ELEVATOR MOVIE
PLOT-A perverted college student and a born again christian get stuck in an elevator together.
VIOLENCE-A (real?) mouse is stomped flat, and a person's body slowly grows metal parts.
SEX/NUDITY-Two or three non-sexual nude scenes with the female lead, and a graphic scene of a guy fucking a metal pipe.
WHY I WATCHED IT-I really love dark comedies, particularly low-budget ones, because you truly never know what to expect. Reading the plot synopsis for ELEVATOR MOVIE completely intrigued me.
THE DOPE-This movie could have easily been an arty, boring character study. After all, it's shot in 16mm B&W, has only two actors, takes place in an elevator, and runs 95 minutes. Luckily, filmmaker Zeb Haradon (who wrote, directed, starred in, shot and edited the film) makes sure that the audience stays totally enamored with what's happening onscreen the whole time, by utilizing weird sci-fi elements, gross humor, and lots of shock value. Jim (Haradon's character) is slowly revealed as quite a freaky young man. He's never had a girlfriend, is obsessed with anal sex, and doesn't believe in God. Lana (played by Robin Ballard), on the other hand, is a recovering drug-addicted slut who has given her life to Jesus Christ. Strangely, there are no intense confrontations or arguments. Instead, Haradon lets the story unfold and take very bizarre turns, thus keeping me entertained and waiting to see what would happen next.
ELEVATOR MOVIE takes influence from films like David Lynch's ERASERHEAD, Shinya Tsukamoto's TETSUO: THE IRON MAN, and even has moments of Cronenbergian biological horror, but don't forget...this is a comedy! For good measure, Haradon keeps the characters grounded firmly in reality despite the strange circumstances, and keeps the laughs and freak factor turned up high with perverse dialogue and even close-up shots of (very real-looking) turds floating in a urine-filled coffee can (which reminded me of Clive Barker's excellent short story DREAD). At times, the movie felt like something Richard Kern might have done if he collaborated with John Waters. It never gets pretentious or boring, or too weird. ELEVATOR MOVIE is a true testament to what can be done if enough talent is involved, and enough thought goes into the production. Haradon and Ballard are both perfectly believable in their performances, and I loved how things stayed freaky yet funny throughout. I found myself laughing out loud several times, just out of sheer disbelief at what I was seeing and hearing. This film scores on so many levels, but primarily because it's so simple and yet so perfectly well-done. Definitely one of the most original and bizarre films I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Honestly, I'd take ELEVATOR MOVIE over ERASERHEAD any day of the week.
MEMORABLE SCENES-Lana explains to Jim that her religious conversion happened after her uncle "saw an image of Jesus in his own feces", to which Jim replies, "HOLY SHIT!"
NOTES-To learn more about this film (and purchase it on DVD or VHS at dirt cheap prices), visit theELEVATOR MOVIE website.
(November 2003)