Remember It's Not A Blockbuster Or A Horror Movie

Theo Robertson

A diverse group of people take an elevator to a corporate event . Due to the actions of the spoiled granddaughter of the company boss the lift becomes stuck . What may on the surface seem like a torturous inconvenience ends up becoming mortal peril for the group when it's revealed that one of the guests is carrying a bomb

I'm slightly at a loss why ELEVATOR isn't held in slightly higher regard by my peers on this website . I watched it on the British Horror Channel and may be this is the problem ? If you're coming in to this movie expecting graphic violence , torture porn and the like you're going to be very disappointed because this is not a movie for hardcore gore hounds . Instead ELEVATOR is a low budget minimalist indie type thriller where people find a bad situation turn far worse than they expected . It's almost a very good film . Almost

" Hey Theo you said almost . Out with it . What's on your mind ? "

I don't know if it's down to my recent marathon short film sessions along with seeing the occasional independent film like THE PERFECT HOST but there is an off beat quirky nature to many of the movies I've reviewed recently and ELEVATOR starts off in the exact same vein with the characters being introduced and the pivotal character is George Axelrod , a vulgar smart ass comedian who has the displeasure of both being stuck in a life and being stuck in a lift with a ten year old spoilt brat and other people he doesn't like . He shows signs of misanthropy and despite never being in the same league as Christopher Hitchens when it comes to abrasive put downs George shoots from the lip and you can buy this guy existing in the real world and not just in a movie . I would have liked to have seen more of George becoming more frustrated with the situation and his fellow captives become more frustrated at him

Unfortunately because this film is about a time bomb in a lift and not misanthrope reminds himself why he hates people the film centres around who is the bomber and what can they do to stop the bomb exploding . There is some blood and violence but remember this is not a horror film and perhaps more importantly this isn't a massive blockbuster from a major Hollywood studio so there's no mock heroics from some pretty boys , no stunt work and no CGI which means a lot of people will find it somewhat lacking in excitement . As it stands ELEVATOR is more than adequate but I would have liked it more if had stayed a quirky off beat drama instead moving in to thriller territory

score 6/10

Theo Robertson 5 March 2014

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2974477/