ELEVATION (2024)

Studio:   Vertical Entertainment
Director: George Nolfi
Writer:   John Glenn, Jacob Roman, Kenny Ryan
Producer: Brad Fuller, John Glenn, George Nolfi, Joel Viertel, Jeremy Kipp Walker, Alex Black, Natalie Sellers, Anthony Mackie
Stars:    Anthony Mackie, Morena Baccarin, Maddie Hasson

Review Score:

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Summary:

Forced to live 8,000 feet above ground by creatures that took over the planet, survivors venture down from their mountain refuge to find a way to save their settlement.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Three years after subterranean creatures emerged from sinkholes all over the world and killed 95% of the planet's population, forcing survivors to retreat above an 8,000-foot elevation line where the indestructible "reapers" will not go, widower Will continues to live at Lost Gulch Refuge in Colorado's Rocky Mountains with his eight-year-old son Hunter. With asthmatic Hunter's breathing machine down to its final filter, Will decides to risk going back below "The Line" and down to Boulder to retrieve replacement filters from a hospital.

Will appeals to despondent physicist Nina Richmond, who remains determined to find a way to kill the monsters, to accompany him due to the survival skills she developed. Blaming herself for getting Will's wife Tara killed when the two women tried returning to Nina's laboratory so she could continue her reaper research, Nina ultimately agrees to join Will. Tara's former best friend Katie insists on joining, too. Fellow settler Tim arms the trio with weaponry. General store proprietor Hannah volunteers to watch Hunter in Will's absence.

During their journey, Will, Nina, and Katie narrowly escape a reaper by using a ski lift to return above The Line. The three of them later encounter another reaper while traversing mine tunnels, where Katie is violently attacked and dragged away.

While regrouping in a cabin, Nina tells Will she thinks the reapers' armored scales are electrically charged, meaning she believes she can use science to penetrate them. The next day, Will and Nina commandeer a truck to race back below The Line. There, the two of them retrieve Hunter's filters from the hospital and escape another reaper attack.

Despite accomplishing their objective, Nina convinces Will they should continue on to her old lab so she can conduct more research on killing the creatures in order to find a better way to live. At Boulder National Laboratories, Will finds a family photo revealing Nina lost her husband and two children to the monsters while she obsessed over her work. Will and Nina discuss their shared blame over Tara's death.

Nina tells Will to return to his son while she remains at the lab. After several experiments, Nina discovers a way to coat bullets in a cobalt compound that causes reapers to explode.

Will flips his truck trying to race back up the mountain. Now on foot, Will ends up hopelessly surrounded by reapers, but Nina arrives in time to rescue him with her explosive bullets. Nina shows Will that the creatures are actually programmed machines seemingly sent to Earth by aliens, although they still do not know why the reapers don't venture higher than 8,000 feet.

Will and Nina safely return to Lost Gulch Refuge. Over the radio, they announce to other settlements that they found a way to destroy the reapers. Armed with cobalt bullets, survivors start hunting down the creatures to gradually take back the planet. However, Will and Nina later spot streaking lights coming toward Earth from outer space.

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Review:

Three years ago, subterranean creatures called "reapers" emerged from sinkholes all over Earth and wiped out 95% of the planet's population. No one knows why, and viewers don't find out how in the world anyone figured this out, but these monsters mysteriously refuse to venture higher than exactly 8,000 feet. No more, no less, for reasons we'll only learn if there's a sequel. To stay alive, survivors retreated to mountain refuges where they've established settlements that subsist on nature while working out ways to combat their indestructible enemies.

"Elevation" comes constructed almost exactly like a video game. First, choose your preferred hero based on gender and stats.

Will, a widower with a sick son, is intelligent, caring, and courageous. Nina, a former physicist, has stronger field skills including weapon handling and strategizing, although the guilt she feels for failing her family and getting Will's wife killed makes her despondent and unpredictable.

There's also their NPC companion Katie, yet since her third-billed actor isn't even featured on the poster art, Katie's unfortunate fate is clearly a predictably predetermined event that cannot be changed. She might as well be wearing a red shirt for as much as her character ultimately matters.

The trio's main mission involves retrieving replacement filters for Will's son's failing breathing machine. Previously content to remain safe and sound within the confines of their Rocky Mountain community, Will now knows he needs to risk his life to save another, no matter the personal cost. Nina also has a side quest where she wants to reach her old laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, because it contains research she believes will help her figure out how to use science against the reapers' impenetrable armor.

Reaching their objectives requires fighting through a variety of levels that gradually increase in difficulty. One high-tension sequence sees the trio daringly dashing and jumping across ski lift chairs and suspension cables as a creature tears up support towers. Another scene has the heroes navigating mine tunnels where deadly monsters lurk around every dark corner. Nail-biting scenarios are then broken up by quieter interludes where everyone recovers hit points, replenishes supplies, modifies their guns, and connects in interpersonal moments that broaden their heartbreaking backstories. If you don't get major "The Last of Us" vibes from "Elevation's" entire setup, it'll only be because you didn't play the games or watch the HBO series.

Don't let the notable names of the film's two stars, Anthony Mackie and Morena Baccarin, fool you. Despite a pinch of star power, "Elevation" is still a B-movie on a budget, bearing telltale signs of an indie production. 23 different people have some sort of producer title in the credits, including both of the lead actors. That's over three times the number of speaking roles, which only require seven performers, two of whom don't have more than a minute of screentime. Interior sets are limited too, like the mineshafts that may be challenging to light, but are relatively easy to shoot in without requiring complicated rigging or stage construction.

Even with all these makings of a straight-to-streaming digital disappointment seemingly stacked against the movie, "Elevation" defies lowered expectations by putting enough bucks on the screen to bump it above the forgettable genre fare that usually evaporates immediately after viewing. The premise appears familiar. To a large degree, it is. Post-apocalyptic backdrops have been done to death, and the synopsis sounds dangerously similar to "A Quiet Place" (review here) except with creatures attracted to anyone on low land instead of anyone making noise.

One trap "Elevation" doesn't fall into though, is it doesn't include selfish scumbags from a rival faction turning into a bigger threat than the invaders from underground. It's purely humans versus monsters here. Built on "hold your breath" moments further intensified through believable effects, arguably mid material gets elevated (pun partially intended) by enjoyable actors and earnest technical effort turning the film into a straightforwardly entertaining creature feature. A little silly, a lot suspenseful, and ending on a pretty kooky reveal that ups the outrageousness ante again, "Elevation" ends up reminiscent of Atomic Era monster matinees where sci-fi was more adventurous than serious, and enjoyable escapism always took the top spot on the agenda.

NOTE: There is a mid-credits scene.

Review Score: 65

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