Fall Review: A return to survival films that gets the core points but misses a few others
Don’t look down…
Survival films might be something of a rare genre these days. In a world full of superhero films and multiple installments in franchises, a simple film about one or two people stuck in an extreme situation and simply trying to survive it has become the type of rarity many of us celebrate. However, that doesn’t mean every survival film is automatically good, which makes it all the better that director Scott Mann’s Fall is pretty good. Combining a simple script with themes of letting go in order to survive, the film has you at the edge of your seat where it counts most. Making for a pretty great viewing experience especially with friends.
Starring Grace Caroline Kelly and Virginia Gardner as Becky and Hunter respectively , the movie follows the two girls as recreational climbers who take on the challenge of climbing a 2000 feet radio tower while one is essentially dealing with the PTSD of her husband who died in a climbing accident not so long ago. It’s kind of a predictable “something will definitely go wrong” setting , but the actors do a good job of selling characters as believable. Becky is clearly the center of the story, being the recovering widow who barely has her life together after the love of her life died in front of her eyes. She’s not exactly interesting in the traditional sense, clearly being a sad mess of a person. She also however has a specific sense of denial, one which both her best friend and father tell her about but which is used by the plot to reveal it’s more dramatic twists as it moves along. The more scene stealing performer however definitely Gardner’s Becky, who’s basically the cheerful daredevil trying her best to enjoy a dreary life and be there for her friend. It’s not a perfect pairing but it works for the plot. Especially since the stars kind of play second fiddle to what this movie is about, the danger.
Almost as soon as our characters start their journey almost everything goes wrong, leading them to be stuck on top of a tower that’s gradually getting closer and closer to making them fall of it. It sounds like a simple challenge but considering they are literally more than a kilometer in air with basically no supplies, things get bad fast. Mann’s directorial skills shine when it comes to making this simple premise excessively daunting. They also shine at integrating the sound design of this movie as every time a ladder breaks, or a screw is wringing loose. A Simple act like that puts you at the edge of your seat, especially as everything slowly falls apart and you realise just which bad thing is about to happen. Mann also has the script explore the nature of our leads’ friendship beyond just the expected archetypal dynamic, and even has many of the aforementioned twists beginning with that dynamic. It’s not earth shattering drama, in fact it has a slightly teen drama approach to it, but it adds to the tension of the already prevailing situation, and has you either rolling your eyes or genuinely afraid about the outcome.
The twists also extend to the psyche’s of our characters,
especially Becky’s. Already having PTSD makes the experience be displayed in even more intense ways for her. There’s fever dream scenes that cause you to feel as anxious and confused as the characters, and times where you may even wonder what worked and what didn’t . It’s a pretty creative way to induce dread
in an audience, and works well enough for the movie’s approach.
This doesn’t mean Fall has no flaws however. While generally
interesting , some of it’s dialogue is pretty boring and a little one note, and certain plot points in the film seem to be terribly forced into the story, but where it counts most the movie gets you excited, afraid and begging to see how our characters survive. And that’s survival movies in a nutshell isn’t it?
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