Fall Movie Review

I’ve seen quite a few good films so far this year though perhaps not as many as I would like due to work commitments and indeed release schedules being in tatters after Covid. On Sunday I went to see Fall, partly as I liked the trailer but also because Jeffrey Dean Morgan is in it, aka Negan in The Walking Dead.

If you have a fear of heights, suffer from vertigo or anything like that then Fall might be a total nightmare for you to watch, in an enjoyable way… hopefully.

I suffer from a rare condition that is almost the opposite of the fear of heights. I love them and actually have an urge to jump off tall things whether it is mountain peaks, skyscrapers roof gardens or whatever. Even with this quirky advantage I found Fall to be horrendously tense which I really, really liked. I was almost relieved when the first ‘disaster’ took place just to get it out of the way.

The plot of Fall is very simple. Becky who is played by Grace Caroline Currey and her best friend Hunter (Virginia Gardner) are keen rock climbers but everything went awry for them when Becky’s husband suffers a fatality a year ago which sends Becky in to a very understandable pit of despair.

Hunter is one of those people who does daredevil stunts for her social media feeds and wants to climb one of the tallest buildings in the USA, a dilapidated old radio transmitter tower that is 2,000 feet high. Whilst Becky is traumatised and is really not into it, with her life falling apart she figures it might be a good way to honour her husband and scatter his ashes somewhere suitably high.

The initial road-trip vibes come to an ominous halt when they reach the base of a old red tower that is so tall, the camera can only fit its full height from miles away. The only way up is my ladders; first inside a cage like structure and then finally on the outside.

The filmmaker make the very post of the suspense here. Everything creaks and groans. Rust is everywhere, screws are missing and others fall out. Rungs on the ladder fall off and they haven’t ‘even’ reached the height of the Eiffel Tower which is barely half way.

Becky really doesn’t want to go up but is urged on by Hunter and after several hear topping moments, they finally climb on top of the world. Little do they know it though but by climbing up, they have already sealed their fate as after some dare devil selfies and releasing the ashes, they barely get a foot down when absolutely everything goes wrong.

Their supplies fall down over 50 feet that get snagged on a satellite dish, the ladder falls away and their is no mobile phone coverage due to the height. Plus Becky finds out Hunter had been having a thing with her deceased husband.

No need to say much more but it is a truly thrilling film with stunning stunts and beautifully filmed sequences high above the desert. The couple spend a few days and nights up there and try every possible trick in the book to unsuccessfully escape as things incredibly get progressively worse. There is even quite a nice twist towards the end.

The two older men a few seats from me found the whole film agonising and the most horrendous ordeal they’ve ever sat and watched through and how scary it was for them, for me it was that good.

I thought Grace Caroline Currey in particular was just incredible. 24 hours after watching the film as I write this, I’m still thinking about and would like to say more but it would give things away.

Go watch this film! It made me feel so alive but I never want to watch a film like that again… though I can’t wait to watch this film again as I thought Becky was so great.