Good afternoon, House of Madness maniacs:
If you're old enough to remember Blockbuster, then you've most likely spent a good number of your teenage Friday nights navigating the aisles, in search of a gem. If you were there for a new release, you'd better have gotten there early; five minutes could be the difference between walking home with "Ishtar", instead of "Avatar". If you were like me however, all those 'new releasers' could fight to the death for all I cared, I always beelined directly for the small section in the back, where they kept the horror hidden from those not brave enough to browse the bordello of frights. Once you've seen the mainstream monstrosities, you had to use your haunted intuition, heed the recommendation of a movie-trusted friend, or as a last resort, you chose from the cover art that looked the most badass. Movies like "Shocker" or "Amityville 3D" would never have entered my demented VCR had their boxes not looked so alluring and beguiling. Yep, things were much tougher before the internet, we had to choose horror movies with our gut, without a synopsis or glowing review lurking around every cyber corner (and we liked it, gosh darnit!). Having said all of this, if you've seen the poster art for "Fall" (2022), then you know exactly what you're in for. There can be no complaints of misdirection or deceit, what you see is what you get, and the heightened thrills are what you'd expect.
Best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), Hunter (Virginia Gardner), and Becky's fiancee Dan (Mason Gooding) are rock climbing, and having themselves a great day in the outdoors. As they're starting to approach the summit, things go awry, and Dan plummets hundreds of feet to his death while the two friends watch in horror. I hope those wedding invitations weren't non-refundable.
Fast forward almost a year from the tragedy (51 weeks to be precise), and Becky is depressed, suicidal, and not the same energetic go-getter she once was. She's distanced herself from her father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), as well as Hunter, in an effort to forget the past, and drown in her own self pity. Not gonna happen on Hunter's watch! The two old friends meet up, and while things are going terribly for Becky, Hunter is absolutely crushing life with her social media stardom. After they do some catching up, Hunter reveals her real reason for wanting to meet up: she proposes the two of them climb the tallest radio tower in the world, and get Becky over her little 'dead Dan' problem while recording the entire adventure for her followers. Truth be told, Becky hasn't climbed since the accident, and vowed never to scale anything ever again. Hunter can be very convincing however, and after an "Aww please" followed up by "It'll be good for you, I promise!", Becky is convinced, and it's all settled. This may seem like a bad idea, but one thing is for sure, Hunter should really be in sales instead of show biz with such advanced negotiation tactics.
As Hunter and Becky arrive at a diner in which the mammoth tower overlooks only a few miles away, Becky again starts to exhibit cold feet, and starts to question why she agreed to this whole thing. "Aww please? It'll be good for you, I promise!" Works every time! As the friends are staring up at the top of the tower from its base 2000 feet below, Becky once again says she can't do it, and begs Hunter to just take her home where she can go back to feeling sorry for herself. Can you guess where this is going? Ding, ding, ding, ding! It's almost as if Hunter is a sorceress, or at the very least has the ability to mind control people better than L. Ron Hubbard. Up, up, up they go, climbing a rickety ladder which seems to be missing more screws than a God denying nun during the apocalypse. They finally reach the top, but upon arrival have their return trip ruined by corroded, rusty ladders that make a break for the ground beneath. Oh well, that's why I always say to carry a two kilometre long ladder just in case.
I won't divulge too much more, as there's only so many scenarios you can imagine with two girls trapped on a tiny platform 2000 feet above the ground, but I will say it definitely serves up a few surprises, a couple of eye-rolls, and most importantly a lot of thrills.
"Fall" is by no means a perfect movie and has its share of "Oh, gimme a fuckin break!" moments, but it's a lot of fun, and when the thrills come they come right at you in a way that almost includes you in their heightened plight. One thing is for sure, don't look down.......unless Hunter says "Aww please!? It'll be good for you!". She promises.
Madness Meter: 6.6/10
NB
