Friday, July 16, 2010

Trailer Trash Talkin Vol#9 by Kristen Grillo

Devil.: Directed by Drew & John Erick Dowdle. Written by: Brian Nelson (screenplay) & M. Night Shyamalan (story) Release Date: September 17, 2010.

Those that are behind the marketing strategy for this trailer are going about it all wrong. Immediately you see M. Night Shyamalan’s name splashed all over this. With his most recent films being box office & critic failures respectively, this kind of advertising will only stir up more negative controversy about the eccentric and extremely clandestine director & possibly hurt the release of this film. But I guess any publicity is good publicity these days. Or in Mel Gibson’s case, perhaps not. (that poor, dumb bastard)

For someone who once was seriously considering a profession in filmmaking, M. Night always spoke my language as far as cinematographical (if this isn’t an actual word yet, consider it one now, bitches) storytelling goes. I’ve appreciated every one of his films and loved many things about them. While some may never understand the way his eyes and heart tell a story, there is no denying that he has been one of the most imaginative & risk-taking directors in the last decade. Which is exactly why I am personally upset that he did not direct this movie. It will, however, be interesting to see how Drew & John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine) interpret his story. If successful, will this encourage M. Night to take a back seat to directing? I sure as shit hope not.

Elevators and Satan are both equally creepy, right? Right. So imagine what you would have if you combined the two, toss some little pawns in there and then unleash a bunch of wicked shit on them……………



……………“Meh.”


This being first released trailer, it does widen my eyes with curiosity as I try to imagine how it will all play out. However, consider me one of the many who hope the film can sustain that anticipation and effectively make me shit out a terror brick, all without deflating into a silly cheese-mess riddled with old fashioned, monotonous scare tactics. In this time of craptastic films, it is definitely going to be a challenge.

KMG’s Anticipation Grade: B

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