The Shaft (2001)

When the express elevators in the Millennium Building, one of New York's most famous landmarks, start to malfunction and behave in erratic ways, elevator mechanic Mark Newman is sent out to... See full summary »

Director:

Dick Maas

Writer:

Dick Maas

Stars:

James Marshall, Naomi Watts, Eric Thal

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Marshall	...	Mark Newman
Naomi Watts	...	Jennifer Evans
Eric Thal	...	Jeffrey
Michael Ironside	...	Gunter Steinberg
Edward Herrmann	...	Milligan
Dan Hedaya	...	Lt. McBain
Ron Perlman	...	Mitchell
Kathryn Meisle	...	Mildred
Martin McDougall	...	Security Guard Andy
John Cariani	...	Security Guard Gary
David Gwillim	...	Blind Man (Mr Faith)
Peter Banks	...	Maintenance Chief
William Vanderpuye	...	Murphy (as Will Vanderpuye)
Wilke Durand	...	Kowalski's Wife
Todd Boyce	...	ESU Captain

Storyline

When the express elevators in the Millennium Building, one of New York's most famous landmarks, start to malfunction and behave in erratic ways, elevator mechanic Mark Newman is sent out to find the cause of the problems. His investigation meets unexpected resistance and not everybody seems to be happy with his involvement. After a gruesome and deadly incident, in which a blind man falls into the shaft and a security guard is decapitated, the police start an investigation. They are however not very successful. Mark is determined to find the cause. He is joined by a female reporter, Jennifer, who is looking for a juicy story. Together they try to unravel the secrets behind the mysterious behaviour of the elevator that seems to have a life of it's own. When things get worse and death toll rises, The Government, fearing terrorists are involved, seal off the building. What at first looked like a routine job turns into a horrifying nightmare in which Mark has to face an enemy whose blood ...

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Plot Keywords:

elevator | killed in an elevator | remake by original director | elevator shaft | elevator malfunction | 

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Taglines:

YOUR NEXT STOP... IS HELL.

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence, language and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA Netherlands

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 September 2001 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

The Shaft

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Floor Features, Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep (AVRO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In real life Naomi Watts is afraid of elevators.

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Quotes

Security Guard #6: It's going DOWN!

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Connections

References Casablanca (1942)

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Soundtracks

Goodbye My Friend
Performed by Karla Bonoff

User Reviews

Not that bad

This is a typical Dick Maas production. Cheesy to the max, limited plot, laughable dialogue and comic action sequences. Anyone who has seen anything by Maas will recognise these as his trademark and just go with the flow. I was dreading watching this movie from all the comments on IMDB but while it is hardly a classic (it's pretty poor really), it IS very entertaining. It's a real no brainer that passes the time quite nicely and while artistically his original "De Lift" is a better movie, I found this one to be more entertaining. Score out of 10? 5/10 for the film itself, 7.5/10 for entertainment value. PS~ Forgot to mention the acting.... probably for the best ;-)