So Satan Walks into This Elevator...

that · Originally posted by BurnHollywoodBurn

"DEVIL,ARE YOU GOING UP OR DOWN?" "WHAT DO YOU THINK?"(***/*****):

So what is the problem with this movie?It breaks a rule.Let's say you make a movie where a man is in love with 2 women.The audience will know the possible outcomes(he chooses one,both or neither).You can't make a movie where the premise gives you the outcomes,like here.Somebody will eventually figure out the ending.Not to mention people will think too much about it the entire movie instead of enjoying it,specially where they tell there's gonna be a twist ending no matter what.

I didn't judge the twist at all.If there's anything we learned from M. Night Shyamalan is that twists can be so overrated to the point they're considered the most important part of the movie,specially twist endings.Actually,it was kind of good for him to give away that there was gonna be a twist.A lot of people hate them because they feel cheated.By the way,I feel I should point out something unfair.Had this movie been bad,people would've said his career bombed,but if it had been good,people would've said the director should take credit.

Speaking of him,by the Rule Of 3,it's fair to judge John Erick Dowdle.His 3 movies have been average for different reasons,but they all scare you.Here,it'll be mostly cheap thrills.It doesn't get truly suspenseful until the last part.But it's worth it.Not to mention how hard it is to make a story interesting in such a confined space.Although I'm not saying he's in the same level as Danny Boyle in 127 HOURS(this one doesn't take place almost entirely in the elevator).

As for the story,is not different from the others that come "from the mind of Shyamalan".Writer Brian Nelson dismisses a lot of the usual melodrama,but he keeps the episodic feel suited for a series and he increases it,making this movie forgettable.And the performances are suited for TV movies.Not because the actors aren't famous,but because they're weak(in particular,Bokeem Woodbine is very over the top).This will be the first of a trilogy where supernatural elements appear in modern day,and because the stories will be unrelated,it will make them all equally episodic.Is Shyamalan aware his movies are compared to episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE?

Although the events of the ending are unsatisfying,the ending as a whole is good.It pushes the right buttons to make you emotional,and when the credits start rolling with that creepy music,you realize your heart had been beating fast for several minutes,and it will continue for some more.Guess which is the only other movie in history that left me with that strange yet nice mix of emotions.THE 6TH SENSE.

Grades:C in the U.S. and 5,0 in Chile.
Originally posted by BurnHollywoodBurn

Still doesn't change the fact that thrillers should end on a wholly depressing note, which is what their tone should be.
The tone of the movie was suspenseful,which is how a thriller should be.How a movie ends,or with what it leaves you,it's up to the viewer.