Speak of the Devil

Devil was an M. Night Shyamalan movie that got mediocre reviews and didn’t do too well at the box office. The premise is that a suicide at an office building left an opening for the devil to come after five people a little bit early. They’re trapped in an elevator and are slowly being tormented and killed. A cop who lost his family has to try and figure out what’s happening and to try and stop it.

I saw it on HBO Go. Despite what everyone else said, I quite like it. It’s plot driven and has some very intense moments. It doesn’t have the best pacing but I love the concept. Everyone has a different version of what hell is like. In Scandanavian, hell is a frozen wasteland. In No Exit, hell is other people. With so many different version of hell, there’s always a different version of who runs it.

When I first watched it, I got absorbed into it. This time I noticed a couple of things directors throw into movies for those of us nerdy enough to notice it. The building was 333. It was elevator 6 and two of the floors, 39 and 42, add up to 6. If 3 plays a prominent role, the car got stuck on 21 which adds up to 3. I saw the elevator display flashing but I couldn’t quite make it out. I think it said ‘devil.’

The Flyers appear twice but I think that’s more to establish location. The guards were watching a Flyers versus Bruins game and there was a Flyers jersey in the office where the guy jumped. As a Caps fan, I am amused by the Flyers association with the devil in this movie. The song ‘Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree’ remains a mystery to me. I’m guessing it’s the contrast of the perky up-beat song and the darkness of the situation.

The Devil’s Meeting is an interesting concept but it looks entirely dreamed up for the movie. I Googled it and didn’t see a reference to it anywhere else. If it’s called something else, I’d like to know.

Current Music: Get the Devil Out of Me by Delain