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

To promote the movie, director M. Night Shyamalan made a humorous parody video for the Internet, taking the premise of the movie, but instead having it take place on an escalator.

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Goofs

Initially Detective Bowden's beard is obvious and thick. Shortly afterwards, his beard is clearly not as thick as if he has shaved.

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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

Referenced in Cult Legends and Rising Stars: Cult Legends: Bokeem Woodbine (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

a cleverly executed exercise in fear and hysteria

Let me first start off by saying that I am in no shape, way or form a fan of M. Night Shylaman. From the get go with sixth sense I called that twist ending in the film;s first ten minutes and what remained for me was highly over rated. He followed that up the unintentionally laughable Unbreakable, and than with signs which was overly generic but executed well. Than came the questionable attempt lady in the water, the mega let down but nicely executed village and finally the big kick in the face the happening. Without a doubt one of the worst films ever made. But he should not be a deciding factor when it comes to this film because he's only come up with the story outline and he produced under his new production company. The main people responsible for this film are Brian Nelson who write the brilliant Hard Candy and John Erick Dowdle of The Poughkeepsie Tapes and Quarantine. So with that combo I had some expectations going in and the stylish and effective trailer and TV spots had spiked my interest to say the least. And here's what I thought. It just blew me away. This tightly executed psychological horror thriller left me speechless. From the opening credits which feature a reverse Philadelphia and an astounding classic thriller score I was intrigued. And as the film introduced it's story line and characters I became completely engaged. And as the film moved into it's main agenda I was on the edge of my seat with ample anticipation. And the finale well I'll just keep my mouth shut. But here's what I have to say with solid performances, suspenseful pacing, a clever and original story line and really good direction Devil is without a doubt one of the most effective genre pieces to come out in some time. Like it's characters you are held captive for it's entire running time. It's one of those classic suspense thrillers thats character based and just keeps working its angles and keeps you guessing until the very end. Sadly the movie is not without flaws but you should know to truly enjoy it you must succumb to the goofiness of its plot and some of the scenes that need to be inserted to move the film along. That being said what remains is a nifty, clever, sweaty palm inducing, intelligent exercise in fear and hysteria well worth the price of admission.