If you find yourself standing in front of a 2,000 foot rusty radio tower, soon to be demolished, I’d advise resisting the urge to climb it. I’m not sure we needed a film like Fall for this lesson to be taught, but this compelling, at times gruelling watch takes great glea in teach it anyway.
As Becky approaches the anniversary of a particularly painful loss, former best friend Shiloh comes back into her life with a proposition. Becky can find closure by climbing said radio tower with her friend. Against perhaps a better judgement, the pair set off to climb the tower and, as expected, things don’t go according to plan.
Scott Mann’s film is a viscerally compelling work, bringing the viewer into the journey up the tower. Long shots highlight just how small our duo is compared to the distance they are scaling. The sound design highlights every creak and groan as Becky and Shiloh’s intrusion judders the metal monstrosity they are climbing. The viewer is never in any doubt of the unfortunate events that will occur, and yet this is a work that manages to make it compelling, despite some weaknesses to the script.
And that is mostly thanks to our central duo, who have a lived-in chemistry that enhances the portion of the film all about them. Virginia Gardner’s Shiloh is, as the more outgoing one, an occasionally frustrating presence, but Gardner finds the warmth and charisma the character needs. And Grace Caroline Currey finds the humour to make her grieving figure less of a slog to be around. The pair are so good together that they manage to not be overwhelmed by some of the soap opera-like plot details. The same can not be said for Mason Gooding and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who are fixtures of the non-tower time and really feel like presences that the film doesn’t really need.
But when Fall works it is an impressive piece, a horrifying, nauseating watch with a tension that cuts to the bone. This is a must watch for genre fans but will give everyone vertigo, even if this comes with a thick wedge of creaky melodrama.
As Becky approaches the anniversary of a particularly painful loss, former best friend Shiloh comes back into her life with a proposition. Becky can find closure by climbing said radio tower with her friend. Against perhaps a better judgement, the pair set off to climb the tower and, as expected, things don’t go according to plan.
Scott Mann’s film is a viscerally compelling work, bringing the viewer into the journey up the tower. Long shots highlight just how small our duo is compared to the distance they are scaling. The sound design highlights every creak and groan as Becky and Shiloh’s intrusion judders the metal monstrosity they are climbing. The viewer is never in any doubt of the unfortunate events that will occur, and yet this is a work that manages to make it compelling, despite some weaknesses to the script.
And that is mostly thanks to our central duo, who have a lived-in chemistry that enhances the portion of the film all about them. Virginia Gardner’s Shiloh is, as the more outgoing one, an occasionally frustrating presence, but Gardner finds the warmth and charisma the character needs. And Grace Caroline Currey finds the humour to make her grieving figure less of a slog to be around. The pair are so good together that they manage to not be overwhelmed by some of the soap opera-like plot details. The same can not be said for Mason Gooding and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who are fixtures of the non-tower time and really feel like presences that the film doesn’t really need.
But when Fall works it is an impressive piece, a horrifying, nauseating watch with a tension that cuts to the bone. This is a must watch for genre fans but will give everyone vertigo, even if this comes with a thick wedge of creaky melodrama.