Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Bryan Bertino
Writer: Malcolm Taylor
Cast: William Fichtner, Julia Garner, Phillipa Soo, William Jackson Harper, Kurt Fuller, Elizabeth Marvel, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jake Epstein
Plot: In a morning meeting, Bill (William Fichtner) reminds his employees that this will be one of the busiest days of the year and that they will likely all be working late. While there is a general sense of discontent, everyone seems to understand that it must be done. Their office sits on the 52nd floor of the Linwood Building in Chicago.
As the work day begins, we are introduced to the workers in the office through the pairing of Pippa (Phillipa Soo) and first-day hire Julia (Julia Garner), who Pippa is showing around. Easy-going Jake (Jake Epstein) is the comedic relief of the office, much needed in their high-stress environment. Kurt (Kurt Fuller) is like the father figure to the group, in his last month before retirement (who Julia will eventually replace). Beth (Elizabeth Marvel) is the second-in-command to Bill - both of whom Pippa tells Julia it would be best to avoid. Finally we meet William (William Jackson Harper), a wheelchair-bound IT specialist who is very cordial and business-like in his demeanor. Afterwards, Julia comments on a flirtatious spark between him and Pippa but Pippa blushes and brushes this off.
We see the office navigate the busy day, well into the early evening hours. Since it is Winter, it is very dark outside. Beth announces to the office that they can all go home in 30 minutes, causing a collective sigh-of-relief. However, before they reach that mark, the power suddenly goes out. We see Bill finally leave his office and tell everyone that they can now leave. Jake goes to the elevator but finds that the power outage means that it is not working. William looks defeated upon hearing this but Pippa says she will stay behind until the power comes back. When Jake goes to take the stairs, he finds that the door is locked from the other side. Bill says that he could not get a hold of security as everyone else finds that they have no cell signal.
In the darkness, they try to brainstorm how to navigate this situation. Kurt, a pragmatist, says that they should probably just wait it out at this point. William says that if he’s going to be in the office, he might as well get work done. When he goes to his office, he lets out a yell of horror as Beth is found hanging in the doorframe. The sends shockwaves through the office as they take her down and check to see if she is still breathing. Jake says that he’ll go to the break room to get the med kit. Everyone is panicked except for Bill, who is remaining oddly calm. Julia says she knows CPR and tries it but it does not work. Beth has died.
The office mourns together and talk about whether or not Beth seemed suicidal. Everyone agrees that the answer is no except for Kurt, who says that the pressure that the company has been under these last few months might have caused a role. This pisses Bill off, who takes this as a shot at him. Pippa steps in and tries to de-escalate - after which William asks if Jake ever returned. Everyone clamps up with a sense of worry. They go as a group to the break room but Jake is not in there. They look around before Julia finds a stack of papers from the battery-power copy machine - all of which show Jake’s terrified face on it. They check the scanner and find a bloody surface. After some searching, they find his decapitated head in the refrigerator.
They now realize that something terrible is happening and that Beth’s death was likely also a murder. Not helping is the lack of heat, as the office gets colder the later it gets. Pippa suggests that they all stay here to keep everyone safe. Kurt points out the opposing view - that the killer is probably someone in this room. Bill brings up Kurt’s previous grievances and says that it seems like something someone would do on their way out. Kurt says that it seems like Bill is the one with the access to the entire office and notes that Bill keeps his game-hunting shrine in his office (which could provide an explanation for the knife). Their latest argument is interrupted by a door closing in the office hallway. William volunteers to go check on it but Pippa says they shouldn’t let someone go alone so she offers to join.
They nervously venture into the office to find the silhouette of a figure in the distance, near the restrooms. Suddenly, a flashlight shines onto William and Pippa from that area. It is the office’s janitor (Pruitt Taylor Vince), who asks what they are still doing here. They ask him the same thing - with William immediately suspicious. He points out that he is always here after hours and that he is just as confused by the outage as everyone else. They tell him to follow them back to the breakroom, using his flashlight to their advantage. However, as they approach, they notice new bloody footprints. When they arrive in the room, they find a mutilated Kurt sprawled out across the break table. William and Pippa look to each other instantly and say “Bill”.
Using the janitor’s flashlight, they search the office for Julia, who must be next on the hit list. From across the office, they hear a struggle and chase it down - shining a light on one of the side walls where a window shatters. Upon shining the light on it, they find Julia alone next to the broken window. She looks shocked and says that Bill tried to kill her after Kurt but she was able throw him out the window. They let out a sigh of relief and ask the janitor to see if his keys work on the staircase door. However, before he can do that, Julia shakes her head no and blocks the door. She brandishes a knife and stabs him point blank. He falls to the ground as she takes his keys and throws them out the broken window.
She apologizes to Pippa and William but says they are the last to go. She says that most of this - the loss of power and signal - was out of her control. And she didn’t kill Beth. Well, not initially. But when she had Patricia’s life in her hands, she felt a certain pleasure from that power - so she faked the CPR. A stunned Pippa tries to plead with her and say that they can talk this out. Julia says that at this point there is no turning back so she has to finish the job. At that moment, the power finally comes back on. William’s eyes light up - knowing this is their opportunity at escape. Pippa rushes to the elevator and the door opens. She holds it open as William rolls to her but Julia is able to make ground on him (causing Pippa to hopelessly hold on).
He is able to make it in but Julia lodges her arm in the door and struggles with Pippa who tries to close it (but it’s not working). Julia wins the struggle and enters the elevator. This leads to a tense finale as they begin their descent to the first floor. Julia stalks her prey - waiting for the right time to attack. Finally, she lunges toward them and Pippa steps in front of William to protect him. They fall to the ground as Julia inches the knife closer to Pippa’s chest - who is trying her hardest to keep it at arm’s length. The floors are nearing single digits as they get close to the ground floor. The knife is centimeters from Pippa’s chest when William suddenly exerts his wheelchair forward straight into Julia’s eyes causing excruciating pain. She drops the knife and Pippa grabs it - ready to turn the tables on her. However, the bell dings and the elevator doors open to a police presence at the bottom waiting. Pippa drops the knife before passing out from exhaustion. The police turn their attention to William, who throws his hands up to comply with police orders while also shrugging his shoulders in bewilderment.
"High Rise works as a fun horror-thriller in the type of contained setting that almost always works in the genre, and with a super talented cast led by the great William Fichtner. I wouldn't have minded seeing this on the big screen, but I'll settle for watching this one at home."
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