FALL 2: DEADPOINT Reviewed by GREG KING
Directors: Michael and Peter Spierig
Stars: Harriet Slater, Arsema Thomas, Tom Britteny, Virginia Gardner.
The taut and vertiginous 2022 thriller Fall, about two girls trapped atop a tower 2000 feet above the ground, didn’t really need a sequel. But here we have one anyway courtesy of Australian film making siblings Michael and Peter Spierig, whose 2014 breakthrough sci-fi drama Predestination opened the Melbourne International Film Festival that year.
Jax Hunter (Harriet Slater, from Tarot, etc) is still grieving the death of her thrill-seeking sister Shiloh (Virginia Gardner, in brief flashbacks). On a trip to Thailand to tackle another item on Shiloh’s bucket list of climbs, she bonds with Shiloh’s friend Luce (Arsema Thomas). Together they join their guide Jon (Tom Britteny, from the tv series Grantchester, etc) on a dangerous hike along the Plank Walk, a rough trail laid down by monks some 4000 feet above the ground on the fictional Mount Kwan. They hope to reach the dragon statue that will “eat their fears”. The wooden planks are very old and narrow and attached to the rock face by metal pegs. There is also a chain attached to the mountain face for the climbers to clip on to.
But when a combination of rainfall, a minor earthquake and falling rocks destroy part of the path, Jax and Luce find themselves stranded and trapped at the Devil’s Elbow with no way down. Jon has apparently survived but is separated from the two girls with no idea that they are still alive. As with the original, the girls’ attempts to attract attention to their plight are unsuccessful.
But Luce is hiding a secret, and Jon reveals his true colours in the climax, which takes the film in a slightly different direction.
The script has been written by original writers Jonathan Frank and Scott Mann (who also directed the original), and they build in several vertiginous moments that are not for the faint hearted. They have upped the ante here with the treacherous mountain climb, but the film is still full of cliches.
Australian cinematographer Andrew Strathorn gives us some stunning vistas, and he uses some unique camera angles to create a sense of claustrophobia and tension. But Fall 2 lacks some of the tension and impact of the original and some of the story twists are unconvincing. The CGI effects are sometimes obvious as well, which creates an air of unreality.
The three performers do their best to sell the drama and bring their one-dimensional characters to life, but their performances are fairly perfunctory.
★★☆
