FALL

Ever had the urge to just climb something? Trust me, after watching Fall, you'll never have that feeling again because this is one hell of a white-knuckle experience that will make your palms sweat and your heart pound in your chest.

A fast drop and a sudden stop awaits Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner) as they find themselves trapped 2,000 feet up an abandoned radio tower in the desert. Highly trained and resourceful, these climbers were still not ready for every eventuality. A series of unfortunate events see their gear and supplies taken from them and as temperatures rise and vultures begin to circle, the chance of survival begins to fall rapidly.

An opening sequence sets the scene for what's to come with a climbing accident leaving Becky a widow, leading to her not doing any climbing for closing in on a year. When visited by Hunter and having nightmares about the incident previously seen, Becky agreeing to face her fears by climbing what looks like a total death trap may feel like a bit of a stretch. Jonathan Frank and Scott Mann do a great job in subverting any expectations the audience may have with a tightly written film that delivers plenty of thrills and spills throughout. There's a moment towards the end that shifts the narrative totally and it's something seen before in survival thrillers however, it works well to drive the film home successfully.

Mann manages to create so much tension throughout Fall, the direction as they start to climb even the lower levels cranking it up to unbearable levels waiting for the inevitable to happen. It's a visually striking film too, MacGregor's cinematography showing the sheer scale of the tower with some vertigo inducing shots from up above the tower and the vastness of the desert with some wide shots of the isolated tower standing tall amidst the landscape.

Holding the film together while they're also holding on for dear life are the two lead performances from Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner. Obviously they weren't put at the top of a 2,000 foot tall tower and told to act up there, which makes both of their ability to sell the fear they are faced with to the audience even more impressive. Creating that sense of dread and fear is not an easy challenge and both Currey and Gardner excel in that aspect. Yes, there's cheesy dialogue towards the start but that can be forgiven when the main event is as nail-bitingly tense as it is.

Cinema should make you feel something, it's what we sit in the dark for a few hours for. With that in mind, Fall makes for a great cinematic experience, placing the audience on the top of the tower with the two leads in one of the most thrilling films of the year.

Verdict: ★★★★