Sunday, August 21, 2022

Review of FALL: Harrowing Heights

August 20, 2022



Becky (Grace Fulton) saw her husband Dan fall to his death while they were rock climbing. One year later, her best friend Hunter (Virginia Gardener) invited Becky to go on another climbing adventure up the 2000+ foot high old abandoned radio tower called the B67. Hunter hoped this extreme activity could somehow help Becky snap out of her severe depression, as well as a potentially viral crazy stunt to post on her YouTube channel. 

The two girls successfully reached the small platform near top of the tower, they had fun taking death-defying photos to document their achievement. However, when they decided to start back down the tower, the age of the tower caused the screws of the ladders begin to loosen and fall apart, leaving the two girls stranded. With no phone or internet signal up there, they had to keep their wits about them to figure out how to get back down.

There were so many illogical aspects of this film that happened even before they began their perilous climb. The dangerous climb was not exactly the best idea on how you help a friend move on from a trauma caused by an accident that was a result of another dangerous climb. Furthermore, embarking on a high-risk adventure like this without informing anybody or bringing adequate provisions was totally irresponsible. 

When the girls realized that they were trapped up there with no form of outgoing communication, they needed to rely on their resourcefulness in order to survive. Then, as if the vertiginous height, the lack of food, water and sleep, bodily injuries and the circling vultures were not enough to deal with, the script amped the emotional stress and psychological anxiety up some more with a couple of critical twists. 

However, logic was not really why we watched this movie at all, isn't it? We want the virtual experience of being brought up to a height twice that of the Eiffel Tower and get stuck up there. This film completely works to provide that breathless illusion with the effective editing of dizzying camera work and computer-generated imagery. Director Scott Mann certainly delivered on the tension and the adrenaline-rush, and that's all that matters. 6/10. 


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