Man against machine – better yet, hard-edged New Yorkers against elevators in one of the city’s biggest buildings. The Shaft is a worthy sci-fi thriller with good camera angles and clever scenery shots. Naomi Watts is an unethical journalist who tracks a young elevator mechanic to decode the mysterious deaths connected to a building. Their unlikely pairing and ensuing love/hate relationship is too obvious, too many New York accents sound fake, and the effects are bizarre at times. Regardless, The Shaft is a good and clever suspense film.