| Directed by | Stig Svendsen |
|---|---|
| Written by | Marc Rosenberg |
| Produced by | Marc Rosenberg |
| Starring | Christopher Backus | Anita Briem | John Getz | Shirley Knight | Rachel and Amanda Pace | Devin Ratray | Joey Slotnick | Tehmina Sunny | Waleed Zuaiter |
| Cinematography | Alain Betrancourt |
| Edited by | Thomas Løvig |
| Music by | Herman ChristoffersenBjørnar Johnsen |
| Release dates | January 20, 2011 (Tromsø International Film Festival)July 11, 2012 (US) |
| Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Story | Plot
Nine people board the elevator in a 52-story New York skyscraper: security guard Mohammed, TV reporter Maureen and her fiance Don, comedian George, newly widowed Jane, overweight employee Martin, pregnant Celine, and building owner Henry Barton with his spoiled ten-year-old granddaughter Madeline, who they are on their way to a company party on the top floor.
On the way up, claustrophobic George panics, and on the 49th floor, Madeline presses the emergency stop button to torture him. Henry presses a button in the lobby, but the elevator descends only a few feet and stops. Henry presses the call button and alerts security. When the elevator doesn’t move, security sends out a service crew.
While waiting for help, the group talks to each other. Jane, who says her son died in Iraq last year, confronts Henry and says her husband lost everything because Barton Investments pushed junk bonds. In her anger, she planned to “make a point” at the party. Suddenly, Jane collapses and dies of a heart attack, but before she dies, she confesses that she has a bomb. After an argument, Celine checks Jane’s body and finds a bomb secured around her waist with a bicycle lock. Don tries to find a way out through the ceiling, but to no avail.
Don makes Celine quit smoking and she asks when he became a caring father. Maureen overhears and demands an explanation; Don admits that he may be the father of Celine’s unborn child. Maureen is upset. Henry calls security again, but angers them and they become unresponsive. Maureen documents the events on her phone and sends them to her television station, which picks up the story and plays the footage she captured.
The others force open the door and Don tries to climb out. The opening is too small, but he uses Jane’s walking stick to press the button to call the elevator. At the same time, Madeline presses several buttons on the control panel. The elevator brakes are disabled and Don’s arm is severed as the elevator drops several floors. Mohammed uses the tie as a tourniquet to slow the blood loss. Henry is confused and dazed. George suggests that they open the doors again to see if the elevator has leveled up with the floor in their drop-off, but to their dismay, they find that the elevator has stopped between floors. Martin pulls up the local news on his phone and they watch a live interview with the bomb maker. The man was a good friend of Jane’s son and felt he owed it to their family. He estimates it will explode within ten minutes.
Desperate, George suggests cutting up Jane’s body to separate her from the bomb and drop her down the shaft. When they lose their temper, an angry Henry takes over and George makes Henry promise each of them $1 million if they survive. As they try to tear the bomb away, a security guard on the intercom tells them that the bomb squad is there and is starting the elevator. They open the door, make a small opening and help everyone but Martin to escape. When only Martin is left, he knows the hole isn’t big enough to fit through. Desperate, George orders the SWAT members to raise the elevator and rescue Martin. As they lower the elevator into the basement to get him out, Martin cries because he knows his death is imminent. Before the bomb goes off, he calms down and realizes that he is a hero because he helped everyone survive.
Don is taken to the hospital and George questions Henry about the $1 million he promised each of the group, which he ignores. George and Mohammed talk briefly outside the building about what awaits them. The reporter asks George how he could stay so brave during the ordeal, to which George lies and says he had to stay calm for everyone there, then runs off to get something after a phone call from his wife, who has no idea what happened chose up from the shop. Muhammad is watching.
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