Ivan Radford | On 05, Mar 2023

Director: Scott Mann
Cast: Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner
Certificate: 15

Nerve-shredding. Nail-biting. Gasp-inducing. None of these quite capture the breathtaking suspense at the heart of Fall, a survival thriller that lets its title hang in the air with the threat of ominous inevitability. The film follows two estranged friends – Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner) – who reunite to attempt something impossible: climbing a 2,000ft tower in the middle of the desert. Hunter is an influencer who films stunts for a gaping online audience, and Becky is mourning the loss of her husband in a climbing accident. The idea that they should both jointly decide to embark on this vertiginous challenge is implausible at best, but it’s testament to just how gripping Fall is that you don’t think about that once in the ensuing 90 minutes.

Of course, things go wrong almost immediately. After working to get to the top, the ladder breaks, leaving the pair stranded on a tiny metal platform two times higher than the peak of the Eiffel Tower. With no mobile phone reception and no food supplies, things don’t look good. In fact, things look positively vertigo-inducing, thanks to director Scott Mann, who delivers a masterclass in claustrophobia as well as acrophobia, even as the backdrop stretches as far as we can see. Seamless visual effects and some excellent practical work means you never for one second think about how they’ve filmed this scenario because you’re too busy feeling stomach-charmingly dizzy – and the use of sunsets and a blinking red safety light gives the B-movie thrills a beautifully stylised aesthetic.

The script, meanwhile, understands the brief to the letter, as Mann and co-writer Jonathan Frank keep the character work taut, from past tensions to learning to look to the future. That’s balanced by an admirable use of limited resources, with the puzzle-solving possibilities of everything from a drone to a selfie stick explored with just the right level of ingenuity – and no end of all-too-realistic peril.

None of this would work without strong central performances and Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner more than deliver, with hope, fear and desperation running across their faces constantly as they reassess their situation with each cruel new twist. Fuelled by a propulsive, unnerving soundtrack, the result is a low-key, high-stakes ride that will have you on the edge of your seat.

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