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What is Devil? It’s a new movie directed by the Dowdle Brothers (the skillful Quarantine](http://www.moviefone.com/movie/quarantine/31914/main)) with a script by Brian Nelson (30 Days of Night](30 Days of Night (2007) - Movie | Moviefone), Hard Candy](Hard Candy (2005) - Movie | Moviefone)) from a story by M. Night Shyamalan (uh… well, you know). It is also the coolest high concept I’ve heard in a long time. The plot of the Shyamalan-produced project was tightly under wraps, but some online sleuthing by Slashfilm](http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/10/17/more-cast-revealed-for-shyamalans-devil-and-also-the-films-premise-maybe/) this weekend uncovered some hints, including possibly the greatest log line of all time.
The logline: “A group of people are trapped in an elevator, and one of them is the devil.”
Right off the bat I should say that I have an almost irrational affection for movies that take Satan seriously as a walking, talking character. (As opposed to a tormenting spirit a la The Exorcist, which is also cool, but a whole different animal.) When The Devil’s Advocate](The Devil's Advocate (1997) - Movie | Moviefone) came out, I was obsessed with it for months. And I always find myself willing to tolerate a lot of crap from movies like End of Days](End of Days (1999) - Movie | Moviefone) for the same reason. My biases also include a love for claustrophobic little thrillers with a psychological bent. (This one almost sounds like something dreamed up by David Mamet.) And have I mentioned that getting stuck in an elevator is a long-standing phobia of mine?
I’m also a Shyamalan apologist, and his involvement in this isn’t surprising: like all of his films, Devil is conceptually brilliant. It’s the execution that’s in question. The linked Slashfilm post reveals a few more details, none of them as interesting as that ridiculously beguiling conceit, which might be a bad sign.
Continue reading New Shyamalan Project Traps You in an Elevator. With Satan.