MOVIE REVIEW - Devil

There is a little movie at the box office this week. All one hour and fifteen minutes of it, that is full of thrills, and suspense. M. Knight Shyamalan's Devil.

Devil comes off as a short story more than a movie, and that really is a huge asset to this compelling story of death, the belief in the Devil and a challenge to our spirituality. This movie could have veered off into gruesome-land or special effects heaven, but it doesn't. It's pure movie making.

Devil is the story of five non-related strangers that climb into an elevator in a Philadelphia skyscraper. The elevator then becomes jammed between floors. And one by one the people on this elevator start getting picked off and killed by some kind of supernatural force. All of our characters have a checkered past that fate has brought together. They are seemingly being punished for their life long wrongdoings.

All of this is going on as the building maintenance crew watch via camera, and feverishly try to free these people to safety. Bring in the police, with a lead detective that also has a storied past, and it's the best of all worlds. A perfect storm of unconnected stories coming together, paving he way for some heavy drama and serious irony.

Devil is a surprisingly good movie. This is a well done, short, to the point story, that keeps its focus squarely on the story, and doesn't fall in love with itself, and become something that it's not. As far as scary movies are concerned this is a small movie, only in budget and scale. But this is an interesting story that is told well.

Devil. It's a lot of things that are good. Dramatic, compelling, scary at times and overall fun for a jolt or two. Well done.