Chad

Gobear

Down is the kind of dumb, fun horror flick you'd rent from Blockbuster on a Friday night back in the day. Is it a classic? No, but it is enormously fun to watch. Michael Ironside makes any movie he's in worth watching. And who knew dolphin brains were evil?

Undeadcow

Before diving into The Shaft I wanted to check out it's original Danish version, The Lift, or which this is a remake. The Lift is an oddball film that is almost like a series of Elevator death vignettes with a repairman who develops an obsession about explaining the lift as a framing device. That version was brainless slightly campy fun; I'm reminder of a less art house Deathbed. From the looks of it Dick Maas got a ton more money for the remake; and cheers to him for seemingly to stick to the same general plot (but in The Shaft it's more coherent).

Trevor

I was about to type that the film was a crazy ride before realizing that’d be a bad pun.

And shoot, I too was planning on pairing this with The Lift, but didn’t realize one was based on the other. Guess I’ll be watching them out of order.

jholmes

Yes, me too. I was planning to watch both but may skip The Lift now.

jholmes

I really liked "Down". Great production values, good cast, fun death effects. It had a nice sense of humor about it. It was my favorite subset film so far. I gave it a 7/10. I'm surprised it isn't better rated on imdb. Great pick, Gobear!

Undeadcow

One thing about The Shaft is how unpretentious and accessible it is; it's just a movie about a killer elevator.The skater being sucked into the elevator then thrown out of a higher floor to land at the feet of his friend might be my favorite death scene so far this month.

jholmes

That was awesome. Also loved the big scene with all the people in the elevator and the bottom drops out while it soars skyward. Cool and unique. The movie didn't seem rote. There were real interesting quirks and surprises in it. Loved the "oh, no, it can't be a 'mad scientist'." lol

DaveyJoe

Does anybody know if this was shot on film or digitally?

DaveyJoe

The director told everyone their accents weren't 'New York' enough and that they had better dial it up a notch.

A man's haircut cost $66.50? Scariest movie of the month so far.

The seeing eye dog is adorable and stealing the show so far.

DaveyJoe

Our hero is throwing up in public toilets like he just watched Blood Beach.

Naomi Watts. 😍

DaveyJoe

Ron Perlman 😍

Roller blades with cargo pockets and a chain wallet, the elevator killed that guy for being too 90s in the 2000s.

Our hero has a beer poster in his living room and I'm just praying this isn't the Brett Kavanaugh origin story.

DaveyJoe

"Chip knows everything about computers" in the sequel he's arrested for posting hentai on the early days of Reddit.

Love the scene of the President addressing the nation in a calm and reassuring manner... With correct grammar. It certainly makes the film seem dated, though.

Ron Perlman and Michael Ironside just chilling in this car together like high school lovers.

Michael: "I can control it this time."
Ron: looks away... "I've heard this all before..."

wishbone

Initially I thought this was a late '80s film. Then the guys mentioned Desert Storm so I thought '90s only to read online that it was 2001. Part of my confusion is that Naomi Watts is timeless.

Fun, cheesy film. I couldn't tell if thebut it was well done.

WillieMLF

Ah, a timeless retelling of technology run amuck. This has got to be the greatest movie ever made! We started the night with The Lift (1983). My wife was just rolling her eyes throughout, but it had some real moments of suspense. The blind guy was swindled by a realtor working in the building into buying a apartment for his mother. He almost walks into the shaft twice before taking the plunge. There is a point where the repairman is commended for his good work although the elevator he has worked on several times has already killed several people.

We finished the original and went right into the remake Down (2001). My wife was quite incredulous that this movie needed to be remade. I told her the director had loads more money, and was it was quite slick looking. This movie hired some real talent: Ironside, Pearlman, Hedaya & Watts. In the remake, the blind guy was played a bit more sleazy and thereby deserving of his final comeuppance. A dog was thrown in for good measure and we were rolling at how that played out.

I discovered Der Lift a number of years ago, while I was still lurking in the shadows of the October Challenge. It was some crappy Youtube version that had subtitles. Never could I have imagined getting a blu-ray of both versions of the movie.

WillieMLF

This scene wasn't in the original, and it really bumped up the body count. The effect looked pretty good. I didn't think everyone would die, as there were several kids on board....

wishbone

Trevor

^

Undeadcow

The original had a gun; the remake had a bazooka is the best summary I can think of he difference between the two. Overall I liked The Shaft better than The Lift; but both are worth seeing.