Movie Review: ELEVATION

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: November 8th, 2024 / 01:52 AM

ELEVATION movie poster | ©2024 Vertical Entertainment

Rating: R
Stars: Anthony Mackie, Morena Baccarin, Maddie Hasson, Danny Boyd Jr., Rachel Nicks, Shauna Earp, Tyler Grey
Writers: John Glenn & Jacob Roman & Kenny Ryan
Director: George Nolfi
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Release Date: November 8, 2024

Several people, part of a small community after a monster-driven extinction event, must leave the safety of their settlement to obtain supplies and answers. So goes ELEVATION, which boasts Anthony Mackie, Morena Baccarin and Maddie Hasson in the leads.

This was hardly a new premise when the first A QUIET PLACE was released in 2018, but that’s perhaps what springs most immediately to mind.

ELEVATION isn’t so much about familial survival as are the first two QUIET PLACE movies, though a father-son bond is key to the proceedings.

Over the opening credits, we hear news reports of creatures arising from sinkholes in the ground, along with people screaming. It is soon learned that, for some reason, these monsters cannot ascend above 8,000 feet, so people who can reach that elevation need not fear attack.

Then it’s three years later. We are introduced to the Lost Gulch refuge, population 193, “above the line” in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. With hunting, gardening, bullet-making and other activities, the refugees are eking out a living.

There are other, similar settlements above the line, but it’s too dangerous to descend below it for visitation. There is limited communication by radio, but the power to operate it has to be rationed.

We find out more about the creatures, which is that they only kill humans, but don’t consume flesh; in fact, the monsters don’t seem to sleep or eat at all. They are also basically unkillable, although scientist Nina (Baccarin) has a theory that may change this.

Will (Mackie), whose skill set enables him to repair devices, lives in Lost Gulch with young son Hunter (Danny Boyd Jr.). The only child here, Hunter is lonely and sometimes sneaks below the Line, with nearly fatal consequences, just for a glimpse of another village.

More consistently dangerous is that Hunter has a breathing issue due to the elevation, and the apparatus that keeps his lungs clear is running out of filters. Will determines to go down the mountain to Boulder, where he believes he can obtain the necessary supplies from a hospital.

In order to further her research, Nina insists on accompanying Will, as does Will’s friend Katie (Hasson). Will has devised a route that will keep them above the line for most of their journey.

The general arc of ELEVATION is unsurprising, and the dialogue can be flatly expository. Personal drama is set up between the protagonists, but again, it’s almost expected. The actors, however, put life and determination into their characters, so that we’re moderately engaged.

Director George Nolfi and writers John Glenn & Jacob Roman & Kenny Ryan make great use of unusual available locations. The world-building is contained but logical in what we see. While we see the creatures sparingly, they appear suitably formidable.

When we reach a certain amount of exposition, the audience may be able to guess the nature of the creatures before most of the characters do. We and they do not discover, at least here, why it is that the monsters can’t cross the 8,000-foot limit. But we get a mid-end credits scene that confirms something suggested earlier in ELEVATION, and suggests a sequel may be in the works.

ELEVATION doesn’t bring much new to its subgenre, but it is decently achieved within the confines of its small-scale post-apocalypse parameters.

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