Dead Drop

Ned Crowley first made a name for himself as a member of the Chicago-based comedy group "White Noise." Now, he has injected his dark humor into classic horror cinema with great verve. With »Dead Drop,« he tackles the old "rogue elevator killing people" genre, refreshing it tongue-in-cheek with so much humor that witnessing this descent into hell becomes a sheer delight. Eight complete strangers, a freight elevator that simply won't arrive: what begins as an annoying mechanical failure quickly turns into a matter of life and death. Gradually, everyone on board realizes that their presence together in the cabin is no coincidence. Crowley recently impressed Stephen King with his horror-western »Killing Faith«; for this latest effort, he weaves together the biting wit of an Agatha Christie-style yarn and the uncompromising brutality of »Squid Game.« Hovering over it all, like a distant echo, is Dante’s "Inferno." It is a tightly paced, claustrophobic drama—blending sharp, witty dialogue with sudden shocks—that still finds room for well-defined characters amidst the nerve-shredding tension.