Yes, you can draw inferences to Eraserhead and also Tetsuo Iron Man when watching Elevator Movie. Considering the youth, budget, religious rebellion and insistence which put this film out, I liked it very much. This film will either draw you into its fringe fantasy of the disturbed, or you will hate it. Amazingly, at around 90 minutes, this powerfully simplistic movie doesn't drag, and you do empathize with the characters, if not the fetishistic trip. See it if you do like the aforementioned films, and appreciate it for taking the risks it does take, because that alone makes it an outrage to most. Don't gripe about the technical aspects of it, please....
6 Reviews
A brilliant concept that was basically thrown together
ForTommy2Lookie15 October 2008
Watching this movie was like being in a crappy Hollywood acting class and watching two unprofessional actors do a (YAWN) scene for an hour and a half. The IDEA of this film is excellent, but it was put together very poorly, and why it was filmed in black and white is beyond me. Zeb, knock it off with the "trying to make your movie look artsy" with the black and white and the "off centering" of the actors. It doesn't work. It's just ignorant. Also, why after weeks and months of being in the elevator did the actors look cleaner than they did after being stuck for 2 days. You needed to see the progression of Zeb's character going mad.
And lastly there is one major thing I wanted to comment on: I love dry sick humor, (I'm a Family Guy fanatic) but the whole HA HA at the end credits that stated "No animals were harmed except for mice and lobsters" didn't fly with me in the least. Whether this statement was completely a joke or whether it happened to be real was NOT funny. Harming animals is not funny, even if it was intended to be a joke.
And lastly there is one major thing I wanted to comment on: I love dry sick humor, (I'm a Family Guy fanatic) but the whole HA HA at the end credits that stated "No animals were harmed except for mice and lobsters" didn't fly with me in the least. Whether this statement was completely a joke or whether it happened to be real was NOT funny. Harming animals is not funny, even if it was intended to be a joke.
Awful.
sugarskull25 August 2008
This movie is trying way too hard to be Eraserhead,as much as I'm sure the director would deny it.
It has some mildly amusing moments, but is mostly weird and disturbing for the sake of being weird and disturbing,which we've all seen a million times before. Yawn. The acting is beyond terrible, it's boring, and unoriginal.
The movie is as low budget as it can get, this is understandable, but they could have at least tried to do something interesting with the way it looks, considering how horrible the content of the movie was.
Overall, I'd say this is akin to a really bad student film. So if you like really bad student films with heaps of contrived strangeness, then this is the movie for you.
It has some mildly amusing moments, but is mostly weird and disturbing for the sake of being weird and disturbing,which we've all seen a million times before. Yawn. The acting is beyond terrible, it's boring, and unoriginal.
The movie is as low budget as it can get, this is understandable, but they could have at least tried to do something interesting with the way it looks, considering how horrible the content of the movie was.
Overall, I'd say this is akin to a really bad student film. So if you like really bad student films with heaps of contrived strangeness, then this is the movie for you.
Elevator movie
polysicsarebest9 February 2010
This film is amazing! I see everyone talking about Tetsuo and Eraserhead, but I see more Bunuel (specifically L'Age D'Or) and Fotopolous (Migrating Forms is very similar to this). Not that it matters... this film is truly original, not even in its concept, but more so in how it handles the subject matter. Two people in a room for 90 minutes, talking about their lives -- does that sound interesting to you? Well, it doesn't to me, to be honest, but to actually see this in execution will make you a believer.
It helps that the cast is excellent, all two of them. There is a real chemistry here, and both characters are actually charming, though flawed, and very real -- very human. Both posses a rather dry sense of humor, but I found them both quite hilarious. When one character passionately and sincerely talks about her uncle finding Jesus in his f-f-feces, the other character exclaims "Holy sh*t!" Priceless! It had me rolling.
The film is loaded with "mistakes", but these "errors" don't detract from the viewing experience; in fact, they add to the atmosphere quite a bit and make what could have been an entertaining-enough character-study, into a truly surreal, original, brilliant little film. Sometimes, the audio doesn't match the lips that are moving, sometimes scenes abruptly cut off, there is a constant flicker and "bad" lighting and "bad" framing. But I think this film is highly artistic, and it adds to the atmosphere quite a bit and makes this film highly recommendable. People who complain about its "badness" aren't schooled enough in film to realize that the editing is actually quite brilliant, the pacing is flawless, the writing is pitch-perfect - everything is clearly intentional, even the "mistakes", as randomness has a certain place too. Why would you want to watch something completely clean and complacent? This film wears its non-budget proudly... why else would the title sequence be done in paper and permanent marker (with awful handwriting)? I love this sloppy approach, it really puts this film over the top to me.
What this director does with 2 characters in one room for 90 minutes is more entertaining and thought-provoking than what your average "experimental" Tarkovsky wannabe can do with tons of characters, years of filming, and lots of "perfect" editing.
The best thing about this film really is the pacing. The director/writer doesn't forget that he is telling a story here, and so he adds little surreal touches to keep the film moving along at a good pace. He doesn't offer all his secrets up front; this film really builds, and when it gets there, it's wonderful. You'll cream the first time you hear music, after so long of there being only background hiss.
Fascinatingly gritty, strangely touching, absurdly brilliant, and somehow wonderfully realistic in its depiction of humanity, suffering, religion, and interactions between people. This is a BRILLIANT debut and one of the most exciting underground films I've ever seen... if you're a boring person, you'll be bored by this. But if you're an enlightened person, this will be your new favorite film.
It helps that the cast is excellent, all two of them. There is a real chemistry here, and both characters are actually charming, though flawed, and very real -- very human. Both posses a rather dry sense of humor, but I found them both quite hilarious. When one character passionately and sincerely talks about her uncle finding Jesus in his f-f-feces, the other character exclaims "Holy sh*t!" Priceless! It had me rolling.
The film is loaded with "mistakes", but these "errors" don't detract from the viewing experience; in fact, they add to the atmosphere quite a bit and make what could have been an entertaining-enough character-study, into a truly surreal, original, brilliant little film. Sometimes, the audio doesn't match the lips that are moving, sometimes scenes abruptly cut off, there is a constant flicker and "bad" lighting and "bad" framing. But I think this film is highly artistic, and it adds to the atmosphere quite a bit and makes this film highly recommendable. People who complain about its "badness" aren't schooled enough in film to realize that the editing is actually quite brilliant, the pacing is flawless, the writing is pitch-perfect - everything is clearly intentional, even the "mistakes", as randomness has a certain place too. Why would you want to watch something completely clean and complacent? This film wears its non-budget proudly... why else would the title sequence be done in paper and permanent marker (with awful handwriting)? I love this sloppy approach, it really puts this film over the top to me.
What this director does with 2 characters in one room for 90 minutes is more entertaining and thought-provoking than what your average "experimental" Tarkovsky wannabe can do with tons of characters, years of filming, and lots of "perfect" editing.
The best thing about this film really is the pacing. The director/writer doesn't forget that he is telling a story here, and so he adds little surreal touches to keep the film moving along at a good pace. He doesn't offer all his secrets up front; this film really builds, and when it gets there, it's wonderful. You'll cream the first time you hear music, after so long of there being only background hiss.
Fascinatingly gritty, strangely touching, absurdly brilliant, and somehow wonderfully realistic in its depiction of humanity, suffering, religion, and interactions between people. This is a BRILLIANT debut and one of the most exciting underground films I've ever seen... if you're a boring person, you'll be bored by this. But if you're an enlightened person, this will be your new favorite film.
Great movie on a small budget
stargazer1303-116 March 2009
Wow, I thought this was an excellent movie. Consider how hard it is to capture such moments on black and white 16mm film, using only two characters and one room -the elevator, and keep it interesting, funny and weird all at the same time. I thought the actors did really well and the story line was fascinating. These two characters manage to both repel and attract. While one wants desperately out, the other clings to his idea of romance and making things work in their unique environment.
This is not, IMO, an attempt to capture Erasehead. It was an attempt to show how to very divergent characters can turn to each other for comfort in the weirdest place, at the weirdest time.
Weird, quirky and brilliant. Absolutely loved this film.
This is not, IMO, an attempt to capture Erasehead. It was an attempt to show how to very divergent characters can turn to each other for comfort in the weirdest place, at the weirdest time.
Weird, quirky and brilliant. Absolutely loved this film.
Hilarity on a non-existent budget, still hilarity.
KuroiShi29 September 2004
I recently saw the World Premiere of Zeb Haradon's film "Elevator Movie" at the Chicago Underground Film Fest 2004. Shot in a creepy black and white 16mm, and staged almost entirely in an elevator, the movie is low budget, and proud. Hilarious writing, and bland "undercurrented" humor and acting makes this feel a lot like the Coen Brother's "The Big Lebowski" or the recent Indie hit, Napoleon Dynamite. But what makes this film unique is the subject matter. Seemingly normal characters (A Born-again Christian woman, and a loser pervert) are thrusted into a unique, but not unlikely situation. (Trapped in an elevator) Things get stranger and stranger, as their food is replenished daily, they discover they are not suspended in an elevator shaft, and the female role finds out she is lusted after by her male acquaintance, who wants nothing more than to have anal sex with her, and to be fellated by a venus flytrap. Characters proceed to get stranger and stranger (reminiscent of a Charlie Kaufman film) until the hilarious end.
I highly recommend this movie, and I for one can't wait for a DVD to be published. If your interested in this film, check out Elevator Movie's website for information regarding screenings.
I highly recommend this movie, and I for one can't wait for a DVD to be published. If your interested in this film, check out Elevator Movie's website for information regarding screenings.
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