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5 people get on an elevator, one of them is the Devil. It doesn’t get more complex than that. And since He’s less about moving in mysterious ways than his goody two-shoes competitor from upstairs he likes to takes matters directly in his own hands which of course ends up in a lot of bloodshed in such a small place. This is all witnessed by an ex-alcoholic cop through a CCTV system and a couple of building supervisors. Because He disturbs the signal en turns of the lights when he kills nobody knows who the attacker is and so The Devil gives us His version of the classic tale by Agatha Christie; 10 Little Indians/And Then There Were None.
Here’s some interesting info for you you might not know. Originally the book 10 Little Indians was released as 10 Little Niggers, but was changed for an American release. Now back to the movie.
Devil is part psychological thriller, part slasher with a supernatural element thrown in. The movie is only 75 minutes long and starts of with an impressive and at the same time eerie upside down flyover of Philadelphia. The flyover ends at the elevator shaft of an office building, clearly it displays the Devil traveling and arriving at the scene of his future antics.
There are five people and part of the game becomes trying to find clues as to who is the Devil. There’s a black man who has just begun working at this building, an annoying salesman, an old lady, an ex-marine and a young woman. The movie uses fairly unknown faces and gives each character a certain edge so it really is hard to guess which form He has taken.
But in the end that turned out to be not so important. The relationship between several people involved and the answer to “why these people?” are what matters most as it becomes the twist to the story.
Taking place in such a confined area this movie reminded me of movies like Saw, Exam and Cube. Movies made on a low budget which rarely make use of outside locations. It always makes these movies feel like direct to video, especially when combined with a cast of relative unknowns and being a horror movie.
It’s a fairly good movie, and with such a short running time it never gets tedious.