Hair-raising sequences in a liftshaft are two cuts above anything else in this British suspense thriller in which the Newcastle accents often make the frequent four-letter words all you can hear. The story, of a few remaining tenants in a run-down tower block, terrorised by a gang of arsonist youths, somehow lacks conviction. But no matter: the liftshaft scenes are the centrepiece of the film and are often best watched through your fingers as police psychologist Paul McGann, having talked single mum Susan Lynch out of jumping to her death, now has to save her again as the teen gang destroys the lift mechanism above them. Lots of agonisingly painful moments ensue as cables crack, fireballs surge downwards, heads are nearly severed and hands impaled on broken wire. This is the real crux of the film and the tacked-on ending comes across as an anti-climactic afterthought.

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