Elevator (2011)
Director: Stig Svendsen
Elevator
is the story of nine strangers trapped inside an elevator. They are all going
to a party for an announcement of the retirement of the CEO, who happens to be
on the elevator. It is revealed that one of them has a bomb strapped to her.
She is seeking revenge against the CEO. Then she dies. Most of the film is
about the characters trying to figure out how to get off the elevator before
the bomb goes off.
This could
have been an interesting interplay between characters from different
socioeconomic backgrounds. Instead, it's an uninteresting, flat story about
people stuck in an elevator. In contrast to a film like Devil, (2010,
directed by John Erick Dowdle) which is a great suspense story set inside an
elevator, this film fails to capitalize on its claustrophobic setting. An
interesting cast of characters portrayed by some good actors, never get the
chance to break out of stereotypical roles. There is the racist comedian, the
rich old white man, and the nice overweight guy.
The
storyline of the bomber could have been explored to create more suspense.
However, once we learn the bomber's identity, the film loses its momentum. It
then turns to gore and blood for shock value. You don't care about any of the
people stuck in the elevator, with the exception of the one who is pregnant.
You don't feel any sense of doom or urgency with the ticking clock. What could
have been a study in themes such as corporate greed, racism, and infidelity,
instead fails to be anything more than a boring retread of other movies you've
seen before.
There is one
reference in the film to Lifeboat (1944, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock).
That film also had a group of strangers trapped in a small space with one of
them harboring a dark secret. Written by John Steinbeck, it's a great example
of a psychological thriller that takes place in one location. See that instead.
- Peter Browne