Terrifying Elevator Scenes, Part I
To prepare for M. Night Shyamalan flick “Devil,” which follows the plight of four strangers trapped in an elevator as they play a game of guess who’s the Prince of Darkness, feast your pupils on these terrifying elevator scenes from movie history.
Elevator of Blood (“The Shining”)
From one of the most memorable films in horror movie history. Blood floods forth from the double elevators of the Overlook Hotel, staining the walls in its wake. Interspersed with the progression of the blood wave are flashes of Danny Torrance’s (Danny Lloyd) silent scream and the chilling image of the murdered twin girls standing side by side in a hotel corridor. Short but highly memorable this scene serves to amplify the terrifying haunting of the Overlook.
Man with Hooks (“Final Destination 2”)
This time it’s the survivors of a highway pile up that attempt to free themselves of Death’s Design. After a group pow wow, mum Nora (Lynda Boyd) leaves via the elevator only to be warned that a man with hooks will kill her. Well, that’s half right. Standing behind her holding a basket of creepy dummy hands is an old man who leans forward to pervertedly sniff her hair. When one of the hands becomes entangled she rashly attempts escape through the questionably unsafe elevator doors (that sneaky Death again). This means a classic elevator death for Nora when she is decapitated.
Blond Slasher (“Dressed to Kill”)
Brian De Palma combines elements of Carrie and Psycho in this erotic thriller. Frustrated housewife Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) meets with a stranger in a museum and after a game of hide and seek she goes back to his apartment. Hours later, she awakes. After accidentally coming across information from the hospital detailing her lover's recently contracted venereal disease she leaves in a panic via the elevator. On her way down Kate realises she’s left her wedding ring on the nightstand and makes her way back up, only to be slashed to death by a blond woman in dark glasses around floor 7. Expertly filmed and built with nail biting tension, the scene is reminiscent of Janet Leigh’s untimely demise in Psycho.
Fire Drill (“Resident Evil”)
After a vial of T-virus is released into the atmosphere the Red Queen traps all Umbrella employees in their underground offices to prevent outside contamination. The scene works well with the workers as they fruitlessly attempt escape to build an air of panic and confusion. It ends with a group trapped in the one remaining elevator (the first was heard plummeting to the bottom amid terrified screams). When their ride comes to a stop between two floors, one resourceful employee decides it’s a good idea to attempt escape through a small gap left by the doors and is consequently decapitated when it starts up again.
Old Man Ghost (“The Eye”/“Gin Gwai”)
Thankfully, not the version with Jessica Alba. New corneas give the gift of sight for eighteen year old Wong Kar Mun (Angelica Lee), which worryingly also brings visions of ghosts who follow her at every turn. Something is going to appear at the wrong moment as she enters an elevator, right when you and Wong least expect it. This ghosts sudden appearance is noted by her through frantic head turns. Slowly he makes a 180 turn during the course of the scene and levitates off the floor, moving towards her.
Stay tuned for Part II!