Fall

Synopsis: For best friends Becky and Hunter, 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. Now Becky and Hunter’s expert climbing skills will be put to the ultimate test as they desperately fight to survive the elements, a lack of supplies, and vertigo-inducing heights.

Review:

On the anniversary of the tragic death of her husband, Becky is convinced by her best friend, Shiloh, a social media daredevil, to climb the B67 TV Tower in the middle of the California desert. What follows is a pulse-pounding, anxiety-inducing, gem on a film..

All you have to do is watch the trailer for “FALL” and your pulse rate will increase. The film itself is a roller coaster ride full of ups, downs, and lots of surprises. I applaud co-writer/director Scott Mann and co-writer Jonathan Frank for taking such a simple idea (climbing up a tall ass tower) and expanding it into something not to be missed.

The B67 TV Tower is very much a character in this film. More than twice the height of the Eiffel Tower, the tower creeks and sways and has a blinking red light atop it to prevent airplanes from crashing into it. It’s filmed from every angle and distance and it’s presence is always felt.

The cinematography in “FALL” succeeds so well in letting the audience feel not only the massive height on the tower but also the extreme slenderness and almost claustrophobic feel of the tiny platform at the top where our two leading ladies find themselves trapped.

Speaking of - kudos to Grace Caroline Currey (Shazam!) and Virginia Gardner (Marvel’s Runaways) for exceptional performances in such physically but also emotionally demanding roles. Both bring their A game as Becky and Shiloh respectively. They’re fully fleshed out characters that we grow to care about quickly which increases the anxiety when they’re put in harms way.

A special shout out to Jeffrey Dean Morgan who has a supporting role in the movie as Becky’s protective father. It’s nice to see him in such a warm and endearing role - very different than the scheming Negan on The Walking Dead.

To wrap up - FALL is a fantastic movie that will have you at the edge of your seat. The cast is great. It’s filmed effectively well to give you that feeling of intense height and scale. Don’t wait to see this on some streaming service - see it on the biggest movie screen possible. To hear me rave more about this movie check out the GoF podcast - episode five!

FUN FACT: To get the movie down to a PG-13 rating the filmmakers had to edit out a lot of “F-bombs” that would push the movie way over the R rating. However, instead of editing traditionally they used nascent technology, primarily invented for foreign-language dubbing, enabling them to seamlessly swap in more family friendly audio. It mapped the actors’ faces, learning their specific mouth movements, before manipulating these motions with 3D computer effects to sync with new dubbing. Isn’t that DUCKING cool…..hey what the!?!