Devil 2010

Here is a rephrased version of the section:

As the Universal Pictures New Logo 1996: “A DIVISION OF NBC UNIVERSAL” (23 May 1997-24 February 2012) fades into the background, Ramirez’s (Jacob Vargas) haunting narration sets the tone for the story. He recounts his mother’s eerie tales of the Devil roaming free on earth, always preceded by a suicide. In Philadelphia, a chilling example of this phenomenon unfolds as a man plunges to his death from the heights of a towering skyscraper. The authorities are notified, and Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) is dispatched to the scene to unravel the mystery. This investigation is a personal affront for Bowden, still grappling with the devastating loss of his wife and child in a senseless hit-and-run accident that has left him questioning justice.

Meanwhile, five strangers from disparate walks of life converge upon an elevator within the same building where the suicide has taken place. These individuals have all been haunted by their pasts: Ben Larson (Bokeem Woodbine), a temp security guard with a violent history; an elderly woman (Jenny O’Hara) who can’t resist the allure of petty thievery; Vince McCormick (Geoffrey Arend), a mattress salesman moonlighting as a con artist; Tony (Logan Marshall-Green), a former mechanic fresh from serving in the U.S. military during the War in Afghanistan, now seeking employment within the building; and Sarah Caraway (Bojana Novakovic), the wife of the building security’s owner, meeting with her lawyer amidst the chaos.

As the elevator malfunctions, trapping its occupants between floors, a sense of unease settles over the group. The lights flicker out, and Sarah is inexplicably wounded on her back, sparking suspicion that Vince may be responsible for the assault. As the minutes tick by, the elevator’s occupants begin to die off one by one, with Vince being the first victim, his jugular vein sliced open by a shard of glass from a mirror. Bowden senses a connection between this gruesome event and the earlier suicide in the same building, compelling him to delve deeper into the mystery.

A review of the building’s guest log reveals only four missing persons that day: Sarah, Vince, Ben, and Janekowski - mistakenly interpreted as Jane Kowski by the investigators, leaving Bowden suspicious of Tony, who appears to be the lone unaccounted individual.

As Bowden delves deeper into the mysterious occurrences in the office building, he receives crucial assistance from the security team, meticulously analyzing surveillance footage that ultimately reveals the old woman’s prior theft of a wallet before entering the elevator. Meanwhile, the repairman dispatched to fix the malfunctioning elevator meets his demise after plummeting down the shaft. The building is then plunged into darkness during a power outage, only for the lights to flicker back on and reveal the gruesome sight of the old woman’s lifeless body, her neck brutally entwined with a light cable. As tensions escalate, Sarah and Ben turn on Tony, while Bowden begins to suspect that Sarah’s husband has hired Ben to eliminate his wife. A security guard, attempting to secure a hot fallen wire in the basement, pays the ultimate price with an electrocution that claims his life. The lights once again dim, only to reveal Ben’s lifeless body, his neck twisted into a macabre knot. As each of them believes the other is responsible for the murders, Tony and Sarah prepare for a brutal showdown with shattered glass, but Bowden’s calm demeanor seemingly diffuses the situation. Just as Sarah reaches for a shard of glass concealed in her back pocket, the lights go dark once more, and her throat is slit. The mystery appears to be solved when a tattooed woman arrives on the scene, revealing that Tony Janekowski was not only her fiancé but also a candidate for an open position at the building, leaving Bowden to re-examine his findings in light of this shocking revelation.

As the old woman’s presence suddenly shifts from benign to malevolent, Tony finds himself face-to-face with the embodiment of evil, now revealed in her true form as the Devil. The supernatural entity, having dispatched its previous victims, turns its attention to Tony, informing him that his time has come and he will soon meet his maker. But instead of resisting, Tony surprisingly accepts his fate, even offering to take the place of Sarah, who’s still struggling for breath. Meanwhile, Detective Bowden watches the unfolding drama unfold through the CCTV cameras, as Tony confesses to a horrific crime - a drunken hit-and-run that claimed two innocent lives. Tony’s apology is not just hollow words; he genuinely expresses remorse for his actions, which are revealed in the form of a coupon discovered by Bowden, emblazoned with the phrase “I’m so sorry.” The Devil, bound by its own rules, is forced to spare Tony, disappearing as the fire department finally breaches the elevator. With the old woman nowhere to be found, Bowden orders a thorough search of the building, but it’s too late - Tony has already been taken into custody for his crimes. En route to the police station, Bowden delivers a stunning revelation: Tony is responsible for the murder of his own family. Yet, in a surprising display of compassion and forgiveness, Bowden chooses to pardon Tony, leaving him to ponder the implications of this act. As the credits roll, Ramirez offers a poignant reflection on the nature of good and evil, concluding that if the Devil exists, then God must too - and with that, the screen fades to black, leaving the audience to ponder the film’s thought-provoking themes.