Hey gang, Justin here with the newest contributor to The Movie Advocate, Josh Rhoten. Here's his review of last year's Devil. Let us know in the comments section if you want to see more of Josh's work.
I am just going to go ahead and say this.M. Night Shyamalan isn’t that bad.OK. Well that hurt to type. But I honestly believe about 80 percent of that statement.His resume has gems like “The Sixth Sense”, “Unbreakable” and the first 90 minutes of “Signs” on it and frankly that is three more films than most people can claim. Of course it also features “The Last Air Bender” and “The Happening”, but you can’t deny the thrill those first three movies gave you when you first saw them. They were well crafted stories you had not seen before and that is one of the things I look for in film. Yes, he has become the punch line of a joke so simple even frat boys think it’s played out, but his skill at telling a story and building suspense is excellent, even when the “twist” is a bit off or easy to see.
With all that in mind, here is how I see the creation of “Devil” (here after known in this piece as Devilator) going down in a Hollywood boardroom.Executive: Listen … M. We think you are played out. People are tired of this twist thing. You are going to have to make these last three up to us if you want to do another, especially if it’s set in an elevator.Shyamalan: OK, what does that entail?Executive: Three words, “Last Air Bender….3D.”Shyamalan: That was more than three.Executive: Shut your mouth and make a movie that makes sense for once in your life!Anyway, I’m pretty sure the three picture deal starting with Devilator was what he sold his soul for, though it looks like it came with some caveats. The first of which, I am guessing, was that he would not direct them personally- just work on them as a producer. In the case of Devilator that works out quite well as Dowdle, of “Quarantine” fame, came through with a taught and visually interesting film. “Quarantine” is one of the more underrated horror films of the last year and is often set aside because people see the handheld first person camera as a gimmick, where in “Quarantine” it is used to great effect. Anyway he has done a heck of a job working with what was probably a very thin script and a very involved Shyamalan.
The whole thing is framed by a well used voiceover outlying a folktale about the day the Devil comes up from hell to collect the souls of those on earth who have sinned. Of course he tortures them first which in this case that means killing them one at a time with the lights out and bunch of pretty gruesome sound effects. In an elevator that means stringing them up from the lights and putting shards of glass into their aortas when the lights go down. Given the limited space, there is a surprising amount variety in the buildup and deaths which was nice to see. I can say I have seen more graphic films and films that leave more to the imagination, but this one finds a nice groove between the two and keeps the interest for 80 minutes (a short runtime for any film to be sure.)The “twist” is reasonable, but the real reason you go to see this movie is because you were the kid way too into the ghost story on the camping trip. Ultimately Devilator plays out like a high quality “Twilight Zone” episode and that isn’t a bad thing. I would definitely be willing to see the next one in this series, given that another young director is working with Shymalan’s work again. If you were into his early works and want to see a movie with a very small time commitment check this out.Josh Rhoten is the General Assignment Reporter at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in Cheyenne, Wyo. He studied journalism, film and political science at the University of Northern Colorado. You can reach him at Rhot9839@gmail.com