MovieChat Forums > Devil (2010) Discussion > The best of twists, the worst of twists

The best of twists, the worst of twists

posted 9 years ago by ProfSpielberg
6 replies | jump to latest

Now here's a first, for me anyway: the ultimate plot twist in a horror/suspense piece hinging upon 2 story details, one of them fairly clever (the visitor log); the other so utterly stupid (a "Final Destination"-style "sequence error") it up-ends the rules of its own exposition-- par for the course in Shyamalan movies, BTW.

With the former point, no trickery is employed, just the audience's trusting reliance on the cops inside the movie to know what they're doing, despite our pretty clearly seeing at the beginning a passenger who definitely didn't bother with signing the log. But to complete the misinterpretation reveal they just punt on the story so far, sort of a "throw out everything & recast it in a new context" approach; i.e. the cheap way out. Perhaps you're meant to think, "Aha, if I were going to fake my own death convincingly & own murder ambiguously inside a confined space that's how I'd do it"

One "clue" that had me laughing was the cops discovering DUI Marine's tool bag in the lobby restroom -- something which flunks even as a red herring, since the culprit has already gotten onto the supposedly sabotaged elevator.

[–] yourcrazyshow 9 years ago

Ouch that explaination hurt. M Night is all washed up. He should study Hitch and Sterling's work and promise never to make another film again!

[–] fiatlux-1 9 years ago

Long story short, even though I liked the film, the twist to this is a little too *borrowed* from the movie And Then There Were None.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] ryan-j-gallienne 9 years ago

Psst, it was first a book ;)

[–] jambawala 8 years ago

ProfSpielberg (interesting name, compensating much?), what exactly do you mean by, "a "Final Destination"-style "sequence error"? If you're alluding to the fact that the old woman is the devil, despite being the second person to die on the elevator, you failed miserably. That has nothing to do with Final Destination. And how exactly does this twist 'up-end the rules of the film's own exposition'? And how is that par for the course in Shyamalan movies? Did you just learn the phrase 'par for the course' and feel compelled to use it?

Your verbose explanations make no sense at all, worse they reveal a puerile understanding of the film and logical thinking itself. We didn't just see one passenger not signing the log, multiple passengers were not shown signing it. And again, I am utterly flummoxed when you say non sequiturs like ""throw out everything & recast it in a new context" approach; i.e. the cheap way out" or " Perhaps you're meant to think, "Aha, if I were going to fake my own death convincingly & own murder ambiguously inside a confined space that's how I'd do it"".

[–] suspiria56 7 years ago

why the attitude Jambawala. I note the same on other posts you make - your THE WITCH post citing 'buffoons' and what not smacks of arrogance.
"interesting name. compensating much?"
No need.
tut tut.
To quote Thewlis' character from NAKED: "What's it like being you?"
x.

"Gran'pa was always the best..."

[–] jambawala 7 years ago

Suspiria,

Thanks for your observation. It made me stop and reflect. And having thought about it, I realize that my tone is arrogant in some of my posts. I feel strongly about movies and story-telling in general. I seek a specific strain of entertainment and I get frustrated when stories either run against this strain or posters trash films or filmmakers that conform to my notions of good entertainment. I then vent this frustration in the form of acerbic posts and replies, encouraged by the Internet's veil of anonymity.

I'll try to carry a less arrogant and acidic tone in my posts going forward.

If it's any consolation, please note that my passion comes from a very sincere place of enjoying good entertainment. Of course, I must also remember not everyone agrees with my definition of 'good entertainment' and that's by and large not a bad thing.

To answer your last question, it's not always easy being me.