February 5, 2025

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

All things film – In print and online

A Good Premise That Fails to Scale the Heights it Should – Elevation (Film Review)

On a number of fronts, the world has frequently felt like a darker and darker place over the past few years. Natural disasters, the growing spectre of climate change, political instability, growing military conflicts and more. Much like in previous time periods, the creative response for many to the horrors of the world has been to turn to science fiction. Both in the escape from reality but also the allegorical nature of the medium. An alien invasion is a perfect vehicle for demonstrating the resistance of the human condition, and that’s clearly what is intended as the central theme of Elevation, but whether the execution makes for a good film is a different matter entirely.

Elevation follows the story of a community in post-apocalyptic USA, where after an alien invasion the only safe place for humanity is above 8000 feet, with the vast majority of humanity having been wiped out before reaching that height. The survivors live exclusively at that altitude, or risk being killed by the aliens below. Will lives on the mountain with his son Hunter, who has an incurable lung condition, and he struggles with the memory of his dead wife who passed away on a mission with fellow resident, and scientist Nina. However, when Hunter needs medical equipment to save his life, Hunter, Nina and fellow survivor Katie attempt to reach Nina’s former lab and find a way to end the invasion once and for all and save Hunter in the process. 

The origin story for the aliens, or “Reapers” in Elevation is probably the most unique thing about the film. While the exposition about the mechanics of how the aliens function is a bit lacking until pretty late in the day, the concept of pushing the remaining humans into the mountains where the terrain would be largely uninhabitable is inspired and creates tremendous adversity for those who managed to escape. Anthony Mackie does a great job of playing the lead, as usual relatable and likeable. Morena Baccarin does as much as anyone could with the one-dimensional Nina, giving her a genuine sense of bite and bitterness. 

Unfortunately, the bad outweighs the good with Elevation to some degree. While the performances are very strong, and the action set pieces are very good, the whole thing feels a bit flat. The ground it covers feels like it borrows the best bits from other, better properties that inhabit the same space. There are echoes of A Quiet Place, The Walking Dead, and even Halle Berry vehicle Never Let Go. The idea of a bleak future and humanity attempting to survive, shot in washed out tones and with humans fighting back against a mysterious or otherworldly opponent feels just slightly too familiar. However, more egregious is that the film doesn’t do enough to make things feel dire enough to be quite extinction level for the human race, nor does it ever feel exciting enough a story that the audience can truly invest. The solution seems too convenient and the ending far too predictable. The Reapers are effective, but the way they move feels unoriginal and a bit tired in design terms. 

Elevation is not a bad film per se. It has some strong performances, and the premise is an intriguing one. However, it’s also a film that plays it safe throughout, conforming to established and well trodden tropes of the genre without offering a new spin, which is a shame because the unique concept feels ripe for a fresh approach. Elevation is sadly a film that can’t fulfil it’s potential and doesn’t quite hit the heights it should. 

Streaming on Prime Video 8 February