Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2011

Indifferently directed hokum produced and written by M. Night Shyamalan has five thinly drawn characters trapped in a stalled elevator. One of them is the title character, who injures or kills one of the others each time the lights go out (the movie’s most interesting moments). Little atmosphere or suspense for a stalled-elevator flick, it’s not even claustrophobic, and this is before they trot out the insulting quasi-spiritual overlay. The satanic perp is not revealed until the end (by which time we no longer care), and we are offered no clues. This is lazy screenwriting. Not scary. Not fun.