I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but M. Night Shyamalan is associated with this film. Boy, you'd never know it from watching it, though - set in Philly, double-twist ending, guilt-addled protagonists, a heavy dose of spirituality...it's unlike anything he's ever done before!All jokes aside, at least there were no scenes involving the stars talking to plastic trees.
It's quite possible that the lowered expectations we have from a "Night" film these days will assist your experience with Devil, as they did with mine (yes, I know, he didn't direct, but as mentioned, his fingerprints are all over it). At its base, Devil is merely a spook story, a convention known as a "Devil's Meeting," rooted in South American folklore, in which el diablo appears on earth to perform some sort of a test on a group of unwilling participants. (The filmed version of Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" coming soon to a theater near you!)
As such a story, it mildly succeeds. The stock characters are there because they are stock characters - your preconceptions about the traits that they hold only serve the premise that much better. Though the film is hampered by overbearing, inescapable narration, overly predictable jump scares and a 'gotcha' ending (followed by a decent one), it's enjoyable enough as a pulpy story to warrant a rental on a dark and stormy Friday night in your future.
 | Expectation: "Whatever." |
 | Reality: "You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you." |
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