THE STORY – A single father and two women venture from the safety of their homes to face monstrous creatures to save the life of a young boy.
THE CAST – Anthony Mackie, Morena Baccarin, Maddie Hanson & Danny Boyd Jr.
THE TEAM – George Nolfi (Director), John Glenn, Jacob Roman, & Kenny Ryan (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 90 Minutes
In “Elevation,” the world dramatically shifts in the three years since aliens came from the earth’s surface and began to decimate the population. The remnants of humanity have moved towards higher ground as these insect-like creatures don’t cross above 8,000 feet in elevation (Why? We never find out). Will (played by Anthony Mackie) is a father looking to take care of his son Hunter (Danny Boyd Jr.), who suffers from an illness leading to complications with his breathing. Due to low medical resources, Will, alongside Katie (played by Maddie Henson) and hardened Nina (played by Morena Baccarin), embark on a journey to get the medicine Hunter needs and to find some way to fight back against this alien species. “Elevation” essentially plays out like an underwhelming triple-A video game, forcing characters on a fetch quest storyline that inorganically places them in scenarios to have quick time-esque escape sequences from the giant insect invaders. What’s interesting about “Elevation” is that it establishes itself quite well. For a ninety-minute film, it takes its time to establish Will and the community he lives in. The screenplay isn’t concerned with breaking down the machinations of this alien invasion or any rules besides that these bugs can’t go high. It’s one of the few things going in the film’s way. It’s also appreciated how filmmaker George Nolfi attempts to build an audience’s connection to Will’s quest to save his son. Once Will leaves the compound alongside his companions, “Elevation” plays its hand almost immediately, leading to a generic survival film that plays out in all the most routine ways.
When it comes to the performances, Mackie, for the most part, is solid, anchoring the film with a reliable performance that never asks him to go past his wheelhouse. It’s a shame because there’s plenty that Mackie could pull off his Julliard-caliber register, and instead, he is having to read dialogue that is some of the most stale material audiences will hear this year. Baccarin is the only other cast member who is as prominent in the film, both in terms of screen presence and what their character actually contributes to the story. That being said, Baccarin, who’s playing a worn-down scientist who’s been molded by fury since the invasion started, is also not able to rise above the material. The relationship that binds both Will and Nina, despite being explored the most, is still quite uninteresting. Audiences will struggle to care about any character as any connective tissue explored between them is so paper thin. The screenplay is also barely stitched together, trying to find a way to connect each scene. It’s standard in every way, only before unraveling in the final fifteen minutes. It is kind of funny that a twist so impactful to this film’s story is muttered out of some forgettable dialogue and is never referenced again. Even “Elevation” loses interest in its own story, and there’s not even a shameless attempt at sequel-baiting, at least not one that feels intentionally calculated.
When it comes to the creatures, the approach to the designs was kind of interesting, as Nolfi chooses a far less traditional terror-inducing build and leans towards a metallic-scaled anthropopathic composition. It’s a shame that viewers are relegated to mainly one of these creatures the entire screen time until the film’s final fifteen minutes, and even then, they don’t elicit the fear they are intended to. Maybe if the film had been able to learn a far more practical route in terms of the full-scaled creature, it could have had the desired effect Nolfi wanted. There’s a scene in the hospital where Will and Nina are attempting to get the medicine, and the alien’s claws are piercing through the walls and attempting to slice open our protagonists. It’s maybe one of the few scenes where the action and tension lead to something engaging. Besides that, everything that plays out is nothing new or enough to become anything more than background noise.
The problem with “Elevation” is that none of it feels truly inspired. It’s almost as if it was made off the (lack of) creative backbone of a film like “A Quiet Place.” “Elevation” shares several similarities regarding its primarily rural locations, adherence to one overt rule to survive, the scarcity of the creature that is usually pursuing them, etc. It’s all been done before in a far better manner, so why should “Elevation” warrant a watch? A film genuinely lost in the limbo of C-list genre films that feels like a rare discovery on the Syfy channel at 2 a.m.
