Elevation Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Elevation Blu-ray Movie Review

8,000 feet of despair.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 7, 2025

An almost fatally straightforward sci-fi thriller, George Nolfi's Elevation manages a decent hook and moderate tension but forgets to bring a great script and characters to go along with it. This post-apocalyptic period piece -- as in "three years later" from an unnamed date -- begins the way most low-budget films of this type do: with an exposition dump that tells rather than shows, immediately dumping us into Colorado of the near future after 95% of humanity has been wiped out. The cause? Alien beings nicknamed "Reapers", aggressive dinosaur-like creatures with near-impenetrable armored scales whose only known Achilles' heel is high altitude. This naturally leaves small pockets of humanity left to fend and farm for themselves, stuck in close-knit locations unless they dare to venture downward.

Home base for our diverse focus group is Lost Gulch Refuge, and its main man of action isn't a man at all: it's Nina (Morena Baccarin, who surely said "Reavers" at least once during filming), a former scientist and current alcoholic who was apparently the only person to ever face a Reaper head-on and live to tell the tale. She'll prove helpful when fellow survivor Will (Anthony Mackie), the single father of sick Hunter (Danny Boyd Jr.), decides to hoof it to an abandoned hospital in nearby Boulder after his son's last oxygen filter burns out. Also along for the trip is Katie (Maddie Hasson), an aggressive gun enthusiast from Texas -- ah, but I repeat myself -- who clearly has feelings for Will. Our dramatic triangle's final side? Years ago, Nina was on the mission where Will's late wife Tara (Rachel Nicks, seen in flashbacks) was killed, which revives more than a few unchecked emotions during their dangerous journey.

Speaking of the journey, it'll be a short but dangerous trip through the rugged Rocky Mountains, most of which have been helpfully marked off at exactly 8,000 feet which is the Reapers' apparent elevation boundary. (More on that later.) Even without these clear signposts, Nina's tracker warns them when danger is near at lower altitudes, where of course they'll be potential prey until they hustle back up to safety. These parameters lead to at least three creative set pieces, including an occasionally-working ski lift, an underground mining tunnel that Will is conveniently familiar with, and of course the hospital itself. But they'll inevitably have to face their fears: after all, Boulder's elevation is roughly 2,500 feet below "The Line", and there will be more than a few points below that mark on the way there.

I may have wanted a little more complexity out of Elevation, but truth be told the film's simplicity might be its only saving grace. The lack of excessive characters, clear "rules of combat", and episodic structure at least let us sit back and soak in the base-level tension and admittedly solid mountainous cinematography, which was thankfully almost all shot on location in beautiful Colorado. It's not enough to carry this film single-handedly, of course, as the dialogue and exposition are both fairly clumsy and some of the supporting performances are truly unremarkable. There's also more than a few silly contrivances and decisions, such as the exact 8,000-foot elevation limit that's more like an imaginary force field (it's addressed later in the film, but not really) and the ski lift scenario, where for some reason our three heroes try to cram into the same car when they're all going to the same destination. Also, there's a burly guy back in town (Tyler Grey) whose only job seems to be handing out weapons. Why didn't he come along too?

But Elevation's biggest sin, as Brian Orndorf pointed out in his theatrical review, is the open ending designed to set up future installments. The cover proudly heralds it as being "from the producer of A Quiet Place and The Purge" (both of which had multiple sequels)... but to put it bluntly, that probably ain't gonna happen. Much like those films, Elevation is so oddly fixated on rules and boundaries that it basically paints itself into a corner with them. This one's worth a once-over at most in my opinion, but established fans will likely enjoy Vertical Entertainment's Blu-ray.

Elevation Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Elevation was shot digitally and largely on-location in Colorado, which translates to a solidly rendered and authentic 1080p transfer on Vertical Entertainment's Blu-ray. Despite a handful of early indoor scenes -- and dimly-lit locations thereafter -- suffering from mild amounts of mushiness and black crush, the bulk of this material looks attractive with loads of naturally beautiful landscapes doing the heavy lifting. I didn't address CGI quality during the main portion of this review but it's mostly respectable, blending in decently with surroundings and only calling attention to itself during a few key moments. Fundamentally, image detail is good in the right conditions, black levels mostly hold steady, and moderate amounts of depth are achieved during a majority of the wide shots. It's not exactly a five-star stunner but gets the job done, holding its own as a satisfying treatment of this low-budget but visually efficient production.

Elevation Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sonically, Elevation is overwhelmingly on-the-nose with its DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, focusing almost everything up front besides for sporadic action scenes, weather-related effects, and of course the mostly minimalist original score by composer H. Scott Salinas, who's done loads of themes, original songs, and additional music for movies and TV such as Warrior, Just Friends, and HBO's The Newsroom. The low end gets an occasional workout too, especially with heavy Reaper footfalls and stray explosions, but most of Elevation appropriately stays at higher frequencies. That said, I might have bumped up my rating a half-point were it not for that Dolby Atmos logo during the end credits.

Optional English SDH subtitles are included during the main feature.

Elevation Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork and a matching slipcover. Somewhat disappointingly, no bonus features are included -- I'd have at least enjoyed an on-location featurette.

Elevation Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The reach of George Nolfi's Elevation mostly matches its grasp, which is damning with faint praise since it doesn't especially grasp for all that much. That said, this post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller at least builds respectable amounts of tension and features pretty decent on-location cinematography and set pieces, all of which are enough to warrant a weekend once-over.... but it's probably not something you'll return to often (or at all), which makes Elevation's last-minute campaign for a sequel all the more irksome. Nonetheless, Vertical Entertainment's Blu-ray serves up solid A/V merits (no Atmos, sadly), so established fans considering a purchase should get their money's worth.