Devil (2010)

Director:

John Erick Dowdle

Writers (WGA):

Brian Nelson (screenplay)
M. Night Shyamalan (story)

Release Date:

17 September 2010 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Bad Things Happen For A Reason

Plot:

A group of people are trapped in an elevator and the Devil is mysteriously amongst them.

Plot Keywords:

Elevator | Trapped In An Elevator | Devil | Suicide | Hit And Run

Cast

Chris Messina	...	Detective Bowden
Logan Marshall-Green	...	Mechanic
Jenny O'Hara	...	Old Woman
Bojana Novakovic	...	Young Woman
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Guard
Geoffrey Arend	...	Salesman
Jacob Vargas	...	Ramirez
Matt Craven	...	Lustig
Joshua Peace	...	Detective Markowitz (as Josh Peace)
Caroline Dhavernas	...	Elsa Nahai
Joe Cobden	...	Dwight
Zoie Palmer	...	Cheryl
Vincent Laresca	...	Henry
Rudy Webb	...	Old Janitor
Craig Eldridge	...	Donnelly
Robert Lee	...	Chinese Man
Genadijs Dolganovs	...	Janitor
Joe Pingue	...	Business Bureau Clerk
Killian Gray	...	Uni
Michael Rhoades	...	Fire Captain
Kelly Jones	...	Firefighter Kurtzy
Lee Oliveira	...	Firefighter #2
Jonathan Potts	...	Wayne Kazan
Alice Poon	...	Officer Choi
Stacy Chbosky	...	Car Crash Woman
Jay Hunter	...	Firefighter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mark Baldesarra	...	Coroner (uncredited)
Shannon Garnett	...	The Executioner (uncredited)
Kimberly Ables Jindra	...	Black Tears Woman (uncredited)
Gage Munroe	...	Jesse Bowden (uncredited)
Farzad Sadrian	...	Man (uncredited)

Directed by
John Erick Dowdle

Writing credits (WGA)
Brian Nelson		(screenplay)
M. Night Shyamalan		(story)

Produced by
Joseph Boccia	....	line producer
Drew Dowdle	....	executive producer
Trish Hofmann	....	executive producer
Sam Mercer	....	producer
Ashwin Rajan	....	co-producer
John Rusk	....	co-producer
M. Night Shyamalan	....	producer

Original Music by
Fernando Velázquez

Cinematography by
Tak Fujimoto

Film Editing by
Elliot Greenberg

Casting by
Robin D. Cook
Debra Zane

Production Design by
Martin Whist

Art Direction by
Nigel Churcher
Patrick M. Sullivan Jr.		(one segment)

Costume Design by
Erin Benach

Makeup Department
Joe Badiali	....	special makeup effects technician
Amber Chase	....	assistant makeup artist
Karola Dirnberger	....	head hairstylist
Liz Gruszka	....	assistant makeup artist
Jenn Hall	....	makeup effects technician
Robert Hall	....	special makeup designer: Almost Human, Inc
Glen Hanz	....	sculptor: Almost Human, Inc.
Christine Hart	....	makeup department head
Stephanie Ingram	....	assistant hair stylist
Hiroshi Katagiri	....	sculptor: Almost Human Inc
Mandy Ketcheson	....	contact lens technician
Brian Kinney	....	assistant makeup artist
Dalton Kutsch	....	special makeup effects technician: Almost Human Inc.
Clayton Martinez	....	makeup effects technician
Linda Montgomerie	....	assistant hair stylist
Christopher Allen Nelson	....	special makeup effects artist
Douglas Noe	....	makeup artist
Erik Porn	....	special makeup effects supervisor: Almost Human Inc.
Shane Zander	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Joseph Boccia	....	production manager
Abby Callahan	....	post-production supervisor
Carol Dantuono	....	post production executive
Trish Hofmann	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Adam Bocknek	....	trainee assistant director
Jack Boem	....	second assistant director
Divya D'Souza	....	trainee assistant director
Adam Druxman	....	first assistant director
Gerrod Shully	....	second assistant director
Charles Simmers	....	second assistant director

Art Department
David Best	....	graphic designer
Deryck Blake	....	property master
Jody Lynn Clement	....	set designer
Brian Cranstone	....	on set carpenter
Carly Davenport	....	art department apprentice
Chris Deeley	....	lead man
David G. Fremlin	....	set designer
W.D. Hogan	....	storyboard artist (as David Hogan)
Jen Jacobsen	....	set decoration buyer
Elena Kenney	....	set decoration buyer
Matthew Lammerich	....	key scenic artist
Erin Leslie	....	scenic artist
Jim Magdaleno	....	storyboard artist
Rob McCallum	....	storyboard and concept artist
Charles McGlynn	....	assistant property master
Michael Meade	....	props buyer
Steve Middlebrook	....	on set dresser
Jim Peters	....	key greens
Andrew Redekop	....	assistant art director
Barton Rendulic	....	assistant art director (as Bartol Rendoluc)
Dawn Rivard	....	art department coordinator
Robert Rozycki	....	art department apprentice
Douglas Slater	....	set designer
George Venckus	....	lead man

Sound Department
Robert Althoff	....	mix technician
Kerry Ann Carmean	....	sound editor
Marc Fishman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Glen Gauthier	....	sound mixer
Nerses Gezalyan	....	sound mixer
Gary A. Hecker	....	supervising foley artist
Michael Hertlein	....	adr editor
John 'Wheels' Hurlbut	....	on set Pro Tools operator
Daniel J. Leahy	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jason McFarling	....	second boom operator
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer
Kelly Oxford	....	sound designer
Kelly Oxford	....	supervising sound editor
Katie Rowe	....	foley artist
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Steve Switzer	....	boom operator
Karen Vassar Triest	....	sound effects editor (as Karen Triest)
Tim Walston	....	sound designer
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist

Special Effects by
Warren Appleby	....	special effects
Joe Badiali	....	makeup effects technician
Tim Barraball	....	special effects foreman
Frank Iudica	....	special effects supervisor: additional photography
Fiona MacPherson	....	special effects shop coordinator
Brendon O'Dell	....	special effects coordinator: additional photography
David Reaume	....	special effects technician
Rob Sanderson	....	special effects coordinator
Neil Trifunovich	....	special effects on set
Daniel White	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Geeta Basantani	....	senior compositor: matte painter
Raoul Bolognini	....	visual effects producer
Joey Bonander	....	visual effects coordinator
Kristen Branan	....	head of production: Zoic Studios
Aaron Brown	....	digital compositor
Eric Cowan	....	digital artist
Andrew G. Cox	....	visual effects coordinator
Mark Dornfeld	....	visual effects supervisor
Michele Ferrone	....	visual effects producer
Jordan Flanagan	....	on set vfx assistant
Adam Gass	....	digital editorial
Sheila Giroux	....	visual effects coordinator
Glen Hanz	....	sculptor: Almost Human, Inc.
Travis Wade Ivy	....	digital compositor
Eric Koo	....	sculptor: Almost Human, Inc.
Paulina Kuszta	....	visual effects coordinator
Charles Lai	....	digital compositor
Nicholas Lund-Ulrich	....	digital compositor
Morgan McDermott	....	digital compositor
Rocco Passionino	....	visual effects supervisor
Henry Peng	....	digital artist
Kenton Rannie	....	digital compositor
Marco Recuay	....	visual effects supervisor: Scoundrel
Chris Roff	....	visual effects producer
Shaun Roth	....	visual effects artist
Harrison Rutherford	....	digital compositor
Nik Slotiuk	....	cg artist
Kevin Struckman	....	cg supervisor
Wilson Tang	....	digital restoration
Martin Tori	....	on set visual effects supervisor
Kris Wood	....	playback supervisor
Kelvin Yee	....	digital compositor
Matt Yeoman	....	digital compositor
Tong Zhou	....	CG artist: Zoic Vancouver
Holli Alvarado	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Maxx Burman	....	concept artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Gary Guercio	....	stunt coordinator (additional scenes)
Dana Jones	....	stunt double
Jamie Jones	....	stunt coordinator
Riley Jones	....	stunt double: mechanic
Spencer Jones	....	stunt double: Salesman
Sue Parker	....	stunt double
Daryl Patchett	....	stunt double
Peter Schindelhauer	....	stunt double: Dwight
Steve 'Shack' Shackleton	....	stunt rigger
Peter Yan	....	stunt double: Guard

Camera and Electrical Department
Max Armstrong	....	assistant camera
Barrett Axford	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Russel Bowie	....	first assistant camera
Rocky Brown	....	rigging grip
Hugh Brule	....	best boy rigging grip
Kevin Craine	....	generator operator
Alex Dawes	....	lead set wireman
Nigel Draper	....	board operator
Candide Franklyn	....	camera operator
John Frost	....	cinematographer: opening sequence
Dianne L. Haggarty	....	grip
Kerry Hayes	....	still photographer
David Herrington	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Brian E. Hill	....	grip
Bill Hong	....	camera car operator
Patrick King	....	dolly grip
Patrick Krauter	....	dolly grip: "b" camera
Marek Krawczyk	....	lighting technician
Edward Lipscombe	....	best boy rigging grip
Walter Lipscombe	....	key rigging grip
Tim Lovell	....	rigging best boy
Mark Manchester	....	key grip
Robert McRae	....	gaffer
Mark Moher	....	camera trainee
Anthony Nocera	....	digital video assist operator
Norman O'Halloran	....	electrician (as Norm O'Holloran)
Phil Pastuhov	....	aerial director of photography
John Piva	....	genny operator: basecamp
Douglas G. Reid	....	best boy electric
Neil Saito	....	electrician
Darren Spriet	....	assistant camera

Casting Department
Douglas Aibel	....	casting: New York
Shayna Markowitz	....	casting assistant
Adela Tirado	....	extras casting assistant (as Sarah Adela Tirado)
Tannis Vallely	....	casting associate
Lisa Zambetti	....	additional casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kate Bond	....	costumer
Christina Cattle	....	set costume supervisor
Nancy Da Silva	....	costume cutter (as Nancy Coulson-Dasilva)
Jay Du Boisson	....	assistant costume designer
Karen Lee	....	costume buyer
Lindsay McKay	....	assistant costume designer
Kathleen Meade	....	costume supervisor
Susan Nycz	....	key costumer

Editorial Department
Doug Caron	....	assistant editor
Michael Dobroski	....	colorist
Shaun Paul Gordon	....	post-production coordinator (as Shaun Gordon)
Michael Hatzer	....	digital intermediate colorist: Technicolor
Chris Jensen	....	senior digital colorist assist
Rui Martins	....	digital dailies
Blair Miller	....	assistant editor
Bob Peishel	....	digital intermediate producer
Mark Sahagun	....	digital intermediate editor
Jeff Smithwick	....	color timer
Matt Tassone	....	first assistant editor
Dan Williams	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Christoph Bauschinger	....	music editor
Andy Brown	....	score contractor
Jessica Dannheisser	....	orchestrator
Robert Elhai	....	orchestrator
Tanya Noel Hill	....	music editor
Elisa Kustow	....	music production coordinator
Stephen McLaughlin	....	music producer
Jennifer Nash	....	temp music editor
Fernando Velázquez	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Gord Bettles	....	picture car mechanic
Bill Boyd	....	picture car co-captain
Jason Leeking	....	transportation co-captain
Paul Marshall	....	transportation captain
John Ozlins	....	transportation coordinator
John Ratushniak	....	picture car mechanic
Jeff Taylor	....	driver: honeywagon
Dave Wilson	....	picture car captain

Other crew
Scott Alexander	....	assistant location manager
Tal Aulbrook	....	production assistant
John Bardswich	....	project manager
Kristofer Barton	....	production assistant
Matt Coatsworth	....	assistant to the director
Bernadette Couture	....	stand-in
Catherine Crawford	....	assistant location manager
John Gaskin	....	production accountant
Madeline Good	....	assistant: Mr. Shyamalan
Jason Haney	....	production assistant
Julie Hansen	....	post production accountant
Tim Hay	....	assistant to producer
Richard Hughes	....	location manager
Ashley Kravitz	....	clearance coordinator
Emily Kulasa	....	production assistant (2011)
Emily Kulasa	....	production secretary
Tori Larsen	....	production assistant
Michael Larson	....	production assistant
Lisa Liberati	....	assistant: Mr. Shyamalan
Megan Lurty	....	set production assistant
Luis M. Mendoza	....	assistant location manager
David Midgen	....	titles producer
Terri Ann Myers	....	assistant production coordinator
Shamu Naidu	....	third assistant accountant
Teresa Nance	....	craft service
Jeffrey Pallotta	....	set production assistant
Jillian Sabean	....	assistant production coordinator
Lisa Shamata	....	unit publicist
Sat Sidhu	....	on-set tutor
Rick Skyler	....	production assistant
China Smith	....	assistant: Mr. Shyamalan
Dave Ian Smith	....	fire trucks
Ricky Staub	....	assistant to Mr. Mercer
Alan Sutton	....	firefighter coordinator
Aulbrook Tal	....	production assistant
Erin Tambellini	....	additional script supervisor
David Vogt	....	helicopter pilot: Philadelphia
Peter Wentzel	....	finance executive

Production Companies

• Media Rights Capital
• Night Chronicles
• Relativity Media

Distributors

• Finnkino (2010) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Forum Cinemas (2010) (Lithuania) (theatrical)
• Solar Entertainment (2010) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Toho-Towa (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2010) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2010) (Greece) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2010) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2010) (Poland) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2010) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2010) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2010) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2011) (UK) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2011) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2011) (Finland) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2011) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2011) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Waylen Group (2011) (Taiwan) (video)
• Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2010) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Acme F/X (special effects)
• Almost Human (special makeup effects)
• Custom Film Effects
• Zoic Studios

Other Companies

• Air Lyndhurst Studios  music recorded at (as Air Studios, London)
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Digital Media Services (DMS)  digital marketing asset management
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Dragoni Film Supplies  expendables supplier
• Dsire Design  official website design
• Gallagher Entertainment  insurance (uncredited)
• Intelligent Media  international monitoring agency
• London Metropolitan Orchestra  music performed by
• Mode HQ  post-production
• Picture Mill, The  main titles
• Picturecars North  picture vehicle supplier
• Pinewood Toronto Studios  stages
• SLx - Rentals & Sales  cmotion lens control system
• Soundelux  post-production sound services
• Tattersall Sound  Avid rentals
• Tattersall Sound  post-production facilities
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack
• William F. White International  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images, thematic material and some language including sexual references

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Ukrainian | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #46275) | Malaysia:PG-13 | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Japan:G | Netherlands:16 | Spain:16 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Canada:14+ (TV rating) | France:U (with warning)

Filming Locations:

Bay Adelaide Centre - 333 Bay St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Media Rights Capital

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [M. Night Shyamalan] [Philadelphia, PA]The film takes place in Philadelphia, and the detective is from the Philadelphia Police Department.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the crashed car with the cop's family is shown, the kid was thrown through the windshield (there is a hole), although the car was hit on its side.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ramirez:[voiceover] When I was a child, my mother would tell me a story about how the Devil roams the Earth. Sometimes, she said, he would take human form so he could punish the damned on Earth before claiming their souls. The ones he chose would be gathered together and tortured as he hid amongst them, pretending to be one of them. I always believed my mother was telling me an old wives' tale.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ask That Guy with the Glasses: AskThatGuy 57 (#3.11)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

DON'T SIT UNDER THE APPLE TREE

The elevator equivalent of Lifeboat and Ten Little Indians

M. Night Shyamalan is one of those love him or hate him directors for whom there's no middle ground, so it hasn't helped that he's given his detractors a lot to crow about with his recent downward spiral with successively poor to abysmal movies ranging from The Lady in the Water to 2010's biggest stinker, The Last Airbender. It's been a critical pile-on for the one time golden boy who wowed audiences and critics alike with The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.

Things have gotten so bad that when the trailer for Devil hit theatres with the on-screen tag line "From the Mind of M. Night Shyamalan", guffaws were reported from audiences and on-line gadflies like Perez Hilton had a field day posting viral videos mocking the promos.

All of which is too bad because not only is Devil a compelling, riveting bit of movie making, but Shyamalan's involvement was limited to writing the story and co-producing, which, given his recent track record, was probably for the best.

Smartly directed by John Erick Dowdle, whose last effort was Quarantine, the equally tight and faithful remake of the Spanish horror REC, Devil marks the first instalment in a trilogy of films dubbed The Night Chronicles, which revolve around the supernatural in modern urban settings (the second film is tentatively titled Reincarnate, about the jurors of a murder trial who are haunted by a supernatural being, and Unbreakable 2 rumoured as the third instalment).

In Devil's case, the plot could easily function as a textbook case of film school 101, tasking a writer and director to fashion a small story, restricted in scope, set in the cramped environment of a stalled elevator. You can almost hear film school professors saying "if you can pull this off, you can do anything". Happily, Dowdle succeeds with flying colours.

Devil is as compelling as the story is confined. It's smart from beginning to end, almost like the hybrid elevator equivalent of Hitchcock's Lifeboat and Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. A disparate group boards a Philadelphia office tower elevator, only to become trapped between floors and mortally victimized by someone among them who clearly possesses supernatural ability every time the lights flicker and momentarily go out.

Don't look for spoilers here as I won't be providing any. Suffice to say that Devil is one of the most smartly written, acted, and directed films I've had the pleasure to enjoy this year.

Who knows, maybe this is the beginning of Shyamalan's road back to respectability. If nothing else, it shows that he still has the chops as a top notch story teller.