Devil

Devil (also known as The Devil) is a 2010 American supernatural horror film directed by John Erick Dowdle. The screenplay by Brian Nelson was from a story by M. Night Shyamalan. Starring Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Geoffrey Arend, Bojana Novakovic, Jenny O'Hara, and Bokeem Woodbine, the film revolves around five strangers who become trapped in an elevator. Devil was released on September 16, 2010. Critics praised the film's atmosphere and performances, but criticized the short running-time and story. Plot A Bible verse, 1 Peter 5:8, appears onscreen. An unseen man narrates with a story about his childhood, where his mother explained the circumstances that surround The Devil roaming the earth. A man jumps to his death from a skyscraper, leaving a suicide note about the Devil's approaching presence. Shortly thereafter, an elevator in the building gets stuck with five people inside: a temporary security guard, a mechanic/former Marine, a mattress salesman, a young woman, and an elderly woman. A repairman cannot get the elevator working and nearly dies while attempting to do this. In the elevator, the lights frequently flicker and turn off completely for intervals. During an interval, one of the security guards, Ramirez, watching through the security camera sees a face on the monitor he believes is the devil, but his partner Lustig doubts it. At the same time, the young woman feels something on her back and the group becomes suspicious of the mattress salesman. When the lights return, the young woman has a bite mark on her back and the salesman has blood on his hands. Detective Bowden, who was investigating the earlier suicide, is called to the scene. The lights go out again, and the elevator mirrors break. When the lights return, the mattress salesman's jugular vein is impaled with a broken mirror shard and he dies, escalating it into a crime scene investigation. Outside, security guards, the repair technician, and the fire department attempt to get in, to no avail. The passengers begin to suspect each other, while the security guards monitoring through the camera talk to them one-way via the speaker, as they cannot hear the passengers. As the group argues, the repair technician's rappelling device breaks and he falls to his death on top of the elevator, terrifying the occupants. Ramirez tries to convince the detectives that this could be The Devil's Meeting, but is unsuccessful.