Day 207: "No, I don't believe in the Devil. People are bad enough by themselves."

I am a fan of good horror movies.  I am also not a fan of anything M. Night Shyamalan has been a part of since Unbreakable (also his best in my opinion).  Needles to say, I was absolutely floored when I watched Devil and found it to be an absolutely amazing horror movie.  Set, as anything touched by Mr. Shyamalan, in Philadelphia, Devil has a particularly distinct position in the horror genre as being the one movie where the religious character isn't the bats**t insane antagonist among the victims.  On the surface, Devil is about five people trapped in an elevator, tormented by, well, the Devil, while would be rescuers look on helplessly.  AS you strip away layers of the plot, this becomes a battle between good and evil for the souls of those five individuals.  It looks at forgiveness and the inherent power in the act of actually, genuinely forgiving another human being for his or her offense.  Like I said, I was floored after I watched this.  The director (not Shyamalan, but John Dowdle) went the route of putting the suspense and horror into the minds of the audience, as the gruesome acts are not seen, but heard.  I can only imagine what audiences in a dark theater with a great sound system went through during certain sequences.  It bordered, BORDERED, on Hitchcock-esque.

The cast was great in this as well, giving the story and their predicament real terror as their numbers began to dwindle.  There were not any big name stars here, but the actors did a marvelous job, and there were no insignificant roles.  As we found out more about the characters as the movie unfolded, I felt myself both rooting for and against them as circumstances warranted.  It was a weird feeling, and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

I really think M. Night Shyamalan has found his niche in the filmmaking process: come up with the story, let someone else make it while he produces the whole shebang.  If you like horror movies, definitely see this.  It is intense, claustrophobic, and attention grabbing.  I wish more horror movies took this route instead of the old cookie cutter, "more gore" style.  I loved Devil.  9.25/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!!