Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

"Everybody believes in him a little bit, even guys like you who pretend they don't. "

In the spirit of "The Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan brings us "The Night Chronicles," a series of films based on his original ideas - but produced and directed by other filmmakers. That last part is key. If you look at the once unbreakable director's recent track record - The Last Airbender, The Happening, Lady in the Water, and The Village - it's an understatement to say this guy needs to re-evaluate a few things. And with Devil, the first of three planned Night Chronicles, it appears he's finally on the right track.

Shortly after five strangers board a high-rise express elevator, the elevator crashes to a halt, stuck several floors from the nearest exit. With annoying muzak and a broken in-car intercom, tempers rise and personalities clash. But life goes on, and surely it's just a matter of time before they get the elevator fixed.

Until people start dying.

Every time the lights flicker and darkness blankets the elevator, well, let's just say bad things happen. With a religious building security guard as our guide, it slowly becomes clear that one of these elevator passengers is not what he or she pretends to be. As he tells us in the wake of an atrocity witnessed on the building's close circuit cameras: "You must consider that one of these people might be the Devil."

The Picture

For a film that revolves around an elevator car, Devil still manages to create an appealing aesthetic. Rather than stay in the car the entire time, we frequently cut back to the guard station, the well-lit building lobby and other areas of the building where unwitting, ill-fated characters attempt to help our captives, thus presenting themselves as opponents in the Devil's wicked game.

In the guard station, skin tones look quite natural and the guards' crisp, white shirts have ample pop while avoiding clipping of detail. Firefighter uniforms with their yellow trim and matching helmets stand out nicely. Inside the elevator is a different story, with shadow detail suffering due to murky black levels whenever the Devil makes a move. A pleasing veneer of film grain is omnipresent throughout the film.

The Sound

Universal presents the film with a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack and it's a good one. Although much of the film is dialogue-driven, whenever those lights begin to flicker, you can rest assured you're in for a sonic treat as the Devil makes some mischief. The opening credit sequence is also noteworthy, in part because of its unique inverted cityscape, but also for the superb mood-setting score coming from the speakers.

The Extras

Unfortunately, bonus material on Devil is rather scant. Universal gives us a few deleted scenes and a trio of brief featurettes, but none delve beyond skin deep. That may be by design, as the film itself is a rather simple premise and its 81-minute run time wastes no time before diving into the heart of the matter. Universal's BD LIVE-enabled disc is also compatible with Universal's pocketBLU app and D-BOX motion control.

Final Thoughts

Devil didn't make a huge splash at the box office, and I don't see it receiving a lot of love online. And for once, I don't get it. I've seen it twice now, and I thought Devil was a hell of a lot fun. Its short and sweet running time really does give it the feel of a "Twilight Zone" episode and there's tons of fun to be had figuring out which one of these passengers is playing host to this "Devil's Meeting." My advice: see it soon, before someone spoils the superb ending!

Product Details

• Actors: Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Geoffrey Arend, Bojana Novakovic, Jenny O'Hara, Bokeem Woodbine, Jacob Vargas
• Director: John Erick Dowdle
• Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), DTS 5.1 (Spanish, French)
• Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 1
• Rating: R
• Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: December 21, 2010
• Run Time: 81 minutes
• List Price: $39.98
• Extras:
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Featurette: "The Story"
  • Featurette: "The Devil's Meeting"
  • Featurette: "The Night Chronicles"
  • D-BOX Motion Enabled
  • BD-LIVE
  • Digital Copy