3. The Lift (1983)
Silly Dutch hokum about a killer lift which decapitates people and throws them down a shaft. Felix, the lift technician, is at a loss of what to do as he can't locate any technical faults with it. What is incredibly stupid is that no one sticks an 'Out of Order' post on the lift so it is free to carry on its murderous activities. Felix and a reporter go to the lift company for answers and the company suspends Felix. A further visit to a professor reveals that there might be some sinister experiments going on.. I am not particularly fond of lifts and when I saw a trailer for this movie on a German satellite channel billed as 'Fahrstuhl des Grauens' (Lift of Horrors) I was very, very frightened (I must have been about 10/11). Watching it from the perspective of a jaded, grown woman, The Lift is more amusing than anything else and it remains one of Holland's most watchable horror films. Okay, the plot is completely ludicrous, but the death scenes are skilfully handled by director Dick Maas who also keeps the suspense ticking over nicely. If you can suspend your disbelief altogether, it could lead to a phobia of elevators, but since that's not going to happen, I would label The Lift a film of cult worth built around an extremely silly but entertaining bad guy - the humble lift.