Where I Watched It: Amazon
English Audio Description?: Yes
The M. Night Shyamalan movie that technically is not his film, but feels unofficially his due to his oversight. Sort of like all the people I run into that think Jordan Peele directed that last Candyman film. I’m always like “You think the guy who made Get out, us, and Nope directed that?” Devil is a hot mess of circumstance, where it gives you the information it wants to give you so you will think it has expertly crafted this twisty masterpiece, but really it is a bunch of bullshit. It’s the equivalent of that guy who has lived his life inside a vacuum of approval, and has confused being fortunate with being right.
The long and short of it all is that at this random point in time, four people with sketchy pasts are stuck in an elevator with the titular character, but the audience has to try and figure out which one of the five in the elevator isn’t really who they say. The film throws every perfectly timed absurd detail into the film, confusing disclosure for dramatic weight, and wraps up the story in a way that makes it all look like we have a full circle moment, until you start to ask too many questions.
But what about…
Then who was…
But then why did they….
I knew the twist, because this movie came out 13 years ago, and people can’t keep a secret that long, and I still would have figured it out. There’s no sleight of hand. No magic trick. For a screenplay that even passed across the eyes of M. Night it is disappointing. The one bright spot is Chris Messina, who plays the cop tasked with all this nonsense. He has to wade his way through all this incomprehensible nonsense, and he does a good job of doing so.
Audio description wise, I’m pretty sure there was a human here. And, there are enough visual shenanigans for anyone who might actually enjoy this, that they would need to follow in order for this to have a prayer. Mostly, I don’t have a problem with any of the actors, just how their characters are written, but Messina is worth noting as a standout.
it perhaps still isn’t the worst thing M. night has ever touched, because I’m maybe a teardrop worth of impressed at how this script was formulated, I just wish the execution was better. I’d tell you there are better horror titles, better mysteries, better Chris Messina films, and certainly better projects done either in part or fullly by M Night Shyamalan.
Final Grade: D+
