Fall is a new movie about two people stuck at the top of a really tall radio tower. That sounds pretty simple but that's basically it. They're up there for about three-quarters of the almost two-hour movie and you're only seeing things from their perspective. This radio tower also happens to be double the height of the Eiffel Tower in the middle of a desert with no reception and a limited supply of water plus some creepy birds... so the stakes are pretty high.

Fall doesn't strike me as some high-budget blockbuster. And the credits list on IMDb supports this theory with a limited cast and crew. So, instead of trying to become some big blockbuster with incredible special effects, incredible music and incredible acting, they decided to focus on one area in particular. That area: suspense. And my gosh, do they do suspense well. I might not be representing all audiences when I say this but for a large portion of this movie, my legs were shaking and my palms were sweating. The earlier parts of the movie just kept building with so much Jurassic Park-style suspense. Fall is for the daredevils of film; the movie equivalent of people who would climb a 2000-foot radio tower. This movie also has a fair few jump scares, so if you're not a fan of those, you probably won't be a fan of this movie.

Because Fall was so focussed on its suspense, the creators were much less focused on the other elements of the film. These other elements aren't necessarily bad and I commend the creators for choosing to focus only on one area. However, there isn't anything outstanding in the other elements of the movie. For example, there are only four main actors in this movie, two of which get more than five minutes of screen time. And even these actors aren't any recognisable names. The music similarly only just achieves its job. The weakest part of this film is the CGI. The opening scene of Fall (which is of course set on a cliff face) features some pretty poor CGI which is surprising for today's standards. However, this CGI seems to either greatly improve for the later parts of the movie, or they actually are filming on the top of a 2000-foot radio tower. Once again, these elements don't take anything away from the movie but instead almost give to the movie by allowing the filmmakers to focus more on the suspense. 

The only thing worse than a movie that gets better as it progresses is a movie that gets worse. Fall gets worse. Some weird stuff happens with half an hour to go and the movie heads downhill from there. To put it simply: some disgustingly weird creepy stuff happens. At this point, the movie almost turns into a horror movie with some really strange story decisions made along with some pretty gory sights for a PG-13 movie.

One of my favourite parts of this movie (apart from the suspense) is how early events allude to what will be happening later on. Almost every small line of dialogue and insignificant thing that happens to the characters will be important an hour later. I don't want to get into spoilers but some of this reminds me of Jurassic Park. The velociraptors in Jurassic Park are barely seen in the earlier parts of the movie and referenced throughout but we never get a good look at them in action until the later parts of the movie. Then they are the real villains of the story. A very similar situation happens in Fall which I seem to hate and love at the same time. 

I would actually recommend Fall to the average viewer. You're not going to walk away having your life turned around but you also won't walk away feeling you've wasted the last two hours of your life. Yes, it may have some so-so acting; yes, it may have some questionable music; yes, it may have some poor CGI; and yes, the movie does get pretty weird. But it certainly makes up for this in its suspense. I likely wouldn't watch the movie again out of my own free will but I did thoroughly enjoy Fall... if 'enjoy' is the right word.

Director: Scott Mann

Starring: Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner

Year released: 2022

My rating: 6.5/10

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 30/10/2022