Leavened with dark humour, The Lift is a high-concept thriller that should not work.
It is about a device stuck in one location that can only move up and down a few floors. And yet it works.
Set largely around the building where the titular elevator ‘resides’, the film is packed with wit and inventive setpieces.
With how it plays on the mundanity and familiarity of the central mode of conveyance, it feels like something Hitchcock or John Carpenter would have made in their prime.
Well-shot (by Marc Felperlaan) and cleanly directed by Maas, with a deft handle on the tone, the film manages to balance between traditional suspense thriller and black comedy without tipping too far either way.
The working parts of suspense are the same as a joke, with a set up, punchline, and most importantly, timing.
And Maas’s sense of timing, knowing when to build and release the tension, is top-tier
The version I watched was dubbed, so there is a certain flatness to the performances, but it does not matter. And while some of the investigatory chunks are a little slow, the film picks up as our heroes finally figure out what is going on (the reveal of the catalyst feels like something Crichton would have had fun with).
And the finale is great - our hero has to get into the shaft and avoid getting bisected by the elevators.
An early techno-horror, The Lift is a good time.
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