Devil (2010)

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

Director:

John Erick Dowdle

Writers:

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

Stars:

Chris Messina, Caroline Dhavernas, Bokeem Woodbine

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In Philadelphia, Detective Bowden is still grieving for his wife and son, killed in a hit-and-run five years ago. When someone jumps from a skyscraper onto a truck, Bowden is sent to investigate. Meanwhile, five strangers are trapped in an elevator in the building where the jumper committed suicide. The communication radio in the elevator is broken but the guards, Lustig and Ramirez, observe the individuals via CCTV as events unfold. Tensions run high among those trapped, so Lustig calls the police and Detective Bowden assumes the case. Without being able to contact the individuals, he tries to work out who they are, but he can only account for four of them. Time is running out for the occupants of the elevator, as Bowden realizes he has to get them out quickly.

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Plot Keywords:

devil | throat slitting | supernatural horror | elevator | trapped in an elevator | 

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Taglines:

On any ordinary day, our lives are filled with chance encounters and random events. But today everything happens for a reason. This fall, one of these five people is not who they appear to be.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Universal [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Ukrainian Spanish

Release Date:

17 September 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Devil

Filming Locations:

Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,289,375, 19 September 2010

Gross USA:

$33,601,190

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$62,695,489

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Media Rights Capital (MRC), Night Chronicles

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All five characters who get on the elevator have the color red in common: the Mechanic's satchel, the Old Woman's hair, the Young Woman's nails, the insignia on the Guard's uniform, and the Salesman's tie are all red.

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Goofs

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.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

Upside down shots from a helicopter of a city as the opening credits roll.

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Connections

Featured in Nostalgia Critic: Top 11 Funniest Shyamalan Moments (2016)

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Soundtracks

DON'T SIT UNDER THE APPLE TREE
Written by Lew Brown, Sam H. Stept, Charles Tobias
Performed by The Bone Bird and the Dock Flock Brass
Courtesy of Alanna Records

User Reviews

Satisfying

Maybe 7 out of 10 is generous but I mark it highly perhaps because I had such low expectations which were thankfully unnecessary.

This film's credits open with the title The Night Chronicles 1 which suggests to me his fan-boy homage to Spielberg has stretched to emulating the guru's Amazing Stories phase. This film does feel rather like one of those episodes rather than a full-blown movie: no stars, little location etc.

However, as a story, it's rather good (suspension of disbelief taken for granted).

And, it's rather well handled directorially. For instance, the upside-down sklyline speaks volumes without costing any extra.

The film is ultimately a whodunnit. Maybe I'm stupid but come betting slip time, I didn't get it. If you do, you may hate it. I didn't so I don't. Besides, I haven't seen this Christian propaganda in a while & it made me kinda nostalgic for those Omen days.