M. Night Shyamalan — wait, wait, don’t run away! — may or may not have peaked with his first film, “The Sixth Sense”, but he does seem to be a bit of a control freak when it comes to his movies, serving as a director…and writer…and producer…and sometimes actor, and perhaps this explains his less-than-wildly-successful subsequent creations.

That being said, Shyamalan’s newest film, “Devil”, relies less upon his self-proclaimed cornucopia of talents and focuses upon his strengths.  He is responsible for the story but Brian Nelson wrote the screenplay, and serves as a producer for the film, but he is not directing.  “Devil” is the first in the “Night Chronicles Trilogy”, a series of films dealing with the presence of the supernatural within contemporary urban environments that he will be producing but not directing.

The Road to Hell is Paved…by M. Night Shyamalan

Set for release on September 17th, “Devil” may illustrate how good dialogue and plot development transcend grandiose sets and exotic locales.  How will it do this?  It takes place in an elevator.  Five individuals find themselves together in an elevator one morning, and that’s all it takes for the normalcy to end and the supernatural to begin.  Many a spooky event transpires, including mysterious bite marks and power outages.  The cause?  It’s the Devil, naturally, who may or may not be one of the elevator passengers.  The tagline states, “Sometimes Bad Things Happen for a Reason.”

Home Sweet Home…With a Twist!

Shyamalan’s past successes cannot be ignored.  While “The Happening” was the worst movie I’ve ever seen, he had some moderate box office success with “Unbreakable” and “Signs”, despite mixed reviews.  If nothing else, M. Night Shyamalan should be appreciated because of his predilection for setting films in and around Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs.

Let’s all admit it…Philadelphians get a rush of pride when we see images of Philadelphia on the silver screen.  Scenes set in Rittenhouse Square find me searching for my favorite reading bench; I see a SEPTA bus and get excited until I remember that I can’t stand SEPTA.  Such moments join us together in collective support of our city, and Shyamalan utilizes that patriotism to draw in viewers.

How Scary Can Two Hours in an Elevator Actually Be?

In a perfect world, “Devil” will have escaped Shyamalan’s Achilles heel…that is, storylines that have become predictable in their routine unpredictability.  We’ve all come to expect the twist at the end of each film, which completely belies the point of a twist in the first place.  However, let’s reiterate…it is only as a writer and producer that Shyamalan is on the chopping block, and one can hope that NYU gave him the know-how not to bungle what appears to be a promising monster movie.  Remember, September 17th…hope for the best, but bring your rotten tomatoes in preparation of the worst.