Going the Wrong Way

We all trust the elevator, the elevator is safe. But what if it isn't? 2001's Down presents the nightmare scenario of an elevator that becomes sentient and homicidal. Director Dick Maas directs this remake of his own 1983 movie, De Lift, and I suppose much of the genuinely inventive concepts in Down must come from the earlier film. Down is intentionally funny at times, unintentionally funny at others. It's not quite as bad as its 20% Rotten Tomatoes score suggests.

Having been shot almost entirely in the Netherlands, its screenplay, by Maas, was clearly written by someone for whom English is not their first language. It's especially funny because he attempts to imitate a New York vernacular, where the film's set. Maas is very fond of having actors say, "Fuck up," especially Naomi Watts.

Watts stars in the film along with Twin Peaks alum James Marshall. It seems Maas had a real admiration for David Lynch though he doesn't make any attempt at a Lynchian atmosphere, the tone of this film coming off as closer to Sam Raimi with its over the top, cartoonish characters, like the Frau Blucher-ish overseer at a daycare center.

Marshall plays an elevator mechanic and Watts plays a reporter investigating the suspicious elevator deaths. The supporting cast is pretty impressive, including Watts' Mulholland Drive costar, Dan Hedaya, as well as Ron Perlman, Edward Herrmann, and Michael Ironside. The inventiveness of some of the elevator deaths is kind of great, especially the scene where the floor gives out under a dozen people crammed in. Other times, the film is just plain silly, like the moment in the climax where James Marshall suddenly has a bazooka with absolutely no explanation. It is nice to see he had one starring role, though, according the trivia on Amazon Prime, the American actors were never paid residuals, the producers of the film turning out to have been swindlers.

For a movie released in 2001, before 9/11, the film has a surprising amount of references to terrorist attacks.

Down is available on Amazon Prime.