A good ghost story can be hard to achieve in the world of mass-produced haunting flicks, and Elevator Game struggles to find its footing. While the film boasts a frightening villain and a few good scares, the disjointed storytelling and lackluster acting hold this movie back. Confusing and slow, Elevator Game fails to layer an effective story around the horror elements, which are far and few between. Elevator Game doesn't know whether it wants to be a dark horror film or a comedic ghost flick, resulting in a sloppy film that ends up feeling like an episode of Goosebumps.
Based on the online phenomenon of the same name, Elevator Game follows a group of young people who run a web series where they dissect frightening online legends. When newcomer Ryan (Gino Anania) suggests that the group use the infamous "elevator game" as their next dare, the content creators get more than they bargained for. The group ends up opening a portal in the elevator that lets out a monstrous, ghostly woman, who will stop at nothing to end the group once and for all.
Elevator Game's horror elements work in some capacity and prove to be frightening at times, but overall, the movie is a slog. The characters are completely unengaging, the acting is amateurish, and the confusing script never stops running in circles. The film is directed by Rebekah McKendry, which is a shock since her 2022 flick Glorious is a visually pleasing foray into madness, while Elevator Game feels like a dull addition to an anthology series.
Elevator Game's tone is all off. The film attempts to be a hardcore horror flick chock-full of gore, but while there are some memorable scenes of carnage, it never fully leans into the dark nature of its story. Instead, Elevator Game insists on adding awkward humor that never fits, making the film feel tonally muddled. One scene towards the climax completely distracts the viewer from the horror of the story as one forgettable character mumbles trite jokes that throw off the entire film.
One element of Elevator Game that works is the ghostly, red dimension that the elevator can trap its victims in. If the film was centered around this world and spent more time developing it rather than honing in on paper-thin characters and cringey dialogue, it could have been more entertaining. One of this movie's biggest sins is that it takes forever to build up to the actual plot, and when things seem to finally be paying off, Elevator Games leaves the confines of the hotel, and the story becomes completely discombobulated.
The worst element of Elevator Game is the fact that it's not a fun time. The film is tedious, constantly flipping from one new narrative revelation to another. The movie lacks soul and direction, with the only effective scenes being when the ghostly villain is on-screen, which is never enough. Overall, Elevator Game is forgettable and never uses its frightening villain to her full potential, showing that maybe internet legends don't need to be adapted into films.
Elevator Game premieres on Shudder on September 15.