Devil

A routine elevator ride in a Philadelphia office tower goes abruptly wrong when a cable fault strands a handful of strangers between floors. As minutes stretch into hours, anxiety sharpens into accusation, and each passenger's story starts to unravel, revealing fears, secrets and possible motives. The action cuts from the cramped car to the street-level investigation led by Detective Bowden, whose piecing together of surveillance and witness reports adds a parallel thread. The film keeps its focus tight, trading action for claustrophobic atmosphere and interpersonal strain, and it asks whether ordinary people can still act morally when pressure and suspicion strip away civility.

Directed by John Erick Dowdle and released in 2010, Devil was built from a story by Brian Nelson with M. Night Shyamalan attached as a producer and creative consultant, helping steer the screenplay and marketing direction.

The movie opened as a modest theatrical release, promoted for its high-concept hook rather than star power. It recouped its costs and found an audience curious about the premise, though it did not reach blockbuster status.

Its simple setup, an elevator full of strangers and the claim that one of them is the devil, became a memorable shorthand in horror discussions. The film gets cited when people talk about tight, economy-of-means thrillers and about how a single confined set can generate sustained unease.

Reviews were mixed, with many critics noting strong performances from the ensemble while critiquing pacing and the reliance on a decisive reveal. Thematically the film turns on guilt, faith, culpability and the ways fear reshapes truth, and the actors' grounded portrayals help keep the tension immediate rather than merely schematic. Viewers attracted to moral puzzles and tense, character-driven horror will find much to debate here.