Fall

The idea is fine and the visuals are decent, but the screenplay and editing are amateurish. Relationship clichés, terrible physical silliness and, in the tensest scenes, skipping over key moments in movement while overcoming obstacles. That was the thing in the film that bothered me even more than the fact that those engineers searching for a signal didn’t think to mount a mobile telephone on a drone. So stupid. But the vertigo factor is satisfying, though it won’t work for a lot of viewers. On a home cinema with a large screen, Fall is a sweat-inducing physical experience similar to Free Solo. (18.09.2022)

Unpleasant anxiety and intense survival vertigo! Fall is an unexpected surprise that can rank among High Lane, Gold, Frozen, A Lonely Place to Die and more. Scott Mann isn't that good of a director, but he's good at B-movies and can occasionally conjure up some fine stuff in those waters. (The Tournament is guilty pleasure as fuck and Bus 657 was good too) and Fall is definitely among that. In terms of story, it's straightforward, but that doesn't matter at all, there are other attributes at play here and they work flawlessly. Becky and Hunter are best friends who decide to climb a 610-foot radio tower, and they have pretty compelling reasons to do so. The opening is slightly slower, but it doesn't significantly matter, because as soon as the girls get close to the tower a very uncomfortable and anxious spectacle begins, where people suffering from acrophobia will get sick and wriggle their toes. Both girls are likeable and quite smart, so any rescue attempts are very believable and make sense. You'd think the director would just make a pure mountaineering survival film, but he managed to incorporate other elements (two unpleasant and atmospheric nightmares), some brutality and vultures – they get quite a bit of space and are very unpleasant – and there was a very good twist. The atmosphere, adrenaline and suspense work practically throughout the entire runtime and thanks to the great cinematography and especially the very intense music, it makes for a beautifully nerve-wracking thriller for little money that works and entertains, and that's plenty enough for me. 7/10 (04.09.2022)

A physically ambitious B-movie that may not have a top-notch technical execution and has poor character psychology, but the tension could be cut and the generally well staged dramatic scenes often make you want to cover your eyes. They have managed to cope with a small budget and a 30-foot stunt tower and turned this into a sometimes nerve-wracking survival drama. The allusions to social media are great. (10.10.2023)