''
Down'' is a
2001 horror film starring
James Marshall and
Naomi Watts about a killer elevator. It is also known as "The Shaft," which is the name used for the
United States DVD release.
Watts plays the role of pushy journalist Jennifer Evans with gusto, creating a much likeable character falling for Mark (Marshall), a 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 is a remake of the 1983 Dutch film
De Lift (The Elevator), which was also directed by Maas.
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
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247303/releaseinfo].
Produced before the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, several references are made in the film about the possibility of terrorists attacking New York City.
Plot Summary
When several people die unexpectedly in an
express elevator in a
New York City landmark called the Millenium Building, everyone, at first, thinks it's a technical problem. But when repairmen repeatedly can't find any problems with the elevator, it's clear that something else is at work.
A tabloid investigative journalist (Watts) and an elevator mechanic (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 elevator indeed has a life of its own.