Elevated

Ellen rides the building elevator from floor 38 toward the parking garage. She presses the button for the garage and settles in as the car begins its ascent. The confined ride becomes the stage for an escalating tension among strangers.

A burly workman named Ben enters several floors below and joins the ride. He looks wary but curious about the purpose of the journey. The mood tightens as the small space fills with uneasy energy.

At floor 4, the doors are about to close when Hank, a security guard, pushes into the car. Ellen holds the door to admit him, and Hank shows signs of violence on his shirt. The three travelers suddenly realize they are trapped together.

Hank claims that an alien creature is killing people outside. Ben writes it off as madness, while Ellen grows increasingly unsettled by the accusation. The elevator becomes a fragile sanctuary in the midst of panic.

Hank reveals he used his security card to override the elevator controls. Ben lunges for the card in a bid to regain control, but Hank snarls and pulls a knife. The standoff turns dangerous in the cramped space.

Ben restrains Hank while Ellen frantically tries to call for help on the elevator telephone, which goes dead. The car lurches as lights flicker and panic rises in the claustrophobic space. Hank's authority over the elevator becomes a pressure cooker about to explode.

The elevator resists and finally works again as Ellen wrests the card away from Hank. She initiates a descent toward the garage, and Ben somehow manages to press floor 39 before the doors close again.

The doors open on floor 39 and Ben steps out, inviting Ellen to take the stairs with him. Ellen spots Hank’s knife in Ben's pocket and quickly decides to return to the elevator to avoid danger. The instant shifts from escape to captivity inside the car.

As the elevator continues downward, Hank slams the stop button to halt the car. Something claws at the hatch from outside, trying to force its way in. Hank orders Ellen to stay calm and directs her to floor 44, delaying their fate for the moment.

The unseen intruder dents the hatch and Ben is killed, his mutilated body collapsing into the elevator. Ellen blames Hank for keeping Ben from returning, and the security card slips through the gap between the door and the floor, vanishing from reach. The tension hardens into a deadly stalemate.

With the card gone and danger pressing in, Ellen uses Hank's knife to pry at the control panel. Hank urges her to stay put and play it safe, but she turns on him and begins stabbing, first accidentally and then with deliberate intent until he dies.

The elevator finally reaches the parking garage and the doors open to a screaming throng rushing into the car. Ellen gives a cold, predatory grin as she realizes she has survived and taken control of the situation for herself. The lid of danger closes around her with a chilling final note.