MovieChat Forums > Down (2001) Discussion > one of the worst movies...so...

one of the worst movies...so...


...why can't i stop watching it? Why do i keep making my friends watch it? Why do i almost wet myself when Naomi Watts says "I'll pee on them!" or when the lady at the diner talks about how she sat on the pork chops for two hours?

This movie makes NO sense and you should stay away at all costs...but for some reason it has become my biggest guilty pleasure right now...

reply

ok.. I think it's horrible.. I wouldn't watch it twice..

reply

I know exactly what you mean, I work at a youth center so we usaully rent a lot of garbage. "The Shaft" happend to be one of those films. There was something about that movie that makes me want to watch it again. I can't put my finger on it because obviously it was horrible. It's as if the writer/director knew how horrible it was and let the audience know it very subtly. Once you realize this, it's like being part of the club.

Hard to explain...

reply

It's the same thing with me.

I was curious to see what Dick Maas could come up with in his apparent remake of his 1983 movie "De Lift". Unable to source The Shaft in Australia, I bought the DVD from Amazon and eagerly awaited its arrival.

The movie was horrible, but I can't stop myself from watching it once a month or so :-)

Some parts I skip past though, like that stupid scene in the diner with the abusive customer.

-Shaun

reply


that others are having the same experience!

"LOOK! LIBYANS!"

They switched me. I wanted a pill to match my eyes. Color me beautiful!

reply

Yeah, I know what you all mean. I don't think I've ever seen a movie that was sooooo bad, yet so cool at the same time. I was oddly fascinated and entertained, despite the obvious badness of everything in this movie.

reply

I thought this movie was awesome, it had good acting, suspense and cool deaths. Why anyone else cant see that is very susprising to me. This is not one of the worst movies in fact I think its one of the best horror movies of 2001. Why is it so underappreciated? Id like to see you make a better movie.

reply

"Id like to see you make a better movie." - axedoff

shouldn't be too hard.

and, incidently, there weren't really any "cool deaths" - there's not much you can do with elevators. decapitation or parts getting severed and the ubiquitous falling...

reply

"I know exactly what you mean, I work at a youth center so we usaully rent a lot of garbage. "The Shaft" happend to be one of those films. "

You showed this at a youth center?? What was the determining factor in renting this one? The nudity and violence, or the R rating? Worst of all would be making youth sit through this horrible film!!

reply

Yeah, twas a rubishy film. Badly acted, filmed, written etc. Yet, it scared teh *beep* outta me, I'll tell you. Wow. How'd they do that? Scare you even with cr-ubish? Maybe it was the music...

reply

Were you really scared watching this?? I was just plain bored.
But I must admit, seeing Ron Perlman, Michael Ironside and Dan Hedaya sitting next to each other in the same movie was kinda cool. Plus a lot of the deaths were original and spared no one, I liked that.
But the two lead actors were horrible and annoying, that's just too bad. I didn't even notice the music, except Aerosmiths "Love in an Elevator"!

-This is my John Hancock?

reply

[deleted]

Actually, I found it pretty good. An enjoyable "B" horror picture. Though Naomi Watt's clothes were rather pink and tacky. What's the true cause of the elevator anyway? Mad Computer? Voodoo?

reply

[deleted]

two lead actors were not very horrible....but i think Naomi wasn't good in that film....silly journalist ..too silly...that is too bad because Naomi is my favourite actress......but James Marshall played the part in Twin Peaks, so i respect him...i gave 6 for this film...idea with "alive" elevators is funny , but however it is a Hollywood film...they all are banal...

reply

It was a mad computer chip or something from a workers brain.They kinda did a hokey explanation of the whole evil elevator thing but where else will you see an evil elevator?

reply

Has he made any other movies beside this, the lift, and Amsterdamned?

reply

I was wondering if my brain was leaking when I heard Naomi Watts reply "I'll pee on them!" to her editor when he said he wanted 400 juicy words (or something). I'm like, NOOO that is so wrong. And yet, I love movies like this. It truly was bad and dragged a little, and I missed the whole "they are using human tissue instead of the usual dolphin tissue in the microchips" thing in great detail. I loved the pink glittery elevator controller thing. Wow. Accents, all over the place. At one point I thought they were on the outskirts of Chicago, using the Ford motor plant as the Meteor elevator plant. But I could be wrong. And the lady at the diner, saying that about sitting on the pork chops? Again, what the? I was thinking of a Ring parody when Naomi was showing James Marshall the video tape of when the skateboarder got sucked into the elevator and spewed out at the top floor.

reply

the storyline is ok but it confuses part way through when naomi watts gets that call when shes trying to smuggle herself and the mechanic guy in. i don't get what suddenly clicked in her mind when 'chip' rang her up and said 'they don't test it on animals anymore'. she then sudden;y realises somehing. but what? one thing that annoys me aswell, is naomi watts has a hell of a lot of lines that end in 'will ya?' she says it three times (i think)when she follows the mechanic into the toilet and tries to get a story. so so annoying!!!

reply

[deleted]

Maybe you ought to try watching the original Dutch film which "inspired" this movie. It's called "De Lift". Filmed by the same director in the 80s, it's considered one of the the best films in Dutch film history by Dutch film-goers. (I know this because I used to live over there and I have a degree in Dutch Studies...)

reply

[deleted]

Although this movie clearly sucked it was hilarious and awesome. I would definitely watch this again. I just wish there were more scenes with elevator deaths. Some of them were classic pieces of cinema.

reply

I can NOT understand, HOw, this movie ever made it even to tv or video! It is HORRIBLE!
When I noticed Naomi Watts in it I was surprised! I think the bad acting in the film was contagious..!

reply

This movie is definitely no classic, but I think it's better than a lot of people give it credit for, because it's just FUN. There is quite a bit of suspense in it, and Naomi Watts is really cute. I especially love the line near the end where the guard asks, "What's in the back?" And she says "stuff--for elevators." Of course that's a pretty stupid response, and she does have a number of dumb lines in the film, but I think they're kind of endearing. Her character in this film is a lot like Betty in Mulholland Drive, except less "sweet." She's spunky and always getting into mischief of one kind or another, and that's a lot of fun to watch. When they kiss at the end, anybody watching this would have to have thought, "this lady's going to be a star." Of course the male lead does most of the "serious" work, and he does very well, I think. And I think the relationship between them is quite believable. It's the sort of "chemistry" you would have expected to lead to a sequel of some sort, if this film had done better.

There is other humor, too, like that daycare worker who's always cursing at the children. That was a really funny scene. But the scene where the little girl is playing by the elevators was really scary.

"Extremism in the pursuit of moderation is no vice."

reply

"I think this movie is quite good (but then again i like DICK "
LOL! sorry, it seemed logical. you liking the movie and all.
i dont think it was 'THAT' bad, i just dont see how so many great actors are in it, when its terrible.
Michael Ironside, Ron Perlman, Naomi Watts, how did someone get them in this movie?

"When There Is No More Room In Hell, The Dead, Will Walk The Earth."

reply