some characters who are a little darker...Next comes the wooden acting and totally unrealistic reactions. I mean,come on, if you're stuck in a lift and one of the blokes in theresuddenly gets murdered with a piece of glass I would think that theirritating music and bickering would be the last things on my mind.Also, the detective seemed rather blasé about witnessing 4 separatemurders while investigating a suicide case, which incidentally wasanother part of the film that was lazily constructed then justcompletely abandoned...Other than that it was a good little film. The opening sequence wasmesmerising with a strong theme and some great camera work. I alsoliked the story that gets narrated in pieces throughout the film, togive the film some depth and background. The evil face (even though itwas blatantly a bloke with a torch under his face) in the camerafootage was a good touch; but, again, these are just snippets of horrorlazily scattered throughout the film. Other than that its basically aload of people getting killed off in a lift and an old woman who isactually the devil (eye rolling stuff) is doing it. And then, to top itall off, the devil bails out at the end! The story goes that they allALWAYS die, then he apologises and she just feebly goes "damn, I reallywanted your soul". You're the devil, just kill him then! Overall, despite my criticisms, the film did keep me gripped and hadsome good ideas in it; but that trademark Shayamalan twist never reallycame, and neither did the horror. A film like this should make youremember it and talk about it. Sadly, I don't think it really will godown in memory. I certainly have no qualms about ever getting in a liftagain...

18 May 2012

Five Star Suspense

Love all of M. Night Shyamalan (spelling?) movies but this is the first movie of his that I probably will not watch a 2nd time, only because the film is all about building suspense and there's not really as much relationship building and character building (I didn't think) as the other movies he's made. This movie was more about building suspense and so then, once you know what happens, (like in a horror movie), you're not as likely to watch the film a 2nd time. I own all of this director/writer's movies and I watch most of over and over again, but this is one that I just rented once, and will probably not watch again for the same reason no one watches horror movies more than once - it's not nearly as thrilling the 2nd time around. Lady in the Water and The Village are examples of M. Night Shyamalan films I will watch again and again.

13 May 2012

Everyone who believes in God Must see Devil

Everyone should see this film.Every CHRISTian MUST see this film.I can't stop thinking about it.5 people stuck on a elavator,and one of them is The Devil.One by one when the lights go out one of them is killed untill there's just 2 people left.You will never guess who's The Devil untill the end,and what a ending

Nick Goodwin

13 May 2012

it was alright

I watched this movie by myself at night, was not a wise choice. it wasan alright movie it kept you engaged in the movie the whole time,trying to guess what was going to happen next and who was doing what.it was definitely a suspenseful movie. I wouldn't pay money to go seethis movie but would catch it on HBO or on television. most of thismovie is filmed in an elevator made me feel like I was watching PhoneBooth. But they make you feel as though you are also in the elevatorwith them standing in the middle of the action. they use awesometechniques of editing to help build suspense during the entire movie.this movie was an alright movie I would watch it again but just makesure that I had someone to watch with.

11 May 2012

Lives Up To Its Great Premise

A great hook - an elevator breaks down with five strangers stranded inside, one of whom may be the devil incarnate - and a movie that proceeds to live up to the potential of that hook makes "Devil" a can't-miss for fans of horror and supernatural mystery. Starting off with a police investigation of an unsolved suicide before swinging into the elevator plot, the movie actually weaves several different angles and subplots into its main devil/elevator hook, making for an extremely potent whole. The efforts of the building's maintenance crew and security team to get a stuck elevator moving again become a lot more pressing after the first of several temporary blackouts on the elevator (the inside of the elevator can be observed through a security camera). During these early blackouts, things start happening on the elevator, that neither the passengers nor the security team nor the viewer can initially see. It quickly becomes apparant that there's a potential for violence in this confined space and the police are called in, though few observers in the building's security room really suspect how dire the situation is. The film splits its time between the elevator and the happenings on the outside about evenly, and unfolds at a fast, energetic pace. There appear to be secrets to each of the passengers in the elevator that may or may not tie in to the main events. There's a potential shortcoming, admittedly, that I guess should be addressed, and why I don't feel it really hurt the overall movie. But it only becomes evident quite a ways in, so I'll put my usual disclaimer over it:****WARNING: POSSIBLE SEMI-SPOILERS AHEAD**** If, as it seems, the devil has come to Earth to harvest humans, this arguement could be used: Yes, the characters all have some flaw or dark part of their past, but are all of them really That bad, as in Devil-come-up-from-Hell-and-grab-'em bad? Why I don't feel that this hurts the movie too much: for starters, the devil isn't likely to be a forgiving fellow. Besides which, although stories like this often have the devil/demons bound by some kind of rules when they make it to Earth, why does that neccesarily have to be the case every time? Also, the movie wouldn't work if you had the elevator populated solely by characters you'd want to see dragged down to Hell. It had to have each character have something potentially sympathetic/likable (at least at the start), and to have each character have something potentially unlikable. It did a good job in this. As to the ultimate fate of each character's soul if and when the devil does 'em in, a lot of that's left to the individual viewer's imagination and interpretation.****END SEMI-SPOILERS SECTION**** The movie puts a lot into its relatively short running time (81 minutes), resulting in a quick, constantly engaging dynamic. The performances, musical score, and overall production all get high points, and "Devil" grabs you right at the opening credits and doesn't let go. Among 2010's best movies.

11 May 2012

ExCELLENT MOVIE! Check out our review on DEADZONE

This movie was excellent. Check out our movie review on DEADZONE Magazine on the apple iphone. Visit [...] to get the app and all the cool stuff DEADZONE MAGAZINE offers. This is apple's first interactive horror magazine that plays scary music as you read the reviews, it plays trailers, video promos, slide shows, and the phone vibrates when you flip the pages, and we feature scary rotating pictures. Coolest app around. visit mentalscars.com for more info!

08 May 2012

Just average

A group of strangers are together on an elevator located in a high-rise building, when the elevator suddenly stops, and strange occurrences begin. An intriguing storyline that provides some thrills, but does not seem to quite live up to its promise. All of the players involved are unlikeable and there is little mystery as to what is occurring. There are some positive aspects to the film because as the lights go out, the audience anticipates what will happen next, but it all ends in an unremarkable conclusion. The film contains some good scares, and is a movie that is unremarkable but does contain some redeeming qualities.

thekarmicnomad

07 May 2012

No need to push the panic button.

This is a good solid movie. It has good production, acting and there isa story there.It plays out like a disaster movie and is tense in places but thecharacters aren't quite fleshed out enough, which is a bit of a shame.The writers and director use a lot of simple but effective techniquesvery professionally (like the opening credits with the upside down cityscape) and I am a big fan of less is more when it is well done.This film won't scare the pants of you or change your life. If I hadpaid to see this at the cinema I would have been a bit disappointed butfor a rainy Sunday afternoon it is perfect.

ricardovs27

06 May 2012

A new start? Lets wait and see...

Well, this flick is not good, but it is not bad either.Stays in the middle road, which is a far better outcome for the"cursed" Shyamalan, who, in a wise choice, stepped back to produce andlet other filmmakers take care of the ride. Anyone who has seen thelast four or five movies crafted by him will, surely, agree with thisdecision.With a very interesting premise, "Devil", unfortunately, falls flatwith the stuff that matters: the environment is not claustrophobicenough and the characters are too thinly developed for us to careabout, hurting hard the experience. And the amount of exposition, in avery stupid way, by the Jacob Vargas character, a security guard thatbelongs in Vatican, is very annoying.However, the film is not a complete disaster and earns the grade due tosome honest and gripping performances, a very clever and intelligentusage of sound design and a cool twist on the end, subverting the usuallogic of Hollywood catharsis."Devil" deserves a commendation for trying to break the mold, even witha lot of problems. It just blows my mind how Hollywood just do notunderstand what is needed to make a good horror flick...

Jonny_Numb

06 May 2012

Preachy Devil

When addressing matters of faith and spirituality (extending to thebelief that a very literal 'devil' can walk undetected among humanity),the best horror films are usually those that approach these notoriouslydivisive, eternal themes with a degree of subtlety, reverence, andgrace. Think of William Friedkin's cinematic adaptation of "TheExorcist" -- for as much as that film was about the presence of an evilspirit running amok inside a little girl, it approached theinternalized spiritual conflicts of its characters with a properambiguity that kept (and still keeps) the viewer thinking. The onlyambiguity that pervades during the at-first gimmicky, at-last tedious,at-best passable "Devil" is the increasingly tiresome guessing game ofwhich of 5 seemingly random, trapped elevator passengers will bite thedust next, and how? Commencing with a Biblical quote and threading thecringingly earnest voice-over narration of a cringingly earnest Latinosecurity guard throughout the film's brief 80-minute run time doesnothing to create an atmosphere of subtlety or ambiguity. Which is ashame, since M. Night Shyamalan's story idea is ripe with possibility:the notion that the devil is among the 5 passengers, all of whom havesome hidden sin to confess, with the elevator serving as a figurativepressure-cooker to bring their guilt out into the open. I am quite fondof claustrophobic, limited-setting thrillers when done well, but"Devil" (despite some fantastic, flowing exterior shots), consideringits title and subject, eventually starts repeating the same gimmicks(cue the blackout, followed by another dead body; rinse, repeat), allwhile trying in vain to create an atmosphere of tension that becomesincreasingly futile as the film progresses. The characters areshallowly shaded clichés that exist to be easily disposed by thedemands of the plot, and therefore never leave enough of an impressionfor us to actually care about their fates. Brian Nelson, who wrote theoverrated "Hard Candy," covers no new ground in his blandly pedestrianscript, leaving director John Erick Dowdle (who made the fantastic"Quarantine" in 2008) to organize PG-13 jump scares into a slick yetutterly disposable piece of Hollywood product.

karlsparks777

05 May 2012

Close but still not the Shyamalan we love(d)

Before we even get into the actual movie let me just start out bywarning you, the opening credits will give you a massive headache,whoever decided to take the cinematic license to do fly over of a citywith the camera upside down was not thinking ahead to the effects thatwould have on it's audience's minds. I sat through "Cloverfeild" andthe first "Blair Witch" in theaters without so much as a sickly momentbut that entrance almost turned my stomach.Now on to the review of the actual movie. I can tell where Shamylan was going with the idea of trapping strangersin an elevator, alluding to the idea that one of em might be the devil.This would have naturally opened up the doors for many suspensefulmoments drawing on the natural claustrophobia with undertones ofvertigo. Flickering the lights on and off without actually showing muchin the way of the gratuitous violence that we get to see plenty ofaftermath to was a nice touch as well. I can see what they where tryingto do, but I also saw what they accomplished.For starters, they destroyed any sense of claustrophobia they may haveconveyed. This was done by making about 2 thirds of the movie revolvingaround the building staff and then law enforcement trying to get themout of the elevator. It's pretty hard to get frightened by an enclosedspace if we're only in that enclosed space for scant moments of thefilm. Flickering the lights on and off was a nice touch but the entirefilm other then that was bright as day, this messed with the atmosphereand detracted from the mood of dogmatic horror a movie about the devilcoming to earth in human form to torture wicked souls before claimingthem should convey.From a perspective of plot it was predictable which detracts from thesuspense to the point where there is none whatsoever. At no point whilewatching this movie did i experience any "jump" moment of the subtleincrease of heart rate that signals a feeling of suspense. It wasessentially a horror movie without the horror. It's not all bad though, the acting and character development is decentenough that you do feel bad for people as they, for the most part,inevitably die. The plot line isn't so interesting you can't sitthrough it, It's just not the edge of your seat thriller it promises tobe.In summary "Devil" is a suspenseful horror film that is neither verysuspenseful or horrifying. If your looking for a movie that will keepyou thinking and second guessing look somewhere else because all thiswill leave you is pining for more.

Tim851

05 May 2012

Thats all?

A movie like this, you'd expect there to be a lot of philosophicaldiscussion. About the nature of evil, the devil, man.But this one instead tries to be some sort of scary flick. There wereprobably some people scared by it (after all, there were peoplethinking Paranormal Activity is scary...), but by and large it has tobe counted as one big failure.Way too much focus on the people outside the elevator. Without evergetting close to actually fleshing out any character. NOTHING going oninside the elevator. There are people dying and the survivor's seem totake it pretty well. Once again, you'd expect some sort of discussionforming, after all, they'd have to be assuming there's a killer amongstthem. But no.This was just 90 wasted minutes. 4/10

sailornaruto39

03 May 2012

Nope didnt like it

Maybe it is because i spoiled it for myself and found out who the devilwas. But this movie wasn't what i expected. I thought it was going tofeature the devil hiding and randomly plaguing and killing people inthat whole building. Sort of something like you would see on Sci-fi butbetter. So the whole taking place in the elevator the whole time suckedfor me.It was a bit suspenseful but what good is that when you know theending. And to boot, i found the deaths rather lame. But i digress, itis a rather well shot and theatrical movie. And i guess it had a bit ofa message to it too. But then again, considering i didn't like the ploti really don' care.

Geeky Randy

02 May 2012

Makes all the right moves, yet the scares still seem underwhelming.

The first installment to "The Night Chronicles" trilogy, inspired bythe folktale "The Devil's Meeting". Five complete strangers (Arend,Novakovic, Marshall-Green, O'Hara, Woodbine) get stuck on an elevator,and the devil is amongst one of them. Each time the elevator lightsblackout for a short period, one of them gets killed. Messina, adetective from the Philadelphia Police Department who's wife and childwere killed by a hit and run driver, must keep them sane and calm whilefirefighters destroy the wall to get them out. The film makes all theright moves, yet the scares still seem underwhelming. O'Hara is theonly drag amongst the otherwise solid cast. While there is room formore depth than delivered, if you're in the mood forhorror/mystery/thriller, you'll be delightfully entertained.*** (out of four)

01 May 2012

Are You Kidding Me?

The title of this review is what I found myself uttering as the credits started rolling to this farce of a movie. This is not a real movie, it's more like a college film school project that was never intended for mass consumption. The fact this movie received real funding, a huge advertising budget (I remember being BOMBARDED by ads for this movie pre release), and was shown in real movie theaters is baffling to me. This movie is as bad as it gets when it comes to the art of movie making.Even though M Night did not direct this movie, clearly at this point everyone (well, everyone who is honest with himself/herself and is not a relative or best friend) knows M. Night Shyamalan was a one trick pony. 6th Sense, great movie, and seemed to be a very promising start for a then unknown director. Since then, that director has directed movies that range from okay (Unbreakable, Signs), to bad (The Village, Lady In The Water), to downright awful (The Happening, The Last Airbender). I think it's a case of Shyamalan believing his own hype, and resting on his laurels. What happened to the guy who directed 6th Sense, where did that director go? Well, he's probably gone for good, and that was really the only great movie he had in him. The fact he associates himself with garbage like Devil means he not only can't direct a good movie any more, but he doesn't even know what a good movie is!The plot for Devil is very thin, a bunch of strangers stuck in elevator in a high rise building, slowly being killed off every time there is a flicker to the elevator lights, leading to a momentary blackout. All of this is being observed by building security through the use of CCTV cameras in the elevator, and eventually the police, who are all too incompetent to get into the elevator in time to save them. One of the security guard's very quickly figures out what's happening, and somehow knows it's the Devil himself, the big kahuna, El Diablo, Satan, Lucifer, the Antichrist etc., who is responsible for the deaths of the elevator inhabitants. Along the way we're treated to a voice over monologue about why ole Satan operates the way he does, and the remainder of the film is about the many failed attempts at rescuing the poor schmucks in the elevator. All the frustrated detective can do is somehow try to figure out who's doing the killing through the use of background searches on each of the elevator captives.I'm okay with thin, threadbare plots, IF, there is an enjoyable movie that comes from them. Problem is, Devil is not enjoyable, in fact it's downright boring, and idiotic. None of the characters trapped in the elevator are likeable in the least, and therefore no emotional bond is developed by the audience. Their deaths mean nothing to us, since we don't like them or get to know much about them anyway. To the contrary, we enjoy watching these people die, and gleefully await the next one. I suppose it was the intention of the director to make them unlikeable, since why would the Devil want to pick off a bunch of nice people? Oh, and how ridiculous is it the Devil chooses to do his dirty work in an elevator of all places? How random and absurd. We also get a detective who quickly buys into the story of the security guard who thinks it's the Devil causing all of the deaths. The ending, oh the ending, look up the word "ridiculous" in the dictionary, and there will be a short bit on the ending of Devil.The whole movie is stupid, pointless, poorly acted, boring drivel, that never once invokes a moment of fear or apprehension. All of the deaths take place in pitch black anyway, so it's not as if they would scare us. Only one of the character's is actually injured before they are killed, via a random bite on the back. Again, hardly scary or terrifying. We get one, fleeting glimpse of the Devil in his true form, and that's it. The only other time we see Satan, is when he posses the body of a victim he killed earlier in the movie??? I'm not sure what the Dowdle brothers were attempting with Devil, but if it was to make an engrossing, thought provoking movie on the nature of good and evil, and what it means to be a good human being, and what being a "bad" human being means, well, he failed miserably. Instead what we get is a shallow, shell of a movie that might have gotten an A as a college level film school project, but a big fat F as a major motion picture. Based on Devil, I would say these "up and coming" film makers have a long way to go before anything they do is cinema worthy. However so much garbage is released to cinema's these days I guess that's not saying much.Devil is another in a long list of movies I've caught on cable tv for free, and therefore didn't actually pay money to see in a theater, or through the purchase of the video. Still, it was also one of those movies that made me angry for the time wasted to watch it, time I'll never get back, time that would have been better spent doing ANYTHING else. You have been warned, proceed purchasing at your own risk if you also don't have cable tv.

01 May 2012

five people are trapped in an elevator,and they are not alone (3.55)

i really liked this movie.the suspense builds nicely.there's a very tense atmosphere.you never know what going to happen next or who is ultimately responsible,until close to the end,which i didn't see coming.the acting is really good here,as is the direction.M. Night Shyamalan produced the film,but did not direct it.the story moves along at a good even pace.even the dialogue was pretty decent.i liked the fact that each of the characters had their own unique story.i found the movie quite compelling.i liked the fact that the motive for everything that happens in the film isn't revealed right off the bat,so you have to try to figure it out yourself.for me,Devil is a 3.5/5

sindrake

28 April 2012

2 Thumbs So far Down Im digging to china

If the concept wasn't entirely overdone in the past, this might havebeen a Good movie. Every time a movie comes out It plays on old storylines and try's to make a bigger twist forever ruining any concept theymay have been going for. This is true for all of today's movies. Quitesimply this movie sucks. No uniqueness or Originality, The Actors Playact better then Jennifer Lopez, and that's giving them a compliment.The Devil is Real and his biggest accomplishment is making this movie.Two thumbs way down for messing up a basic concept already utilized bymany of Hollywood's Directors in the past. we've seen Rec, and how itwas brutalized by its unappealing remake Quarantine. We have also SeenRingu and how it was Shat upon by the Ring. We have Seen Se7en And howit was Salad tossed by the Saw Movies. Even Harry Potter a Direct Ripfrom The Worst Witch. How in this day and age can people Make money bystealing everyone else's Ideas and trying to Americanize them to tryand make America seem like it has any Artistic nature whatsoever?Movies Like Unbreakable, The Lady in the Water, The Village, and TheSixth Sense, not only are Predictable, but Lame to boot. I feel DumberFor Sitting through any of these movies that hold no concept and twistsare as retarded as Finding out Pennywise the clown is a Spider AlienDemon thing from beyond.Please Save Your Money, and Rent a classic, This Movie Will Drop YourIQ by 70 points.

dawsoncat2000-875-275384

28 April 2012

Good movie

I thought this was a really good movie, it definitely kept you guessinguntil the end.Should have been longer though, it ended very suddenly. Would have beenan excellent movie if it would have lengthened a bit. Although it hadthe drawback of being more like a short story it was definitely a movieworth watching. The special effects were really good and the story linewas great. I would recommend everyone give it a chance.This was definitely one of the better movies he has directed. The musiccould have been a little more eerie though.After going to watch the last exorcism, I started to give up on thehorror movies. I'm glad I went and seen this one. It was notdisappointing.

BM Rao

27 April 2012

Kept together right till the last few minutes

After the disaster that was The Last Airbender, this movie got a lot ofbad press and lessened expectations because it was associated andmarketed as a product of the mind of M.Night Shyamalan.I guess it worked in its favor to an extent because the movie is surelymuch better than what it was expected to be. And, Night can restassured that the producer and writer gigs are gonna keep on coming hisway even if the director ones will not.What i liked about the movie was that it did not rely on gore to tellthe story even when the subject matter gave it ample opportunities to.The atmosphere was dreary and the lights-out moments were handled well.The movie was kept together right up until the final few minutes whereit was revealed who the devil is. Then it suddenly got a whole lot moreamateurish. That was when I thought Night himself could have done theending better. Here, it just felt like the director said: "OK. Devilexposed. Bring on the clichés. Repenting - check. Self-sacrifice -check. Compassion - check. Devil backs off - check. Reference to God -check. OK, roll the credits." What i did like about the ending was thatthere was no divine intervention. The ending gave the message that thepower to defeat evil lies within each one of us, if only we get pastthe lies we tell ourselves, get rid of our selfish ways and truly,sincerely apologize for our wrong-doings. In short, the power to defeatevil is within each one of us.Well, no matter how amateurish the movie felt at certain points, onething is for sure: we are seeing many more of the Night Chronicles incoming years.

chicagoberl

26 April 2012

You People with Spoilers are Spoilers

The movie is great and highly recommended. However, I have to vent forone second..WHY ARE ALL REVIEWS BECOMING "SPOILER ALERT"?Are you people so attention deprived or filled with such grandiosefeelings of self importance that you have to report every nuance andfact about a new movies plot?Really think about why you are writing a "review" that is really a"indepth description" of plot, etc etc etc.You don't look smart doing this. I just feel sorry for the personwriting it because they are obviously in need of attention. Ruining afilm for other people so they can be perceived as being "smarter" or"more informed" is sad and ridiculous.I know this isn't the case with all of you, but if you are one of those"let me write a review that tells everything about the movie" people,you need to really ask yourself.Why did I write this and potentially spoil the movie for other people?There, I vented. And whoever reviews these reviews, I think you need toadd new ratings alerts: 1)Spoiler Alert 2)Everything except the ending alert 3)Tells just alittle too much but OK if you like to know a little more 4) Good reviewwithout ANY plot giveaways.By the way,my favorite is when people tell a major plot sequence thatis the central theme of the movie, and then say "But that happens inthe first 10 minutes of the movie, so I am not really giving anythingaway".Yes you are giving EVERYTHING away and you have just ruined the moviefor me! Because what could have been magical, compelling, shocking, orprofound for me has been forever taken away because you made thedetermination it was OK to write it. I can never see that movie and be"surprised" or be allowed to process the information and create theappropriate mood thats required to thoroughly the rest of the movie.And whats worse, these are the ones that usually don't have spoileralert tagged. IMDb.....Please expand your rating system and create a colored field(like red or something) that highlights the alert.posters: Pleae think about why you write such reviews...and stop!Thank you for listening. I hope this gets posted and people take it toheart.