Devil

M. Night Shyamalan was once considered Hollywood's new wunderkind. After a few failures, however, critics, as well as former fans, have hardly been kind to the director. So it doesn't seem to be a bad idea that he didn't realize his latest script idea himself, but kept himself in the background as a producer.

"Devil" never even comes close to the cleverness and genius of "The sixth Sense", but in some moments it definitely shows Shyamalan's talent for thrilling supernatural stories again. The film takes place on a day, like any other. Or so it seems. But after a suicidal man jumps from the 32nd floor of a high-rise office building, events inside start to spiral. Five strangers become trapped in an elevator and every attempt to free them fails. When one of the occupants is then assaulted, the police officer (Chris Messina, "Julie & Julia") who is investigating the suicide is called in. But even he doesn't get much further. Worse, it soon becomes clear not only to those trapped inside, but also to their aides, that a bloodbath will ensue in the cramped cabin unless the door can be opened soon. But the sinister force that has its fingers in the pie here pursues a fixed goal, before the achievement of which many a life light will be blown out...

"Devil" is a nice little shocker, which gets along without much blood and holds only some purposefully used shock effects ready. The dark atmosphere, which is established right at the beginning with an atmospheric tracking shot over Philadelphia, and the claustrophobic elevator car in which a large part of the film takes place, provide the one or other moment of proper goosebumps through the clever use of lighting and sound effects. The actors have to fight the odd cliché and correspondingly flat dialogue, but do a pretty decent job overall.

What the film ultimately fails at, however, is, as is so often the case in this genre, the resolution. Here Shyamalan's signature is clearly recognizable, even if the surprise effect typical for him is almost completely absent. That it's ultimately about guilt, atonement and forgiveness is actually clear from the beginning and can therefore be betrayed at this point. And yet, the ending feels uninspired and despondent. Everyone who knows a little about this genre knows that especially the films are remembered for a long time, which in the end just follow the path they take at the beginning consistently to the end.

Sure, even with a gritty, uncompromising finale "Devil" would probably never have become a classic of the horror genre. But precisely because the film constantly uses familiar clichés, a surprise ending would have been exactly what would have made it stand out from the crowd. So the film, which is designed as the first part of the so-called "Night Chronicles" trilogy, is in the end just nice entertainment, but only because of the good camera work justifies a visit to the cinema, but otherwise could have absolutely passed as a home theater premiere.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp