the lift

It's been fashionable of late to liberally lift the style and atmosphere of John Carpenter. Despite releasing his last movie in 2010, the director's influence has remained pretty much a constant on the horror genre since Halloween. But Dutch filmmaker Dick Maas got a big head start on everyone back in 1983 with his Carpenter inspired "killer elevator" movie - The Lift - the very same year Christine hit theaters.

Called in to investigate a close call involving several passengers who were almost asphyxiated during a ride from the top floor, elevator mechanic Felix Adelaar (Huub Stapel) suspects there's something fundamentally wrong with the system despite finding no technical explanation. And he's proved right when the equipment continues to malfunction, almost seeming to have a mind of its own as it decapitates a security guard and lures more unsuspecting victims into the empty shaft.

Joining forces with a pushy journalist (Willeke van Ammelrooy), the duo follow a trail of clues back to the company who created the elevator's computer system, uncovering a conspiracy involving experimental "bio-chips" that can duplicate themselves and function autonomously. Armed with this new information, Felix attempts to destroy this living machine from the inside out before it claims any more lives.

Inspired by Stephen King's short story The Mangler, which was turned into an awful film itself in 1995, Maas pulls off a pretty nifty trick by playing his film completely straight. There are a few moments of comic relief but, for the most part, Felix's man-versus-machine battle is sold as a serious piece of artificial intelligence run amok. And Maas' visual approach, built mostly of ominous wide shots set to a pulsing synthesizer score, sells the ridiculous premise surprisingly well.

Against all odds, The Lift wound up becoming a smash hit in its native country, propelling Maas on to bigger and better projects (one of which, Amsterdamned, was also just released by Blue Underground). In 2001, the director took on the challenge of remaking his own film for an English-language audience. Originally titled Down, but released as The Shaft, the new version starred Twin Peaks' James Marshall and soon-to-be-hot Naomi Watts in the lead roles, shifting the action to New York and the fictional Millennium Building where yet another elevator has become self aware.

Down's plot is virtually the same, but Maas' amps up the set-piece scenes, opening the film with four pregnant women trapped between floors as a malfunctioning air conditioner induces early labor. In fact, the film bravely pushes the envelope of bad taste, knocking off women, children and even seeing-eye dogs with a callous sense of black humor. The Lift wanted to be taken seriously. Down is hoping you're in on the joke.

But even with a name cast (Ron Perlman and Michael Ironside lend a hand) and a bigger budget, Maas was unable to recapture the cult appeal of the original. Down pretty much disappeared into home video oblivion after a poor DVD release from Artisan and a few uncomfortable onscreen links to the World Trade Center attacks. Blue Underground's new hi-def release goes a long way towards rectifying its bad reputation with an "oh-my-God-this-looks-AMAZING" transfer that showcases Maas' ability to cut together an action scene with the best of them. That doesn't filter out the general off-kilter vibe throughout the film (you've never heard so many phony New York accents) but makes for a monumentally improved viewing experience. Extras include a commentary, vintage Making Of, trailers, liner notes and 151 minutes of behind the scenes footage.

Shifting gears back to The Lift (both movies are released separately, by the way...although a double-feature would have been inspired), another impeccable transfer kicks off the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with an audio commentary, interview with Huub Stapel, trailers, liner notes and a 2003 short film from director Dick Maas.