Elevation

The chameleonic creatures who lurk in the shadows are the most compelling characters in Elevation, in part because they don’t speak.

Indeed, a lackluster script hampers this contrived science-fiction thriller from director George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau), which struggles to build suspense as the stakes escalate.

Set among the Rocky Mountain peaks of Colorado, the film immerses us in an ominous near-future dystopian landscape where the picturesque scenery contrasts with the danger lurking around every corner, from gunshots in the distance to talk of mysterious monsters.

Years after a near-apocalyptic event that wiped out most of the Earth’s population, Will (Anthony Mackie) is sequestered along with other survivors above 8,000 feet, where the seemingly indestructible apex predators — known as Reapers — cannot reach them.

Still mourning the loss of his wife, Will is caring for their young son (Danny Boyd), who naturally feels a sense of isolation and curiosity about the outside world. “We may be safe here, but this mountaintop is like a prison to him,” explains Katie (Maddie Hasson), one of Will’s neighbors and close confidants.

Meanwhile, the youngster’s supply of medicine has dwindled, and the only way to secure a fresh supply is to venture below the tree line and raid a deserted pharmacy.

Consumed by guilt and grief that drives his courage and determination, Will and Maddie reluctantly partner with Nina (Morena Baccarin), a bitter yet bold scientist who has been researching ways to defeat the savages and once lived through an encounter.

The film gradually fills in the background details, mostly through clunky expositional dialogue, about past tragedies that haunt the characters and circumstances that turn their lives into a daily fight for survival.

Mackie (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) brings emotional depth to a screenplay that lacks narrative and thematic complexity as it funnels toward an inevitable series of harrowing confrontations between man and beast.

Much of it feels more familiar than fresh, although there are some highlights along the way, such as tense first contact at an abandoned ski course.

Eventually, with all the chases and shootouts and near-death escapes, it falls back on a videogame mentality. Elevation fails to reach new heights.

Rated R, 91 minutes.