Down (film)
Encyclopedia
Down is a 2001 horror film
about a killer elevator
, starring James Marshall
and Naomi Watts
. The film is also known as The Shaft, which is the name used for the United States
DVD
release. The film is a remake of the 1983 Dutch film De Lift
(The Elevator), which was also directed by Maas.
Watts plays the role of pushy journalist Jennifer Evans, and Marshall is Mark, an elevator repairman and former Marine. Directed by Dick Maas
, the movie was filmed in the Netherlands
as well as New York
and the District of Columbia.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
in May 2001, but was not released on video in the United States until two years later.
Produced before the September 11, 2001, attacks, the film makes several references to the possibility of terrorists attacking New York City
.
A tabloid investigative journalist (Naomi Watts
) and an elevator mechanic (James Marshall
) seek to get to the bottom of what's causing the deaths, as officials try to play down the incidents and the government investigates them as terrorist attacks.
The duo eventually discover that the elevators indeed have a life of their own.
, which has 102 floors and 73 elevators. One evening, lightning strikes the building, which causes the elevators to begin acting strangely, resulting in a guard's flashlight being crushed. The next day, a group of pregnant women are held up between floors 20 and 21. The elevator overheats rapidly, causing two women to give birth and hospitalizing the rest. Reporter Jennifer Evans (Naomi Watts
) is called to write a report on the incident. After an investigation by METEOR elevator company technicians Jeff (Eric Thal) and Mark Newman (James Marshall
), they determine that nothing is wrong with the elevators, a large part being Jeff's inability to actually admit there is something wrong (he states throughout his scenes that the computer controlling the elevators has absolutely no defects).
A short time later, a blind man and his guide dog disappear in the building. The two guards from the beginning of the film discover the dog's corpse hanging from its collar on a shaft support. The discovering guard's head is caught between the elevator doors. He is decapitated a short while later, his partner too horrified to help him. Once again, the METEOR executives find nothing wrong with the elevators. Evans interviews Newman, who sarcastically states "Nine people out of ten make it out of an elevator alive." Evans places this in her report, causing a large controversy over his statement by his boss, Mitchell (Ron Perlman
) and the police. During the same day, a roller skater is sucked into an elevator in the parking garage and shot from the 86th floor of the building to his death. The roller skater's death is explained to media as suicide.
Evans visits Newman and shows him a tape of the roller skater's death. She points out the time it normally takes for the elevator to go up 87 floors would take about 40 seconds to a minute. However, the elevator ascended the floors in less than two seconds, thus noting that there is definitely something wrong. When they try to show the tape to Jeff, he refuses to watch it and leaves abruptly. Instead, they go to Evans' office and look up a man named Gunther Steinberg (Michael Ironside
), who had been experimenting with organic reproducing computer chips using dolphin brains. However, the project had gone disastrously wrong and Steinberg was fired. Later the next morning Milligan (Edward Hermann), who remains suspicious of the elevators throughout the film, discovers Jeff's corpse in an elevator shaft. When Jennifer and Mark arrive, they are shocked to hear that the police have concocted a story that has Jeff being a terrorist and being behind the incidents and assure the public that the threat is over. Later during the day, an elevator cab flies to top floor at such a speed that the floor flies off and all the people in it are killed. This event reaches the President and is seen as an act of terrorism.
A terrorism unit is assembled at the building to get any further terrorists out of the building. Meanwhile, Jennifer and Mark discover a recent suicide could be linked to the incidents, as his extremely superstitious widow believes his soul has returned to punish others. Jennifer and Mark enter the building to discover and stop the threat once and for all. During the entry, Jennifer is taken into custody posing as a METEOR executive. During her first attempt to prove this fraud, she receives a phone call from a friend to explains that while Steinberg's time working on the "fucking chips" as they are called in the movie, has been revoked, Steinberg continued to work on the project except not with dolphin brains. Eventually, Mitchell abandons Steinberg for fear of his own reputation being ruined. Mark manages to get into the Millennium Building and discovers a large bio-chip in the form of a brain
in an elevator shaft. It is assumed that this brain is alive and controlling the elevators. He attempts to destroy using a screwdriver, but this attempt fails when it sends a flaming elevator down to kill him. Mark barely escapes while the elevator kills a SWAT officer who was barely out of the elevator shaft before his was sliced in half from his waist down with the upper half of his body sliding across the floor. Marshall gets a hold of a stinger missile launcher and is about to destroy the organ when Steinberg intervenes, threatening him. Jennifer appears, having escaped custody and frees Marshall. As Mark tries to destroy the organ a third time, the police enter, giving Steinberg the opportunity to hold Jennifer hostage. Jennifer manages to escape thanks to Steinberg being unable to recognize one of his superiors. Steinberg is grabbed by the elevator shaft cables and pulled in, along with Mark. At the last second, Jennifer kicks the stinger launcher to Mark, who proceeds to destroy the organ. Steinberg's mutilated corpse falls seconds later.
Some time later, Mark and Jennifer leave a hospital where they find themselves trapped in an elevator. However, it proves to be a ruse for Mark to sleep with Jennifer. The film then cuts out to Aerosmith's
song "Love in an Elevator
".
to equal a score. Out of four reviews, three are considered "rotten". If there would have been a score, however, it would have a 25% "Rotten" rating. Common criticisms include that the film was not gripping enough, having a weak storyline, having generally unrealistic deaths, weak dialogue and unconvincing special effects.
The film was not well received in the Netherlands and was seen as comparing poorly to De Lift, considered to be one of the strongest Dutch horror films of all time, whilst Down was regarded as a typical American B-film.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
about a killer elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
, starring James Marshall
James Marshall (actor)
James Marshall is an American actor, best known for playing the character James Hurley in the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and for his role as PFC Louden Downey in A Few Good Men.Marshall was born James David Greenblatt on January 2,...
and Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
. The film is also known as The Shaft, which is the name used for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release. The film is a remake of the 1983 Dutch film De Lift
De Lift
De Lift is a 1983 film by the Dutch director Dick Maas about a killer elevator. In 2001, an English language remake, Down, was made and was also directed by Dick Maas....
(The Elevator), which was also directed by Maas.
Watts plays the role of pushy journalist Jennifer Evans, and Marshall is Mark, an elevator repairman and former Marine. Directed by Dick Maas
Dick Maas
Dick Maas is Dutch film director, screenwriter, film producer and movie music composer.He achieved national fame after the success of the movies De Lift, Amsterdamned and Flodder.-Shorts:* Adelbert* De overval...
, the movie was filmed in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
as well as New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the District of Columbia.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in May 2001, but was not released on video in the United States until two years later.
Produced before the September 11, 2001, attacks, the film makes several references to the possibility of terrorists attacking New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Plot summary
When several people die unexpectedly in an express elevator in a New York City landmark called the Millennium Building, everyone, at first, thinks it is a technical problem. But when repairmen repeatedly cannot find any problems with the elevator, it is clear that something else is at work.A tabloid investigative journalist (Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
) and an elevator mechanic (James Marshall
James Marshall (actor)
James Marshall is an American actor, best known for playing the character James Hurley in the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and for his role as PFC Louden Downey in A Few Good Men.Marshall was born James David Greenblatt on January 2,...
) seek to get to the bottom of what's causing the deaths, as officials try to play down the incidents and the government investigates them as terrorist attacks.
The duo eventually discover that the elevators indeed have a life of their own.
Extended plot synopsis
The film takes place at the Millennium building in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, which has 102 floors and 73 elevators. One evening, lightning strikes the building, which causes the elevators to begin acting strangely, resulting in a guard's flashlight being crushed. The next day, a group of pregnant women are held up between floors 20 and 21. The elevator overheats rapidly, causing two women to give birth and hospitalizing the rest. Reporter Jennifer Evans (Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
) is called to write a report on the incident. After an investigation by METEOR elevator company technicians Jeff (Eric Thal) and Mark Newman (James Marshall
James Marshall
James Marshall may refer to:*James W. Marshall , discovered gold in California in 1848*James Marshall , Victoria Cross recipient*James Marshall , American television producer and director...
), they determine that nothing is wrong with the elevators, a large part being Jeff's inability to actually admit there is something wrong (he states throughout his scenes that the computer controlling the elevators has absolutely no defects).
A short time later, a blind man and his guide dog disappear in the building. The two guards from the beginning of the film discover the dog's corpse hanging from its collar on a shaft support. The discovering guard's head is caught between the elevator doors. He is decapitated a short while later, his partner too horrified to help him. Once again, the METEOR executives find nothing wrong with the elevators. Evans interviews Newman, who sarcastically states "Nine people out of ten make it out of an elevator alive." Evans places this in her report, causing a large controversy over his statement by his boss, Mitchell (Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
) and the police. During the same day, a roller skater is sucked into an elevator in the parking garage and shot from the 86th floor of the building to his death. The roller skater's death is explained to media as suicide.
Evans visits Newman and shows him a tape of the roller skater's death. She points out the time it normally takes for the elevator to go up 87 floors would take about 40 seconds to a minute. However, the elevator ascended the floors in less than two seconds, thus noting that there is definitely something wrong. When they try to show the tape to Jeff, he refuses to watch it and leaves abruptly. Instead, they go to Evans' office and look up a man named Gunther Steinberg (Michael Ironside
Michael Ironside
Michael Ironside is a Canadian-born actor. He has also worked as a voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in movie and television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has also portrayed...
), who had been experimenting with organic reproducing computer chips using dolphin brains. However, the project had gone disastrously wrong and Steinberg was fired. Later the next morning Milligan (Edward Hermann), who remains suspicious of the elevators throughout the film, discovers Jeff's corpse in an elevator shaft. When Jennifer and Mark arrive, they are shocked to hear that the police have concocted a story that has Jeff being a terrorist and being behind the incidents and assure the public that the threat is over. Later during the day, an elevator cab flies to top floor at such a speed that the floor flies off and all the people in it are killed. This event reaches the President and is seen as an act of terrorism.
A terrorism unit is assembled at the building to get any further terrorists out of the building. Meanwhile, Jennifer and Mark discover a recent suicide could be linked to the incidents, as his extremely superstitious widow believes his soul has returned to punish others. Jennifer and Mark enter the building to discover and stop the threat once and for all. During the entry, Jennifer is taken into custody posing as a METEOR executive. During her first attempt to prove this fraud, she receives a phone call from a friend to explains that while Steinberg's time working on the "fucking chips" as they are called in the movie, has been revoked, Steinberg continued to work on the project except not with dolphin brains. Eventually, Mitchell abandons Steinberg for fear of his own reputation being ruined. Mark manages to get into the Millennium Building and discovers a large bio-chip in the form of a brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
in an elevator shaft. It is assumed that this brain is alive and controlling the elevators. He attempts to destroy using a screwdriver, but this attempt fails when it sends a flaming elevator down to kill him. Mark barely escapes while the elevator kills a SWAT officer who was barely out of the elevator shaft before his was sliced in half from his waist down with the upper half of his body sliding across the floor. Marshall gets a hold of a stinger missile launcher and is about to destroy the organ when Steinberg intervenes, threatening him. Jennifer appears, having escaped custody and frees Marshall. As Mark tries to destroy the organ a third time, the police enter, giving Steinberg the opportunity to hold Jennifer hostage. Jennifer manages to escape thanks to Steinberg being unable to recognize one of his superiors. Steinberg is grabbed by the elevator shaft cables and pulled in, along with Mark. At the last second, Jennifer kicks the stinger launcher to Mark, who proceeds to destroy the organ. Steinberg's mutilated corpse falls seconds later.
Some time later, Mark and Jennifer leave a hospital where they find themselves trapped in an elevator. However, it proves to be a ruse for Mark to sleep with Jennifer. The film then cuts out to Aerosmith's
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
song "Love in an Elevator
Love in an Elevator
"Love in an Elevator" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith, written by Steven Tyler and guitarist/backing vocalist Joe Perry. It was released in August 1989 as the lead single from their third album with Geffen Records, Pump, released in September...
".
The incidents
| Victim(s) | Result | Floor incident happened |
|---|---|---|
| Group of pregnant women | Elevator stuck between floors, overheated, resulting in two women giving birth. | Between 20 and 21. (29 and 30 in US version.) |
| Mr.Faith (Blind man) | Fell down empty elevator shaft. | 86 (91 in US version.) |
| Mr.Faith's dog | Collar caught on shaft support/strangled. | 39 |
| Security guard | Head caught by elevator doors, decapitated by lowering elevator. | 40 |
| Roller Skater | Sucked into elevator, shot out top floor. | 86 |
| Jeff (Mark's partner) | Strangled/blood loss by elevator cables | Unknown |
| Group of people | Elevator speed/floor ripped open, causing many, if not all, to fell out. | Every floor from lobby up |
| SWAT Officer | Cut in half by falling burning elevator. | Lobby |
| Gunther Steinberg | Strangled by elevator cables. | 65 |
Reception
Currently, there are not enough reviews on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
to equal a score. Out of four reviews, three are considered "rotten". If there would have been a score, however, it would have a 25% "Rotten" rating. Common criticisms include that the film was not gripping enough, having a weak storyline, having generally unrealistic deaths, weak dialogue and unconvincing special effects.
The film was not well received in the Netherlands and was seen as comparing poorly to De Lift, considered to be one of the strongest Dutch horror films of all time, whilst Down was regarded as a typical American B-film.