The 2010 film Devil tells the supernatural story of a group of people trapped in an office elevator where one by one they are hurt or killed. The beginning of the film starts with a long shot flying over a downtown skyline and eventually flying into an extremely tall skyscraper. This orientation shot (or possibly disorientation shot at the entire thing is upside down) is used to effectively isolate this one building from the others. Starting from far away and eventually moving in from the roof, the long shot sets this one key office building apart from the rest. Essentially, the viewer knows that something is going to happen here, although exactly what is not yet known.
Following basic shot progression, the director then employs heavy use of eye-level medium shots to discover the people inside the elevator and see how they interact with each other. The medium shot here is used to gather basic information. It is important to note that the shots are mostly eye level. This is a power-neutral shot that doesn’t give anyone in the elevator more obvious power than another. This is important in keeping the viewer in the dark about who will commit the atrocities that are about to begin happening.
Very quickly, the director switches to using close up shots as the elevator halts and begins to shutter. These shots, which provide important detail, are used to get intimate with the emotions of the characters. These shots effectively convey the fear that these occupants have in a trapped elevator high above the ground floor. The close-up shots provide the audience with the level of fear necessary for the film to work. Basically, they can make an audience in a huge theater feel emotionally connected and trapped in a small elevator.
Overall, Devil follows the basic shot progression in the beginning to slowly let the audience know more about the supernatural situation at hand. It works, but nothing can save this film from being, well, a little stupid. Really stupid.
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