“Fall – A Pulse Pounding Thriller” (2022)

After the opening scene of the film, “Fall,” it has been one year since Becky, portrayed by Grace Caroline Currey (Annabelle Creation), lost her husband Dan, played by Mason Gooding (Scream), in a tragic accident. Becky has withdrawn from life. She has taken to drinking heavily, much to the disappointment of her concerned father James, a role acted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead). James confronts Becky, as she is leaving a bar one evening. He has tried to reach out to her through non-confrontational means, to no avail, regarding her continually grieving over Dan’s death. There is something which James asks Becky, in the bar’s parking lot, regarding the metaphoric pedestal that she has placed Dan on. James wants to know if Dan is worthy of Becky’s enduring grief? At first, I felt the question was part of a larger effort on James’s part to bring Becky out of her disconsolateness. I didn’t think much else of it at the time. As the film progresses, however, the question James posed to Becky will take on greater significance.  

Later that same evening, Becky receives a phone call from her friend Hunter. The character is played by Virginia Gardner (Runaways). Hunter was with Becky and Dan, when Dan died. She has, as alluded to in the film, kept her distance for the past year. Hunter wants to help Becky return to something that Becky used to love. Prior to Dan’s death, Becky was a climbing enthusiast. What Hunter specifically has in mind is climbing the decommissioned, 2000 foot (610m) B67 TV Tower. The structure is located in a remote California desert. Hunter has a two pronged reason for wanting to climb the tower: One: to help Becky get back to living life, and doing something that she used to love. Two: Hunter has her own YouTube channel, and she feels it will be great for clicks, which in turn, provide her monetary compensation.  

Dan was cremated upon his death. The plan Hunter has devised is for her and Becky to reach the top of the tower, and for Becky to scatter Dan’s ashes. Afterward, Hunter will, among other things, take some pictures, for her social media feeds, and the two will descend back down the tower. It takes some cajoling, but Hunter convinces Becky to go on the trip. (As an aside: The 2000ft B67 TV Tower is based on the KXTV / KVOR radio tower also known as Sacramento Joint Venture Tower, in Walnut Grove, California).  

Becky and Hunter travel out to the area, not too far from where the tower is located. They get a bite to eat, and take a motel room for the evening. The next day, the warning signs are all around them, that perhaps climbing the tower is not such a good idea. No sooner do they even leave the motel’s parking lot to drive to the tower, they have a stark encounter. When they arrive at the tower, there are no trespassing signs posted, as well as a locked gate, but that doesn’t stop Becky and Hunter. What should have given them serious pause, was the structure itself. Rusted and neglected, I would have taken one look at it, and felt an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can write without hesitation, there would be no way, I would have been persuaded to climb to the top of any 2000 foot structure, let alone one in that condition. For a moment, I thought Becky was going to abandon the climb, but no.

The first two parts of the plan go off without a hitch. Becky and Hunter reach the top, and Dan’s ashes are scattered. During the climb, the viewer is clued in on the fact, that not everything is at it seems for the women. Before they can even attempt to make their way back down the structure’s ladder, something goes terribly wrong, which strands Becky and Hunter at the very top, on the tower’s small platform.

Neither Becky nor Hunter’s cell phone is getting a signal that high up. They have little in the way of water. They have no food. They have a drone that Hunter uses for her social media feed, but it doesn’t have enough charge to travel far. Furthermore, there are vultures circling the structure. There is a box on the top of the landing of the tower, which contains a pair of binoculars and a flare gun. Will those items aid, in Becky and Hunter being rescued? Is there any hope of them living through their nightmarish ordeal?    

“Fall” was directed by Scott Mann (The Oath). In addition, Mann co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Jonathan Frank (Final Score). The music by Tim Despic (The Atomic Dream) helps to elevate the tension filled moments throughout the film. The sound work on the film was superb, and in many respects, the sound of the wind, and the creaking of the structure, as well as other sound effects, acted as additional characters alongside Becky and Hunter. The movie was released theatrically in the United States on August 12, 2022. The thriller has a runtime of 107 minutes.

There was a period of time during “Fall,” where I actually forgot I was watching a movie. I can’t remember the last time that happened to me. The against the odds thriller has a simple premise, and was made with a relatively low budget, but that was all this particular film needed.   

“Fall” was suspenseful, well paced, and what it lacked in story, which seems to be a major point of contention for the film’s detractors, it makes up for in the overall tension filled environment the film is set in. Viewers who suffer from acrophobia are strongly advised to skip the movie. Overall, a film that should keep most viewers wondering as to its resolution pertaining to the characters, until the closing minutes.                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                         

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