Fall (2022)
Fear reaches new heights.
Today we try something new. Today we are going to write this entire review from my phone as I wait for the car place to replace a part so my car will pass it's inspection. Yeah, I'll still record audio at home, but I might as well make good use of my three hours of waiting for my wallet to get mugged. Thankfully for me, me and a buddy already watched a movie the other night, so let's check out a movie that seems like it had a budget that's probably pretty comparable to what I’mgetting charged : tonight we watch Fall.
A group of thrill seekers are out climbing a mountain. One is without a rope, and the other two - a married couple - are tethered to each other. It's all good until the husband tries to put a hook into a bird's nest, and the surprise take off sends him blasting off the ledge. It only gets worse when he had the wife unclip her line to give him more swing room and the previous one pulls free, sending him to his death and leaving the wife with some major depression. Years later, the friend returns to get her out of her funk by doing what she fears: climbing up a massive radio tower. It's a thriller - you already know where this plot is going.
Characters are very limited on number here, as our main cast ends up really being just the two friends. Yes, there's Dad and dead husband and a few side characters, but they don't really get the same time the main two get. Our lead gets to have an arc that people will probably appreciate, both gaining and learning to get over fear and the past to move on - even if that path is pretty grueling. Our second Lady is the far more energetic thrill seeker of the two, and serves that rock pushing you to be or get better role well, although she gets to have some little layers in there as well that also helps to play with the dynamics of the two’s relationships. It's good that they aren't horrible characters though, as if all you wanted was for them to die the movie would lose a lot of it's tension.
Actors do good, feeding into the characters feeling more well done. Side characters - specifically the Dad really - feel like they put a lot into it, although the really ancillary characters end up being there and gone before anyone gets to really develop or show off. “Dude on phone” acts like a dude on a phone, so that's technically a win right? At times a character might feel a little over or under board, but the situation is so wild that you can't really feel it to off putting because how would a person act on those situations? Either way, they do a good enough job that you really stay wondering if anyone is going to get off that tower.
Pair of friends
The movie didn't feel as though there is a ton of budget - but it's not too say the movie feels cheap or put it down in any way. It has one main set - the tower. The tower looks just like a tower, and all the glamour shots drive home how crap condition the tower is. Every vibration, every lost bolt and rusty rung - when things go wrong, the tension had been palpable long enough you might wonder if they are trying to trick you. The small number of cast, combined with the one main set, the limited effects work and the one main song that stands out just cements in that “let's not over do it just because we can” feeling that a lot of horror movies generate before becoming hits (or not).
Costumes are modern, so it's not much to go crazy about but does it's job well. Some parts of the customs even get use beyond just wearable throughout the movie as well, which is a nice touch. Yes, some effects do exist in here, but they don't take you out off the movie (at least no more then the sudden dream sequence might). What's there looks good enough in my book, and the movie does a lot of setting things up to pay off later even if you aren't paying attention to make note of it.
Audio is balanced well. Line deliveries are usually pretty on point, even when it's a dumb joke. There are times that the emotion really shines through. For the thinking people, I do think there are a few things to get here - and honestly there sort of had to be to keep the movie feeling like it had a purpose in my opinion. That overcoming fear and the past, and commentary on really living life is solid. Importance of friends and family drives into that. The actors playing on that and things being shot in ways to play on all of that helps keep the tension up and investment from waning and attention going to do something else.
One part of a really big tower
So there we have it. A very light weight movie that gets to the point right? Some might find the small scale to be less exciting then some large cast big budget flick, but the scale helps keep it personal and cuts a bunch of potential meandering out. You do have some spots that can go on a little bit without a major state change, but it's all in the service of that tension and character. Yes, there might be some choices that seem a bit dumb, but I feel we as a population should realize that people make dumb decisions all the time so it's not an immersion breaking thing.