When the trailer for Devil was shown before the midnight show of Scott Pilgrim, the audience seemed to be marginally engaged until the words ‘From the Mind of M. Night Shyamalan’ came on the screen and the whole place groaned. First film in the Night Chronicles, a project that hands Shyamalan stories off to other filmmakers, Devil really doesn’t deserve the groan. It isn’t perfect but it is a well made and taut thriller inspired by Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ and is a far better film than any of Shyamalan’s own last four films.

The basic conceit of the movie is told to the audience in voice over narration at the beginning. The devil will have a ‘Devil’s Meeting’ and gather together a group of people he plans to kill so he can take their souls to hell. This always starts with a suicide and he gets the people together to torment them before he kills them. The last death will be in front of someone they love and will be witnessed by people significant to the situation in some way.

And that is what happens. A group of people get into an elevator and it gets stuck and nothing anyone does to try to help works. Every once in awhile the lights in the elevator go out and someone in it is dead while building security and a homicide detective watch helplessly. Luckily one of the security guys is superstitious and knows the whole ‘myth’ so he can explain it to the other characters and help steer the thing toward a conclusion.

If I sound dismissive of the concept it is because it is the weakest link in the chain here. It is a bit too neat and tidy and can occasionally make you roll your eyes as it sets up rules just before it has to follow them. The element of the Devil’s Meeting is a contrivance created for the film and is not a legitimate mythology so it is basically just co-opting religion to create something new. There is nothing really wrong with that as films do this all the time but given the tidy bow this plot device wraps everything in it feels kind of forced. It is also hard to ignore that most of the story elements distill down to basically a remake of Signs without any aliens.

The story structure, on the other hand, works very well as it has done since Christie used it in the 30’s. This structure is used to great effect to ratchet up the tension as it legitimately keeps you on your toes. The roster of suspects continually changes as players are removed from the game and the detective work going on outside the elevator adds depth and texture to a film that could have felt overly claustrophobic.

I went in to Devil not expecting much but I came out really liking it. Despite its concept and story issues it is told and performed very well and I found myself completely engaged throughout the whole film and was satisfied at the end. This is a really good example of how good filmmakers can take something substandard or ordinary and turn it into something worthwhile. There is a lot of talent here and it paid off.

The direction from John Erick Dowdle is sure handed and well paced. He doesn’t linger too much on superfluous details and he understands the importance of pacing and timing in generating tension. Had Shyamalan been in the director’s chair, I am afraid the film would be much slower and more ponderous and in that have lost all of its impact. There is a place for quiet symbolism and I have appreciated how Shyamalan has given you information by showing instead of telling but in this case I think that style would have been a detriment to what the film needed to accomplish. As it was Dowdle had a good understanding of what the film needed and gave the audience exactly that. He uses the moments of darkness to great effect with terrific use of sound effects to suggest the action while letting your imagination fill in the blanks while at the same time adding to the anticipation of wh0 the next victim will be. As mentioned above, the trickling of information about the identities and backgrounds of the elevator’s passengers manages to increase the tension as opposed to distracting from it. A lesser director would have fumbled this bit but Dowdle deserves credit for keeping all of this together.

The performances help sell mood and tension as well. No one acts as if they are in a third rate melodrama and their seriousness adds the weight the film needs. There aren’t a lot of big names here but everyone does a great job if you will forgive the terrible line delivery of ‘TURN ON THE LIGHTS!’ Chris Messina, Bokeem Woodbine and Logan Marshall-Green are particular stand outs and Geoffrey Arend does a great job as well and shows that he isn’t just the luckiest man alive having landed Christina Hendricks.

Conclusion [8.5 out of 10]

Devil is not going to change anyone’s life but it is a very competent and well made thriller with a mystery element and strong performances that transcends the conceptual material. It is a bit heavy handed with the religion talk and message but it is so well made and paced so well that this is forgivable and doesn’t hamper enjoyment all that much. I almost wish that Shyamalan didn’t have anything to do with this because it deserves more of a look than it is getting. Hopefully it will find a home on blu-ray.