Saturday, 1 October 2022

BITE-SIZED: Fall (Scott Mann, 2022)

A pair of thrill-seekers get trapped at the top of a 2000 foot (609.6 m) high tower in the middle of the desert.

With few supplies and unable to contact anyone, can the pair survive?





With all the superhero movies crowding out cinemas, it’s time to shine a light on some recent genre movies about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.


Fall benefits from a strong sense of verisimilitude - it was shot on a real location, with the actors front and centre.


That sense of realism gives the characters’ peril a real charge. Nothing is more jaw-dropping than watching a real actor, sweating and hair blowing, dangling with terra firma far below.


There is nothing particularly original about the story of Fall, but it is all in the execution.


Lead performers Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner  have strong chemistry and handle their physical action well. 


Scott Mann’s direction maintains a constant sense of scale - even down to the sound design of the creaking tower. 


I am afraid of heights so this might be personal bias, but the film is constantly ratcheting up tension.


There are no lulls or dead spots.


I have run into a series of films this year with straightforward premises which felt bloated and drained their sense of tension. Fall never out-stays its welcome.


It deserves extra credit for creating a natural sense of escalation. There is no point where it feels like our heroines have an easy out of their predicament, and the obstacles they face are borne out of their situation.


Fall is the kind of tight, nerve-shredding suspense thriller I look forward to.


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