In my opinion, M. Night Shyamalan is one of the most brilliant writers/directors of our time. I also realize that some of his latest films that were considered flops by many critics made him lose some credibility.

However, even those “flops,” such as “Lady in the Water” or “The Village,” in my opinion, were still beautifully directed and had a unique storyline and moral to it. It was my belief that if any other director had his name on those films, they wouldn’t have been so harshly criticized, since they just didn’t quite live up to “Signs,” “Unbreakable” or “The Sixth Sense” … but I digress.

Being the faithful Shyamalan fan that I am, I was sure to go see his latest film “Devil” opening weekend, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Just for clarification, Shyamalan simply wrote the story this time. John Erick Dowdle directed “Devil.”

The film follows a fable, much like many of Shymalan movies.

The narrator begins telling the fable that his mother told him, of when the devil descends among the damned, pretending to be one of them, slowly torturing them until taking their souls.

The film wastes no time establishing the scenario. Within the first few minutes of the movie, a group of five people become trapped in an elevator, where about 90 percent of the movie takes place.

In any other movie, having the main set being such a confined space would not be all too exciting, but for “Devil” it just added to the suspense of the film. In a sense it also made it more realistic, since an elevator in a big city building getting stuck is probbly something that is not all too uncommon.

The storyline is very solid as each of the character’s information is not well known, but is slowly revealed via the work of Detective Bowden, played by Chris Messina, who talks to the passengers of the elevator via intercom system.

The character’s personalities are so slowly revealed, in fact, that only some of their names are mentioned and that is only after more than half of the movie is over.

The intercom system from the elevator is only one-way, so that the people in the elevator can’t communicate with anyone from the outside.

They are simply doing the best they can to try to figure out who they are and what is happening.

The movie is suspenseful enough, and scary enough to the point that I found myself looking away at some parts.

I also found certain aspects somewhat predictable. I figured out some points to the end, all basically except for which character the devil actually was. That part was a surprise, but I also didn’t really try to figure it out, either. I just wanted to enjoy the thrill ride.

The resolution splendidly brings the character’s storylines together at the end of the film, giving support to the moral that everything hapens for a reason.

In short, the movie isn’t up to his original movie’s standards, and it won’t be your favorite film from him, but it is good.

And if you’re a Shymalon fan like me, you won’t regret spending the $9 to go see it.

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