Fall is 2022 film that was directed Scott Mann who has previously helmed films like Heist, Final Score and The Tournament. The film is co-written by Mann and Jonathan Frank. The cast of the film features names like Virginia Gardner, Grace Fulton, Mason Gooding and none other than Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a small part. The premise of the film is probably the most unique one I’ve heard all year, it surrounds around: “For best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner), life is all about conquering fears and pushing limits. But after they climb 2,000 feet to the top of a remote, abandoned radio tower, they find themselves stranded with no way down.” The film recently released in India even though it was released in the US during summer time.
I came across the film because it did feature in some of the articles where they were listing out the best films of the year. That jogged my memory back to earlier this year where I’d read an article that covered 2022’s scariest film according to Stephen King. Fall at the time of release impressed the horror icon so much so that he felt the need to tweet about it. As I’m on a mission of watching all the films of 2022 that I’ve missed before the year ends, I thought that I’ll might as well cover this one as well. I’ve realized that I don’t watch too many survival thrillers but the ones which I watch, I tend to like, for example: Ready or Not. So, without further ado let’s see how this one fared and does it love up to the promise of the premise?
Rating – ★★★★
Fall Movie Review: Don’t Look Down!
I’m going to keep this one short but because there is really not so much to talk about, I don’t mean that in a bad way. The film simply is an excellent, that is all there is. For a thriller it especially packs in a lot of character, I didn’t expect that there would be such attention to human emotions for a film that has the USP of climbing on a 2000 feet radio tower. Additionally, the dynamics between the characters was done really well. The film begins with the death of Becky’s husband and the entire film is surrounded around her getting over that.
Then around halfway through the film we realize that Hunter who was supposed to pull Becky out of her grief also had an affair with Danyal (Becky’s husband). The interplay of emotions was handled maturely although I saw this revelation coming because of the fairly obvious set-ups. The thrills in the film are slow at the start, taking some cheap options of jump scares but the filmmaker cleverly uses these jump scares as set-ups which are paid off throughout the film, my favorite one being the truck.
I’ve always been someone who is not satisfied with the size objects shown in movies, because they hype it up to be huge but in when seen on screen it falls short. This is not the case with radio tower featuring in this movie. The tower really looks humungous and unclimbable. I like the inclusion of vultures in the film as they give us good thrills. All the elements including the costumes that the characters wear are used in order to get down. Seriously being stranded on a place like this is my worse nightmare.
There are some negatives that I want to address, as the filmmaker couldn’t make his actors and his crew climb a 2000 feet long tower for real, he does take the assistance of VFX. However, I’m sorry to say but those aren’t done well. I watched the film at home on my TV, but I would assume it would’ve looked worse on the big screen. I could make out that many shots were completely crafted using VFX which did hamper my experience as the entire background looked fake. However, on the flip side, the film was made on the budget of merely $3 Million.
There are some logical flaws with the film as well, the use of the drone only comes into the picture when Hunter’s phone is dropped on the ground and no one comes to their rescue. Why didn’t they use the phone before? The twist of Hunter’s death as well was good but I’m on the fence about it, I don’t generally like these ghost twists but I think it was handled well. I love the climax of the film. I love how Becky snaps the Vulture’s neck and eats it.
I love how she takes the leap of faith and jumps down on the dish where she stuffs her phone in her best friends body so that the phone is protected that her plea for help is delivered. Te climax really elevated the quality of the film. I do have one thing to say, I think it is hilarious that to pull Becky out of her grief of losing someone and fear of climbing, she is taken on a journey where I don’t think so she’ll climb again as well, she lost another friend of her’s. So to get over the husband’s death, her friend had to die. Bravo!
Verdict
Fall is as evident by my praise a movie that is worth your time, because of the weak visual effects I wouldn’t necessarily ask you watch it on the big screen as well. Buy it on digital and watch it in your home, it might not be in the Christmas spirit as the film is dark. Many people might find it depressing as well. The one thing the film does right is that you never feel sure that your protagonist is going to be alive in the end. The way Mann slaughters of the hopes of escaping this nightmare is bone-chilling.
It is of course Stephen King approved, so who am I to say something. Fall is in my opinion one of the best films that we’ve gotten this year. I haven’t seen anything else from Mann but I’d like to see what he does next. The film was box office success as well. Made only on a budget of $3 Million it grossed over $21 Million, seven times the budget. If you don’t mind watching a depressing and thrilling movie in these festive times then definitely treat yourself with Fall, you’ll not be disappointed. I’ll rate Fall 4 out of 5 stars.
Fall is currently playing in theatres near you and it is also available for purchase on Digital.
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