Devilishly thrilling

THERE are only three things in life that I am afraid of. Clowns, shark attacks and last, but not least ... being trapped in a crowded lift (unless, of course, I'm trapped with a group of supermodels).

Admittedly, some of these fears are more rational than others but if you think my phobias are bad, to put things in perspective, I actually have a friend who is afraid of Styrofoam!

So, when I heard there was a movie about a group of strangers who get trapped in a lift (unfortunately without a single supermodel in the bunch) I'll happily admit I started to get a little jumpy.

It's a truly terrifying concept to me, being trapped in a tiny box, crammed shoulder to shoulder with total strangers, their hot breath on your neck and the pungent smell of their stale sweat wafting towards your nostrils.

Maybe this fear has something to do with growing up in London and taking the tube around the city at least twice a day during rush hour?

The film begins (much like a typical Monday morning in London) with a person committing suicide by leaping from a tall building. This scene is narrated by one of the film's characters, who goes on to tell the audience that when he was a child his mother told him stories about how the devil roams the earth ... and it always begins with a suicide ... cue the sinister music!

A detective named Bowden is called to the scene to investigate the incident and he's an interesting character to say the least. Bowden is a recovering alcoholic who was left totally devastated after his wife and child where killed in a hit-and-run accident.

While he's busy hunting for clues, a group of strangers (who each have a history of committing petty crimes), step into a lift (which just so happens to be in the building where the suicide took place).

Each of the strangers has a different story to tell and they all have their fair share of dirty little secrets.

There's a con artist who has a day job as a mattress salesman; a security guard with a history of losing his temper; a war veteran who committed unspeakable crimes in the past and now works as a mechanic and lastly, a greedy and narcissistic heiress.

Once they're all onboard and heading for their respective floors, the lift gets stuck and that's when things really get heavy. The lights suddenly go out, there is a shriek, and as the lights come back on they realise that one of the women has been badly wounded.

The group begins to speculate and accuse each other of causing the accident and slowly, one by one, they all start to die.

The mystery grows and grows and the audience is never really sure who is committing these murders. Each time you think you've got it pegged, that character dies and you have to start guessing all over again.

The only problem with a film like this is that the audience is stuck watching the same characters for most of the movie and, unless you get emotionally invested in them, you quickly lose interest.

I found the acting to be a little over-the-top, which is a shame because this really does have potential to be a good film. There could certainly be more character development, but with that said, the cinematography is pretty good.

Even if the acting didn't really deliver, at least the way this film is shot gives it a bit of individuality and style.

Showing in Cineco, Seef I and Saar Cineplex