elevator kills a SWAT officer who was barely out of the elevator shaft before he was sliced in half from his waist down with the upper half of his body sliding across the floor. Mark gets a hold of a stinger missile launcher and is about to destroy the organ when Steinberg intervenes, threatening him. Jennifer appears, having escaped custody and frees Mark. As Mark tries to destroy the organ a third time, the police enter, giving Steinberg the opportunity to hold Jennifer hostage. Jennifer manages to escape thanks to Steinberg being unable to recognize one of his superiors. Steinberg is grabbed by the elevator shaft cables and pulled in, along with Mark. At the last second, Jennifer kicks the stinger launcher to Mark, who proceeds to destroy the organ. Steinberg's mutilated corpse falls seconds later. Some time later, Mark and Jennifer leave a hospital where they find themselves trapped in an elevator. However, it proves to be a ruse for Mark to make a romantic overture toward Jennifer. Cast James Marshall as Mark Newman Naomi Watts as Jennifer Evans Eric Thal as Jeffrey McClellan Michael Ironside as Gunter Steinberg Edward Herrmann as Matthew Milligan Dan Hedaya as Lt. McBain Ron Perlman as Adrian Mitchell Kathryn Meisle as Mildred Martin McDougall as Guard Andy John Cariani as Guard Gary David Gwillim as Mr. Faith Production Following the release of his film De Lift in 1983, Dutch filmmaker Dick Maas intended to direct a remake of the film. Warner Bros. approached Maas regarding a remake for American audiences, but nothing materialized until the mid-1990s when Maas officially began work on the project. Production occurred in New York City while exterior shots were taken in the Netherlands. Release Down premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 11, 2001. Artisan Entertainment released the film on DVD, retitled as The Shaft, on May 20, 2003. The film was released on blu-ray, under its original title, on October 31, 2017 by Blue Underground. It was initially slated to release on October 10, 2017, but was quietly delayed. Reception Rotten Tomatoes reported that 20% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 4.40/10. Common criticisms include that the film was not gripping enough, had a weak storyline, generally unrealistic deaths, weak dialogue and unconvincing special effects. The film was not well received in the Netherlands