[psycho d]

Devil (2010). It's no coincidence that I always seem to be on the elevator when it is inhabited by a beautiful chick, but that is more due to stalking than the supernatural. This movie's titular antihero is ostensibly on holiday, and his hobbies, coupled with a love of coincidence, make for great horror fare. Devil is a simple story that offers nothing new to the genre, but who says that each and every movie to come out must contain some riveting new cinematic expanse?

The story, simple though it was, worked due to its tightly knit plot. Though we are given the pretense that this is to be a supernatural thriller, and the omniscient narrator has all but confirmed this, there is just enough room for doubt as to the origins of Devil's confined tragedies. And although the denouement should have been seen a mile away, it pops out onto the scene as a welcomed twist, paving the way to an ending that might have been epic.

The direction was splendid, coming from that guy that gave us Quarantine, a creepy little number that stole its puissance almost scene for scene from the Spanish original. Here he proves that his skills are not only derived through cinematic thievery. When darkness falls, he smartly let's our imaginations do the dirty work, and the result is genuinely frightening, even when there is not much effort in guessing who's next on the victim list.

The opening cinematography was fantastic, hinting that this flick is about to turn our world's upside down. Once the story got going, for all we knew, the camera was held by the Devil himself, nefariously pinpointing his shopping list of souls. For the remainder, the camera deftly captured each moment with aplomb, almost as if after having proved his skills, Mr. camera guy was simply keen on helping to reveal the story.

The score was used to really set the tone in the beginning, which left me worried that the remainder of this film would be a disheartening ballet of score scares. Thankfully this prediction fell flat, and though sound itself played a great role in getting the goosebumps to rise, the score simply did its job, sharing in the work without dominating it.

In sum this was a tight little thriller whose only bald spot was its ending. And even though this last impression seemed a lame and safe bet for the masses, such a detraction is not enough to gloss over this crafty flick written and luckily NOT directed by Shyamalan. Merci.
d