Called in to investigate an accident, elevator repair specialists and a reporter catch on that something isn't right, and as more accidents continue to plague the building they do some investigating on the story where they piece together what went wrong and save the people trapped inside.There wasn't all that much to like about it, but what was there was enough to like. One of the better aspects found here is the fact that the premise to this is actually kind of interesting and original. This is a new one involving the haunted section of the building, and that is what gives this one some great scenes here of this one attempting to support the idea of taking this seriously in the first half which is a surprising aspect and is certainly needed quite badly. This far more realistic and straightforward setup towards such a potentially goofy storyline is quite enjoyable which is enhanced by the action scenes that comes in later in the film are quite well filmed and are actually quite interesting. From the series of malfunctions and incredibly vicious accidents that are logically played out in terms of what a potential elevator mishap can occur as well as throwing in some ingenious supernatural-based activity that can't possibly occur in real life to an elevator shaft which is furthered by the fact that the gore is pretty plentiful and has some cool deaths spread throughout here. Guided along by a thrilling action-packed finale in the shafts of the building where the race to stop the machine coupled with the antics of the authorities tracking him, these here are what hold this up over it's few minor issues. There is one thing about this movie that really drags it down a notch. The film follows a constant cycle of killing someone off, conducting an investigation only to then come across another accident, then repeating ad nauseam. It gets frustrating as it keeps happening, and we know that something is wrong and it should be an easy find for those involved, yet it continues to be an unknown factor to the authorities to find out making this section of the film pretty discouraging. Another factor that really didn't sit too well as the fact that there are at least three different explanations given for the cause of the accidents, and all three have their evidence to back them up but it just seems like a bunch of different reasons culled together to be the official explanation and no one was willing to part with any of them so they were just mixed in at different points along the way. It would've been much easier to just pick one of them and stick with it. For such a cool premise, there is little to no real tension in the film. There was no real moment that really was all that suspenseful over anything else. This really needed some scenes of tension to get a sense of fear towards the elevator. Alongside the goofiness of the situation never really given much of a thought, these here are the film's issues.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Brief Full Nudity and a scene with a child in danger

I'll be honest: I really just want to belt this one out. I have two more reviews to write and spending any amount of time on The Shaft (and not the good one) is too much time.ATTENTION: THE MOVIE IS ABOUT A KILLER ELEVATOR (or "shaft" or "lift.") Surprisingly, I've now seen three "killer elevator" movies: The Lift, Devil and now The Shaft. Believe it or not, it's better than Devil but a few floors down from The Lift – from what I can remember. It's been awhile and damned Netflix doesn't have The Lift so I can't revisit that shaky climb.So…I guess they're playing on people's claustrophobic fears of an elevator because, quite frankly, the idea behind the three films (three? Really?) is rather dumb. It seems a lot safer to avoid stepping into an elevator than the ocean, as JAWS 2 warns you.Beyond the obvious problems with this feature of a NYC high rise that has a touristy elevator with an attitude, such as terrible acting, laughable dialogue and a sad list of great (Watts) to good (Perlman) actors who should know better…is the length. I mean, really? This is a B-movie, it doesn't pretend to be anything but…and still they thought 111 minutes (when 80-85 would do just fine) was what they needed to tell their story of a, and I repeat: KILLER ELEVATOR?Okay, honestly, it's not the worst movie I've seen, or even the worst B-movie, and I have seen plenty. But, it's still far too long with just awful acting, namely the lead: Marshall as no-good-trying-better elevator repairman, Mark Newman. Also, though some (just a bit) of the "kills" the shaft produces are creative, most are just painfully obvious…for someone who can think of what goes through the mind of a KILLER ELEVATOR.There really is no point of going over the plot…but just to make it quick: It's profitable to keep the beaches (sorry, still on JAWS 2) I mean, one of MANY elevators open, even though there's been some mysterious deaths (and births…don't ask.) New-comer repairman Mark teams up with "smart, sexy and obviously in it for the money" Watts as Jennifer Evans to crack the case of the satanic shaft.It's not at the point of "so-bad-it's-good" but it's worth watching if you're on something. In which I wasn't. Honest. I thought this might be a good substitute to Netflix not having The Lift. I was wrong.

"Down", (A.K.A. The Shaft) was both funny and scary,and a delightful surprise. I caught this movie completely by accident on TV and it had me glued from the first few minutes. So glued that I ended up buying a copy less than a day later. It's THAT good. In a way it was a throwback to the 80's with cheesy dialog, characters, and implausible situations.Good old New York City has a very nice building called The Millennium Building, one of the most impressive views of the city and killer elevators...LITERALLY. Seems that these elevators have more than your typical "exceeds maximum weight" problems. This elevator does some VERY NASTY THINGS. How nasty? Very very VERY NASTY THINGS.Without revealing too much, my favorite scene had to do with Edward Herrmann, having just seen something so disturbing that he's crawling on his hands and knees. As he's doing this, a young lady is walking by, not tripping on this, says hi to him before SHE sees what he saw.Or was it the skateboarder? Or the pregnant women? Or the bad acting, script and direction? It's just a hoot to watch! It's bad and good, like a big piece of chocolate mousse pie in front a person on a diet. You know you shouldn't bite into it, but you can't help it.Naomi Watts (Before "The Ring" pulled her up a bit), Michael Ironside (And what is it with him and elevators? Remember him as Richter in "Total Recall?"), and even Ron Perlman (I would love to have a boss like him!)walk through this land of cheese and pretty much survive this experience.This is a good film to watch on a Saturday night, with beer and pizza. Enjoy a big hunk of cheese.

The idea that a landmark building in NYC is having elevator problems of the most monumental sort is good for starters. But when it comes to the reason behind the elevator murders and mishaps, the writers had to be out to lunch.Some of the horrific happenings are well staged for maximum horror effect, but the characters are strictly one dimensional figures like puppets on a string. JAMES MARSHALL at least tries to give some depth to his leading role as an elevator technician who, midway through the story, accepts the help of an inquisitive newspaper reporter, NAOMI WATTS, to get to the bottom of the mysterious deaths on uncontrollable elevators.NAOMI WATTS must have been waiting for good roles to come along, but this was not one of them and she gives it no real conviction at all. The film was released shortly before the terrorist attacks on 9/11, lucky for the producers. After the attack, it's not likely a film of this sort would have been allowed to rattle the nerves of the already nervous New York City dwellers who witnessed an attack on their landmark buildings.RON PERLMAN, EDWARD HERRMANN and MICHAEL IRONSIDE are unable to give much gravitas to the absurd story, but there are several chilling scenes involving the elevator shaft that makes the whole thing at least worth a watch and some gruesome deaths by elevator.Strictly a below average horror film, enlivened by some good staging of key scenes but crying out for better plotting and dialog. The Ingmar Bergman joke between two of the elevator workers is an insult to any movie buff. At least Naomi Watts had KING KONG in her future.