As long as you’re not expecting a life-changing cinematic experience, Fall provides an evening’s worth of gut-wrenching tension with a minimum of required brain activity.
After losing her husband in a mountain-climbing accident, Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) falls into a year-long depression. Her best friend, Hunter (Virginia Gardner) decides that the best way to get Becky to face the world again is to take her on another climbing adventure.
Hunter plans to scale the 2000 foot high B67 television tower that looms in the middle of a California desert. Hunter tells Becky that if she doesn’t face her fears head-on, she’ll never stop reliving them. So, off they go on a six hour drive to the tower. As soon as they get there, they ignore a giant sign on a locked gate in front of the tower that reads, “No trespassing. Danger of death.”
Needless to say, there wouldn’t be much of a movie if their climb was uneventful. Shortly after reaching the platform at the top of the rusty old tower, they find themselves trapped. Of course, there is no cellular signal so their phones don’t work. The ladder they used to climb up has collapsed. They’re stuck and need to use the few resources they have to summon help.
Fall is a high-concept thriller that has all the ingredients of a straight-to-video clunker. However, thanks to incredible camera work, convincing visual effects, and serviceable performances from its leads, it actually ends up being an enjoyable, tension filled, B-movie.
Before I sing its praises too highly, it does have a few problems. The characters aren’t terribly bright but yet know enough to connect the dots that the script has plotted for them. Fall adheres to an unwritten rule that says there has to be some interpersonal drama between two characters that find themselves in a bind like this. And, I’ve lost count of how many young people in movies get into situations like this because they want to get followers on social media. (You guessed it. Hunter has an online presence as Danger D.)
Still, despite these formulaic issues, Fall had no problem giving me sweaty palms and knots in my stomach. Of course, I have trouble climbing to the top of a six-foot step ladder without freaking out, so your mileage may vary. But, thanks to a minimum of noticeable CGI or green screen intrusion, I found it very easy to believe that Becky and Hunter are, in fact, trapped on a 2000 foot tall tower. The cinematography highlights the expansive desert landscape beneath them. And, of course, there are a plethora of reasons for them to get as close to the edge of the platform as possible. Even from the safety of my couch, I was nauseous.
As long as you’re not expecting a life-changing cinematic experience, Fall provides an evening’s worth of gut-wrenching tension with a minimum of required brain activity. That sounds like a perfect popcorn movie for a gathering with friends to me.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
