My take: Devil (2010)

HD Goofnut · 01-21-2011, 01:48 PM

Title: Devil (2010)
BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc
Video: 1080p/VC-1
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish
Run time: 80 minutes
Studio: Universal Studios
Rating: PG-13
Region Coding: Region Free
Equipment used for review: Sharp LC-46SB57UN 46" 120Hz 1080p LCD (24fps), Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Receiver, Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1, & LG BH200 Super Blu

Cast/Crew Info:
Chris Messina as Detective Bowden
Logan Marshall-Green as Tony
Jenny O'Hara as Old Woman
Bojana Novakovic as Sarah Caraway
Bokeem Woodbine as Ben
Geoffrey Arend as Salesman
Jacob Vargas as Ramirez
Matt Craven as Lustig
Joshua Peace as Detective Markowitz
Directed by John Erick Dowdle

My take: (the breakdown)

Adapted from a story written by M. Night Shyamalan's Devil follows five people as they mysteriously become trapped in a elevator in a Philadelphia skyscraper. What the five do not know is that one of the one of them is the Devil. He intends to take a certain person's soul and to do that he will kill anyone who tries to get in his way. Once the elevator becomes stuck the five people begin to turn on one another and one by one they begin to be killed by some unknown force. It was actually better than I was expecting after Shyamalan's last two cinematic disasters, but that's probably because he didn't direct this one. I would advise against blindly purchasing this film and it would be best to rent it first. Due to some scary moments this one is not for younger children.

Considering Devil is a new release I was expecting a top quality transfer, but that's not what I found at all. Color saturation is never a problem throughout the entire film and even flesh tones are accurate. Grain is actually light and consistent. The problems arise when most of the picture contains darker areas. There are unresolved blacks all over the place from start to finish. There are also problems with delineation and crush. The shots outside of the elevator and shaft look much better, but since most of the film occurs in and around the elevator these problems with the blacks are much more obvious. It's not a bad transfer by any means, but I was sure expecting better.

Please keep in mind that the screen captures below can look different when the film is in motion. You must click on the image in the link to view it in its original resolution. Also, to achieve the most accurate view of the screen captures be sure your monitor is set to a resolution of 1920 x 1080.

Slightly better than the film's video quality is its 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Most of the film is dialogue and it is always well prioritized and easy to comprehend. Surrounds are used occasionally, but don't expect a sonic assault from the sound field. There are few scenes where sounds wrap around the audience from the fronts and surrounds, but these moments are few and far between. Even during the few more intense sequences the LFE does not quite give the punch that I was expecting. This is not reference material by any means, but it does manage to get the job done.

The provided supplemental package for Devil is almost nonexistent. All we get are four minutes of deleted scenes and three short fluff pieces that are 2-3 minutes each. At least these are all presented in 1080p. There is also a digital copy available as a download that is probably similar to the one included in the Inception release.

Movie: 6/10
VQ: 7/10
AQ: 8/10
Supplements: 1/10
Final Word: A Rental At Best

As always thanks for reading folks.

GLOW · 01-21-2011, 02:23 PM

Thanks for the review, Goofnut.

I rented this on Vudu HDX a few weeks back so I can't comment on the BD PQ/AQ but I thought it was a pretty decent little thriller. Not really a movie you need to watch more than once but I was entertained throughout the movie. It's one of the better movies M. Night is associated with, IMHO, if that means anything....

I think you can get this at Redbox now (not sure if they have BD and DVD or just DVD for this title) and it's definitely worth a $1.50 rental fee.

HD Goofnut · 01-21-2011, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GLOW

Thanks for the review, Goofnut.

I rented this on Vudu HDX a few weeks back so I can't comment on the BD PQ/AQ but I thought it was a pretty decent little thriller. Not really a movie you need to watch more than once but I was entertained throughout the movie. It's one of the better movies M. Night is associated with, IMHO, if that means anything....

I think you can get this at Redbox now (not sure if they have BD and DVD or just DVD for this title) and it's definitely worth a $1.50 rental fee.

I agree. It was a decent title, but not something I'd watch more than once.

01-21-2011, 01:48 PM	#1
HD Goofnut Official HDF BD Reviewer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mississippi, U.S.A. Your resident Dune, Star Wars, and war film expert Posts: 9,556	My take: Devil (2010) Title: Devil (2010) BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc Video: 1080p/VC-1 Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish Run time: 80 minutes Studio: Universal Studios Rating: PG-13 Region Coding: Region Free Equipment used for review: Sharp LC-46SB57UN 46" 120Hz 1080p LCD (24fps), Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Receiver, Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1, & LG BH200 Super Blu Cast/Crew Info: Chris Messina as Detective Bowden Logan Marshall-Green as Tony Jenny O'Hara as Old Woman Bojana Novakovic as Sarah Caraway Bokeem Woodbine as Ben Geoffrey Arend as Salesman Jacob Vargas as Ramirez Matt Craven as Lustig Joshua Peace as Detective Markowitz Directed by John Erick Dowdle My take: (the breakdown) Adapted from a story written by M. Night Shyamalan's Devil follows five people as they mysteriously become trapped in a elevator in a Philadelphia skyscraper. What the five do not know is that one of the one of them is the Devil. He intends to take a certain person's soul and to do that he will kill anyone who tries to get in his way. Once the elevator becomes stuck the five people begin to turn on one another and one by one they begin to be killed by some unknown force. It was actually better than I was expecting after Shyamalan's last two cinematic disasters, but that's probably because he didn't direct this one. I would advise against blindly purchasing this film and it would be best to rent it first. Due to some scary moments this one is not for younger children. Considering Devil is a new release I was expecting a top quality transfer, but that's not what I found at all. Color saturation is never a problem throughout the entire film and even flesh tones are accurate. Grain is actually light and consistent. The problems arise when most of the picture contains darker areas. There are unresolved blacks all over the place from start to finish. There are also problems with delineation and crush. The shots outside of the elevator and shaft look much better, but since most of the film occurs in and around the elevator these problems with the blacks are much more obvious. It's not a bad transfer by any means, but I was sure expecting better. Please keep in mind that the screen captures below can look different when the film is in motion. You must click on the image in the link to view it in its original resolution. Also, to achieve the most accurate view of the screen captures be sure your monitor is set to a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Slightly better than the film's video quality is its 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Most of the film is dialogue and it is always well prioritized and easy to comprehend. Surrounds are used occasionally, but don't expect a sonic assault from the sound field. There are few scenes where sounds wrap around the audience from the fronts and surrounds, but these moments are few and far between. Even during the few more intense sequences the LFE does not quite give the punch that I was expecting. This is not reference material by any means, but it does manage to get the job done. The provided supplemental package for Devil is almost nonexistent. All we get are four minutes of deleted scenes and three short fluff pieces that are 2-3 minutes each. At least these are all presented in 1080p. There is also a digital copy available as a download that is probably similar to the one included in the Inception release. Movie: 6/10 VQ: 7/10 AQ: 8/10 Supplements: 1/10 Final Word: A Rental At Best As always thanks for reading folks. __________________ BenQ MP512ST, Panasonic TC-L55ET5 55" 360Hz LED/3D, Sharp LC-46SB57UN 46" 120 Hz LCD, Sanyo DP46848 46" 60Hz LCD, HP 21.5" 60Hz LCD Onkyo TX-NR709 7.1/Onkyo SKS-HT540 ASUS BD Drive, LG BH200, Sony Optiarc Blu-ray Burner, Sony BDP-590, Vizio VBR220 My Motion Picture Collection Latest BD Review: *Jack Reacher*

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GLOW High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Post-Empire America Posts: 10,060	Thanks for the review, Goofnut. I rented this on Vudu HDX a few weeks back so I can't comment on the BD PQ/AQ but I thought it was a pretty decent little thriller. Not really a movie you need to watch more than once but I was entertained throughout the movie. It's one of the better movies M. Night is associated with, IMHO, if that means anything.... I think you can get this at Redbox now (not sure if they have BD and DVD or just DVD for this title) and it's definitely worth a $1.50 rental fee.