Bojana Novakovic in "Devil" (Photo courtesy of Kerry Hayes/Universal Pictures)

(USA, 2010, 80 mins)

The premiere of “Devil” left much to be desired and some wondering when M. Night Shyamalan will make another movie that can measure up to the likes of “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs”.

“Devil” tells the tale of five strangers, one of whom is possessed by the Devil, trapped in an elevator bound for Hell. Each of the five are struggling with their own personal demons and quickly turn against each other rather than follow the typical method of banning together to ward off a killer. The tagline “Bad things happen for a reason” is prominently displayed in numerous ads for “Devil”, and the movie itself can be described as just that.

The beginning of the movie is not recommended for those prone to motion sickness, as they take you on a thrilling ride through downtown Philadelphia – upside down. A death and a looming thunderstorm get the ball rolling in this film – reminiscent of a meeting between the movie “The Exorcist” and the popular board game Clue. Throw in classic scary movie themes such as hallucinations, a race against time, and a last-minute resurrection of the dead and, voila! - you have M. Night Shyamalan’s next disappointment. Kudos to Chris Messina who plays Detective Bowden, and to Logan Marshall-Green and Bojana Novakovic, who star as two of the five people trapped in the elevator. However, even their positive performances couldn’t save this movie from being on track to be another box office bomb.

I went into the movie theater with hopes that M. Night Shyamalan would be able to terrify me while simultaneously make me think – something he once did so well. However, all I left with was a little voice screaming in the back of my head that asking for my money back would not be the classy thing to do. 

Reach Reporter Kellie Graham here

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