Elevator Game (2023) ‘Shudder’ Movie Ending Explained - Who was the 5th-floor woman?

Directed by Rebekah McKendry, ‘Elevator Game’ on Shudder is a supernatural horror film based on the online phenomenon of the same name. The screenplay, written by Travis Seppala with David Ian McKendry, follows a brother’s journey to find his sister. She went missing after she dared to play a ghastly game. This elevator horror flick stars Gino Anania, Verity Marks, Madison Maclasaac, Alex Carlos, Nazariy Demkowicz, Liam Stewart-Kanigan, and Megan Best.

Chad Tremblay is the editor of this film, and Brad Crawford is the cinematographer who has attempted to set an eerie tone for this portrayal of a life-threatening game. Elevator Game on Shudder can be your choice for a horror night if you can get past atrocious acting performances, embarrassing genre tropes, and familiar jump scares.

*Spoilers ahead*

Elevator Game (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:

What is ‘Elevator Game’ on Shudder about?

‘Elevator Game’ on Shudder is about a brother’s search for his missing sister, who has actually died after her attempt to play the infamous ‘elevator game.’ It is an internet phenomenon where a person needs to enter an elevator and press its buttons in a specific manner to open a way to another dimension. The film begins with Becki (Megan Best) attempting this game. Once she presses all the buttons, she resists her urge to look back. Then, she presses the button to floor number one to get out.

Suddenly, the lights in the elevator start flickering and take her to the 10th floor. Becki turns on her phone’s front camera to notice a spooky woman behind her. This scares her, and she screams. Then, the elevator returns to the basement, but Becki is not in it. What happened to Becki? The film tries to find that out throughout its duration.

Nightmare on Dare Street

We meet a group of teenagers who are YouTube celebrities. They have a channel called Nightmare on Dare Street. The group consists of the host, Kris Russo (Alec Carlos), the research nerd – Chloe Young (Verity Marks), the true believer – Matty Davis (Nazariy Demkowicz), and the tech genius – Izzy Simpson (Madison Maclasaac). They attempt several dares that would interest online horror enthusiasts. In their recent video, they forgot to advertise their sponsor as expected. It upsets Kevin (Liam Stewart-Kanigan), who handles the team’s finances. He urges them to come up with something exciting so that their sponsors would not leave them.

During the discussion, Kevin mentions Ryan (Gino Anania) – who claimed to be the group’s huge fan. That’s why he wanted to intern for them. Once they allow him in, Ryan proposes they try the elevator game. Everyone had heard playing that game opens the gateway to hell. In case they fail, the spirit of a woman rips the person apart. None of the core team is particularly excited about it. Kris mentions that none of their viewers would want to see them just riding the elevator for 20 minutes.

However, Kevin understands that the elevator game consumes less of the team’s time and resources to quickly deliver a result on their channel. Ryan mentions a haunted elevator he knows that is nearby. It is a life-or-death situation for Kevin, who used the funds his father gave for further education in the group’s channel. So, he makes the team agree that they go with Ryan’s suggestion. The team makes Ryan hold all their heavy equipment by himself. They trespass and enter the building.

The Elevator Game

Izzy places a camera in the elevator to get the footage. Chloe reads some information about the 5th-floor woman. She is a vengeful ghost who haunts a place called the Red World. Chloe and Ryan become friends before they enter the elevator. Matty holds the camera and joins Chloe and Kris inside. They press the buttons and follow the mentioned pattern. Chloe notes that a girl named Becky vanished from the same elevator. The light flickers during the process and spooks them. Matty is terrified, but Kris puts on a nonchalant persona. Chloe relieves Matty’s stress.

Once these three reach the 5th floor, they make sure not to look back. In the end, the elevator suddenly goes up to the 10th floor. A businessman walks in, and with him, they return to the ground floor. Just before that, Ryan noticed the security guard on the outside. So, he warned Becki and Kevin to go hide. During that time, the footage feed suddenly went off. So, the group lost a healthy chunk of footage from their elevator journey. Suddenly, Ryan shouts and tells them to try playing the elevator game again. Then, he gets angry at Kris for trying to bail on it. Turns out there is a reason for Ryan’s anger.

Why does Ryan get angry at Kris?

Becki, who went missing after playing the elevator game, was Ryan’s sister. Kris had told her about this game and bailed on her at the last minute. So, she played it herself and vanished afterward. That’s why Ryan insists they play the elevator game again to find Becki. Kris is frustrated and refuses to feel guilty about Becki’s disappearance. Meanwhile, Ryan’s revelation impacts his friendship with Chloe. She gets upset that he hid his ulterior motive from them. The security guard hears their arguments and escorts everyone out.

The Repercussions

Later at night, Kris calls Chloe since he cannot get over his guilt for what happened to Becki. She senses something strange happening where she lives. Kris sees the lights suddenly go off where he stays. He looks around with his phone torch and senses something. The next moment, he finds himself getting choked by an invisible force. In the midst of flickering light, the spirit of the 5th-floor lady kills him. Meanwhile, Ryan returns to the elevator where Becki went missing. He enters it to play the elevator game himself.

While Ryan enters the elevator, Izzy suddenly remembers that she forgot to bring back the camera attached to the elevator’s corner. She and Kevin decide to return to that building to bring it back. Ryan presses the last button of the elevator to find a red world open for him. He enters this room, terrified by its absolute spookiness. Moreover, he enters this dimension to find a red-tinted cross sign in the sky. Then, he notices a female figure on the road. He walks toward it to find it bend back, and follow him.

Izzy & Kevin

By the time Ryan returns to the red room, Izzy and Kevin enter the elevator and decide to play the game. Izzy gets hold of the camera and decides to get some more footage out of it. Ryan returns to the red-tinted room to notice the elevator going through different floors. Back in the elevator, Kevin and Izzy reach the 5th floor, and the lights suddenly turn red. Then, the mysterious lady rips them apart. Ryan rushes to the elevator and tries to close it before a creepy-looking girl stays behind. He finds Izzy’s camera and notices Kevin and Izzy are killed by the lady.

Ryan calls Chloe to warn her about her friends’ deaths. Back at her place, she looks through older stories of women who went missing once they entered some elevator. A red light creeps in from her door, but she does not notice it. She eventually realizes that Ryan is calling her. Despite being angry at him, she decides to go help him. Meanwhile, Matty waits for a bus at a bus stop. For some reason, he cannot reach Chloe on his phone. Out of nowhere, he notices a creepy lady on the roof and starts running away. Matty finally calls Chloe and asks her to come to the office.

Elevator Game (2023) ‘Shudder’ Movie Ending Explained:

Does Ryan manage to find his sister?

After seeing the scary lady at the bus stop, Matty rushes toward their group office. Along the way, he enters a restaurant and tries to get any kind of salt he can find. Ryan meets Chloe and tells her that the elevator game worked. He mentions playing the game by himself and entering the red world. He shows her the footage of Izzy and Kevin killed by the 5th-floor lady. For some reason, he refuses to go to the police and decides to solve the problem on his own. They see a circle of coarse salt filled with candles inside the office. Turns out, Matty created this circle to stay safe.

Who was the 5th-floor woman?

Chloe reveals what she found during her research. Over ten years ago, a girl named Ally was locked under the elevator. The sorority house girls mentioned they would return in an hour. But they forgot about her, and she had to spend the entire weekend inside. Eventually, she got crushed and killed by the elevator. The body was found several days later. So, Ally is the 5th-floor woman. That’s why Chloe refuses to believe in the stories of a spirit looking for vengeance. She decides to go to the police if they do not change her mind in five minutes.

Matty believes that the answer lies ahead of the door. He had read about opening the door but not how to close it. During his research, he starts humming the nursery rhyme of the elevator song. After hearing the lyrics, he realizes that they did not finish the game. While Ryan and Matty discuss how to play the game, the dead girl’s spirit arrives in their office and murders him. So, Ryan and Chloe run out to save themselves. They reach the haunted elevator where Becki went missing.

At the end of the film, Becki enters the elevator with Ryan. He reiterates that they have to follow the rules to meet his sister. If it does not work, they plan to run away right after. They pledge not to look at the spirit or speak with her no matter what. Even though the elevator door opens, they keep their eyes closed. Eventually, the door closes by itself. When Chloe presses the next button, the elevator goes to the 10th floor instead. They notice a red-tinted room and walk inside. Ryan sees a silhouette behind the glass and thinks that it is Becki. But Chloe brings him back to the elevator and says that he needs to accept Becki has died.

When Chloe and Ryan try to return to the ground floor, the elevator suddenly stops at the 5th floor. The door opens and closes by itself. Chloe believes the spirit isn’t going to let them go. They hear a voice asking where they are going. The next moment, Chloe gets killed. Ryan looks back and sees the spirit. He hears the voice of Becki calling out for him. She says she is scared. So, Ryan returns to the red world and perhaps becomes another missing person. Later, another influencer enters the elevator to play the game. She might end up with the same fate as these teenagers.

Elevator Game (2023) ‘Shudder’ Movie Ending Explained – Who was the 5th-floor woman?

Elevator Game (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis: