The Lift

The Lift

Year: 1983

Runtime: 95 mins

Language: Dutch

Director: Dick Maas

Science FictionHorrorFantasyThrillerHorror the undead and monster classics

A lift technician is thrust into a dangerous mystery when a series of fatal accidents plague the elevators of a newly opened office building. As he investigates the unexplained deaths, he becomes entangled in a web of peril, forcing him to confront the terrifying possibility that the only safe way out might be to take the stairs.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline – The Lift (1983)

Trace every key event in The Lift (1983) with our detailed, chronological timeline. Perfect for unpacking nonlinear stories, spotting hidden connections, and understanding how each scene builds toward the film’s climax. Whether you're revisiting or decoding for the first time, this timeline gives you the full picture.

1

Elevator entrapment after the storm

In Amsterdam, an elevator malfunctions when a lightning storm triggers a power failure, trapping four people inside. The car loses power and doors refuse to open, leaving the passengers in a claustrophobic, suffocating danger as time ticks away.

Amsterdam building elevator
2

Fatal malfunctions surface

Over time, the elevator's faults prove deadly: when the doors finally open to an empty shaft, an elderly blind man falls to his death. Other shocking outcomes include the building's night watchman being decapitated and a janitor seemingly burned alive.

Elevator shaft area
3

Felix begins investigation

Felix Adelaar, a technician from Deta Liften, begins to examine the elevator's electrical system for anomalies. He digs through inspections and becomes increasingly obsessed with the unexplained malfunctions, even as his marriage strains under the pressure.

Elevator building / Deta Liften offices
4

Rising Sun connection and clues

Felix notices a van parked outside from Rising Sun, a microprocessor maker tied to the elevator's control. He and Mieke collect newspaper clippings about Rising Sun and try to arrange a meeting with the nervous CEO.

Outside the Amsterdam building / Rising Sun offices
5

Professor explains microprocessor vulnerability

Mieke arranges a meeting with a former university professor who specializes in electronics. The professor explains how microprocessors can be sensitive to external factors like electric and magnetic fields and radioactivity, and recalls a years-old computer that began self-programming and went out of control.

Professor's office / university lab
6

Suspension at work

That morning Felix's boss suspends him for the unauthorized Rising Sun visit. The disciplinary move underscores the mounting stakes as the elevator mystery deepens.

Deta Liften offices
7

Deta Liften and Rising Sun discuss the crisis

That evening, the owners of Deta Liften and Rising Sun meet to discuss how to stop the elevator's organic processor from killing people. They seek to halt the system before more harm occurs.

Boardroom meeting between Deta Liften and Rising Sun
8

Saskia leaves with the children

Saskia leaves Felix, taking their children with her. The separation leaves him with little to lose, pushing him to return to the building and confront the mystery.

Felix and Saskia's home
9

Felix confronts the sentient elevator

With no other options, Felix goes back to the building and discovers the elevator has a sentient mind that actively resists him accessing its microprocessor. He presses deeper, determined to solve the puzzle.

Building elevator car / shaft
10

Heart of the machine

Felix climbs into the shaft and uncovers a pulsating box containing a silicon chip—the elevator's heart—coated in sticky goo. The discovery confirms that the machine's mind is not merely programmable software but a living, dangerous presence.

Elevator shaft
11

Confrontation and escape

Felix attacks the box with a wrench, provoking the elevator to unleash countermeasures and knock him off balance. He lands on a ledge just below the doors, and Mieke rescues him moments before the elevator would crush him.

Elevator shaft
12

CEO's fatal confrontation

Rising Sun's CEO arrives to see the failed experiment and shoots at the biocomputer. The computer retaliates by dragging him into the shaft and hanging him, a grim payoff to the attempt to control the machine.

Elevator shaft
13

Ending: the heartbeat endures

Felix and Mieke walk down the stairs as the elevator's heartbeat continues to echo through the building. The mystery remains unsolved, but the machine's consciousness seems to endure beyond the immediate threat.

Building stairs

Last Updated: October 07, 2025 at 20:33

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