Devil
Universal Pictures | Release Date: September 17, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
44
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
8
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad Derakhshani
Guaranteed to keep you on tenterhooks from beginning to end - and without much gore. Dowdle and company trade in the usual trappings of the genre for a tantalizing blend of tension, suspense, and mystery. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderBen Sachs
The great cinematographer Tak Fujimoto has the time of his life on this low-budget horror feature, playing with dolly shots, abrupt zooms, and negative space inside the widescreen frame, and the fun is infectious. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineJohn P. McCarthy
There are a sufficient number of jolts thanks to quick edits and sound effects, plus the script's efficient structure. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis Harvey
Devil is nothing very special or original, but it gets the job done briskly and economically. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyAdam Markovitz
A pocket-size supernatural thriller that plays a bit like Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" retold by an unstable Sunday School teacher. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
A serviceable burst of high-end hokum, Devil classes up a flimsy, religion-themed plot (by M. Night Shyamalan) with the kind of limber cinematography only someone like Tak Fujimoto can deliver. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyNick Pinkerton
Devil is a Night Gallery reject worth experiencing only to gape at a "spirituality" that falls somewhere between Dostoyevsky and Jack Chick, and to laugh that such daring feats of narrative illogic were undertaken with a straight face. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
Devil is the sort of story Rod Serling would have taken for a spin in "The Twilight Zone," back in the day. Shyamalan came up with the idea, produced it and got others to script and direct this 76 minute exercise in movie minimalism. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesRobert Abele
By the time the patented Shyamalan Extra-Strength Third Act Twist is revealed, being asked to care about fate, redemption and forgiveness when a satan-in-an-elevator gimmick hasn't delivered is like getting medicinal aftertaste from what should have been a box of delectably fiery Red Hots. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
In the end, Devil feels like an ingenious short film pumped up for theatrical release. Shyamalan's story is sound, but the execution dragged me to hell and left me there wondering if his much-rumored sequel to "Unbreakable" was ever going to arrive. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Devil will do little to dispel the growing belief that Shyamalan is a one-trick pony whose horse has keeled over. The laughter during the trailer was sadly prescient; the film is a joke. Read full review
30
MovielineEric Hynes
Devil packs a lot of business into 80 brisk minutes but is shockingly short on fun or fright. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Perhaps someday, in the greatest twist of all, Shyamalan will be remembered as the Hitchcock of the early 21st century. Until then, movies like Devil will be misunderstood as schlock. Read full review
20
Time OutDrew Toal
This is the sort of cut-rate cinematic Cheez Whiz that gives religious horror movies a bad name. Still, at least it's not "The Last Airbender." Read full review
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