 |
| Images courtesy Lionsgate |
Where most would expect a direct copy/paste of 2022's Fall, its sequel does what great follow-ups should do. The second chapter follows many of the same plot points and pacing but features a fresh new tale of loss and reckoning with mortality.
Serving as an actual continuation of the first story, Shiloh's sister Jax makes the long trek to Thailand to climb Mount Kwan's doomed plank walk. As expected, nothing goes as planned and her fears are faced against a treacherous backdrop while mother nature unfurls her vengeance on the mountainous terrain. What was meant as a path to closure suddenly becomes another chapter in the Fall saga.
Fall 2: Deadpoint is a vertigo inducing movie that's low on budget but high on death defying thrills as it pushes the vertical limit. Sure, there are some silly eye rolling moments and repetitious scenes that will be compared to the original. Yet, there's just enough to latch on to in the fall movie season. It'll probably scrape up some dough at the dwindling seasonal box office. Fall (2022) found footing in the streaming market after a short-lived but successful theatrical release. It made $22 million on a $3 million budget. This one is expected to do the same or better.
 |
| Did you bring the sandwiches? |
Returning screenwriters Jonathan Frank and Scott Mann found a way to make this basic tale interesting enough to carry a sequel that never lets up. Fall 2 is unrelenting. It's an exercise in bad outcomes for good people. The situation on the mountain face is dire. Both leads, Harriet Slater and Arsema Thomas do everything they can to prove their creative worth in a movie that shines because of their pairing and the duality of their budding relationship.
With Michael and Peter Spierig (Predestination, Daybreakers) taking over directorial duties this time around, Fall 2 proves that good sequels can happen, even when there's not a huge premise to back it up. This thing is carried solely by danger and the execution of believable stunts with human characters that feel ripped from everyday life. We all make poor decisions. These two knuckleheaded ladies can't seem to get out of death's doorway, despite the tragic losses that surround them. Instead of running away, they haphazardly run directly into every bad choice thrown at them. And it works.
Fall 2 really proves that good thrillers do still exist. And they don't need tons of character development to be interesting. The backstory was already laid out previously. After the death of Shiloh in the first film, Jax wants to lay it all to rest. She's done with adventures. She's ready to give away what's left of her sister's legacy to an online fan. Instead, she finds herself where she never expected, in Thailand walking planks thousands of feet up the mountainside.
The follow-up is a strong enough effort that is loaded with tension inducing moments and several fear inducing twists and turns along the way. Nothing is reinventing the wheel. But is instead showing that lower budget movies with actors we barely know can still drum up business at the box office.
We can't wait for the obvious upcoming Fall 3.
-CG