1) DEVIL

Director: John Erick Dowdle
Stars: Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Jenny O'Hara, Bojana Novakovic, Bokeem Woodbine, Geoffrey Arend, Jacob Vargas
Year: 2010
Rating: PG-13

M. Night Shyamalan has developed a bad rep for mediocre films, of late. While producing and providing the story for Devil (he neither directed nor wrote the screenplay, as some would believe) - and while Devil has, itself, gotten its share of a bad reputation for having Shyamalan attached - the film itself is an effective, sometimes quite creepy little gem that aims to do nothing more than entertain; on that level, it succeeds quite well.

A security guard named Ramirez (played by Jacob Vargas - one of the best, most underrated actors working today) narrates the story, telling viewers in voice-over about a tale his mother always used to tell him as a child, about how each time someone commits suicide a door is opened that allows the devil to come to our world and claim some lost souls as his own. But first the devil torments and tortures these souls, prior to taking them ... so when the film begins with a guy taking a header from the thirty-fifth floor of a high-rise in downtown Philadelphia, we know that truly bad mojo is on the way.

Even as Detective Bowden (effectively played by Julie and Julia's Chris Messina) - a homicide cop with his own issues, still dealing with the loss his wife and child to a hit-and-run accident years ago - starts his investigating of the suicide (he happened to be in the area when it occurred), inside the same building five complete strangers have just stepped aboard elevator number 6, on their way up, when the elevator becomes stuck between floors. Disconcerted and annoyed at first, the small group of people - a mechanic named Tony (Logan Marshall-Green), a cranky old lady (Jenny O'Hara), a young, beautiful woman named Sarah (Bojana Novakovic), a temp security guard named Ben (Bokeem Woodbine), and a sleazy, smart-mouthed mattress salesman named Vince (Geoffrey Arend) - all become increasingly more alarmed when the security staff in the building keeps telling them they will get them out, yet all attempts to do so seem to fail.

Then things get even weirder as the lights start to flicker in the elevator, going in and out ... and each time they go out, something bad happens in the elevator, until finally one of the occupants, under cover of darkness, is murdered right there in the car.

This is when Detective Bowden comes aboard - but also when Ramirez sees something strange on the tapes, when he rewinds the footage from the elevator. It's a face, the face of the devil himself, and as the body count adds up it becomes apparent that the devil himself is in the elevator with his victims ... and that any attempts by humans to interfere will not be tolerated until the devil finishes his work and collects the souls of those sinners targets for damnation. Each person in the elevator has his or her dirty little secret to hide, and even those watching the events play are not where they are by accident.

Devil is, as said, a creepy little thriller that doesn't pack a huge punch, but should still get under your skin. The cast is uniformly excellent, and even if the mechanics of having most of the violence happening when the lights go out might grow a bit repetitive, at the same time it does keep the gore level down and makes the viewer, instead, use his or her own imagination against them about what's happening, effectively creating tension and suspense that works. Viewers enjoying the ride should be kept guessing right until the end, and even the last-minute twist in plot might not be the most shocking by the time you get there, but it still satisfies and provides a strong close to the story, tying up loose ends. I don't know that it will make anyone watching it creep out over their next elevator ride (I didn't think about it until I got on a full one for the first time), but at just eighty minutes Devil is a short, sweet little suspense tale worth catching. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome