This review of Down is a companion piece to my review of Blue Underground’s Blu-ray release of The Lift. If you have not read my thoughts on The Lift, I highly recommend starting here.
Is Down a Hidden Treasure or Dumpster Fire?
Blu-ray Distributed By: Blue Underground / October 31, 2017
Jimbo’s Take 
(2 / 5)
If you’ve seen The Lift (1983), Down is quite literally, the Exact. Same. Movie.
Except it sucks.
This time Maas has a bigger budget. He has higher profile actors. And the film sets itself in New York City. Beyond that it’s lifeless and soulless, especially when comparing it against its independent relative, The Lift.
James Marshall, of Twin Peaks fame, takes over the elevator repairman role, renamed Mark for this version. Naomi Watts (The Ring, King Kong, Mulholland Drive) is Jennifer, the spunky tabloid reporter.
In this iteration, Mark is not married. He’s a former Marine and kind of a loser. One of his first film interactions is getting cheated on by his girlfriend. In another scene he gets punched in the face and knocked over with one blow. I wouldn’t say we don’t like him, but unlike Felix from The Lift, Mark has nothing in his personal life to help put anything else at stake. If he dies, it’s tragic, but it’s not like he’s raising a family.
The performances are flat and uninspired. The film boasts some of the best genre favorites – Michael Ironside (Scanners), Edward Hermann (The Lost Boys), Dan Hedaya (Commando), and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) – but the dialogue feels forced and staged, even though much of it is word for word identical.
You’ve probably already noticed throughout this review I have included my usual screenshots, but showcased images from both films side-by-side. When comparing the two movies there are really only three major differences between The Lift and Down. Down includes…
- A bottomless elevator scene with a costly digital effect that looks like garbage. On the plus side, a kid pisses his pants which is unintentionally hilarious.
- A “rollerblade scene” that showcases another death spectacle beyond the budget capabilities of The Lift.
- Broadening the social commentary to include Presidents and terrorist plots.
This last deviation from the original proves to be the only interesting thing about Down, but not because of the film itself. By coincidence, Down was released in the Netherlands on September 6, 2001 (5 days before the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center). Near the film’s end, armed forces have moved into the building, believing terrorists could be influencing the elevators. One soldier asks why they’ve brought missiles and the other responds, “Terrorists have airplanes too.” Later you can hear another soldier say, “If you see Bin Laden, say hello!”
These three changes represent the most significant updates, but even these do nothing to alter the story in any significant and impactful way from The Lift. A lot of it is mindlessly cookie-cutter identical, which leads me to believe Maas desired to remake one of his best films in an effort to get a second chance for a missed opportunity from years past.
In 1988, while Maas was developing Amsterdamned (another great blu-ray release by Blue Underground), he was offered the Director position of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Maas would turn down this offer, and Nightmare 4 (directed instead by Renny Harlin) would go on to be the most financially successful entry in the series. Harlin went on to have a pretty successful Hollywood directing career. Maas did not. Therefore, I suspect Down was Maas’ second chance to get his break into Hollywood.
Of course this is all just conjecture, and it’s possible I’m looking for reasons and logic where there may be none. It’s quite possible that Maas simply had the idea of an elevator floor dropping out from under its riders and some stupid producer gave him money to make Down for that reason alone. Or maybe he just wanted to use Aerosmith’s “Love in an Elevator” in a horror movie about a killer elevator. (That’s not a joke. Maas uses it twice.)
Regardless, Down failed and was pulled from theaters due to world events outside of Maas’ control. Americans wouldn’t have the ability to see Down (re-titled The Shaft) until 2003 as a truncated, bare bones, pan and scan DVD.
Even without a side-by-side comparison to The Lift, Down remains a clunky, poorly executed film. It is reminiscent of the shitty PG-13 slashers cranked out in the 1990s by Miramax and Dimension films. It’s not the worst thing ever made. It’s just… Bleh and forgettable. Down has more polish, updated special effects, and a more seasoned and famous cast, but in the end it is by far an inferior product.
Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?
| Film: |  (2.0 / 5) |
| Video/Audio: |  (3.5 / 5) |
| Extras: | (3.5 / 5) |
| Average: |  (3.0 / 5) |
I’m still uncertain exactly why Maas was seduced to remake a very good film into a slightly tolerable one. Full disclosure, I have not yet listened to the audio commentaries and that may hold the answer. Despite this…
Completists, like myself, will want both movies for study and comparison. Blue Underground makes both titles well worth any serious collectors while with strong technical presentation and a bunch of fantastic extras, including Director commentary on both films.
For more casual horror film fans, I’ll simplify this with the following analogy.
If The Lift = John Carpenter’s Halloween;
Then Down = Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers.
That analogy should help you decide whether you lean toward purchasing The Lift, Down, both, or neither.
[amazon_link asins=’B074BNB14B’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’trashmenamaz-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ade430e1-f7df-11e7-b86a-03a47721cdd0′]Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Dick Maas and Stunt Coordinator Willem de Beukelaer
- The Making of DOWN
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage [Blu-ray Exclusive]
- Theatrical Trailer
- Teaser Trailers
- Poster & Still Gallery
- BONUS Collectable Booklet with new essay by author Michael Gingold
