Fall 2: Deadpoint – Movie Review
When 2022’s Fall is tense, nail-biting, and action-packed, it’s an entertaining film. When it focused on the human drama happening outside of the thrills (which was a solid portion of the 107 minute film), it was pretty boring. But Fall 2: Deadpoint focuses so heavily on the things that made the first film fun, forming a sequel that may not necessarily be a “good” movie, but it absolutely delivers on its ridiculous premise in a way that is thoroughly entertaining.
Following on from the events of the first film, Jax (Harriet Slater) is mourning the death of her adrenaline junkie sister Shiloh (who died in Fall). Unlike her sister, Jax herself lives on the far safer side of life. But that is until she meets Luce (Arsema Thomas), an old friend of Shiloh, who convinces Jax to pay tribute to her sister by fulfilling an unrealised dream of walking an illegal and treacherous plank walk on the side of Mount Kwan in Thailand that no one has completed in 30 years. Reluctantly agreeing, Jax and Luce embark on the trek, under the guidance of a local tour guide (Tom Brittney), but a sudden rockslide soon leaves them trapped 4,000 feet from the ground, on a corner of the mountain called The Devil’s Elbow, with no way down and no way to call for help.
Utilising the easy emotional pull of following Jax and her journey of grief allows Scott Mann and Jonathan Frank’s screenplay to do the necessary exposition to build the characters and their connection, without having to waste too much time before getting to the survival-based action. Fall 2 doesn’t necessarily find itself too entangled into the drama, often leaving the emotional exploration to float around surface level, but just with enough depth to make character decisions plausible. The film still takes a little bit longer than it needs to really kick things off, spending time in Thailand before the trek setting up some characters in a local bar who return later in the story out of necessity.
Once the first hand touches the mountain, Fall 2: Deadpoint then becomes a relentless and ridiculous thriller that gives the experience moviegoers would be looking for when they come to see a movie like this. The action is wildly over-the-top, often defying any sense of logic or physics. But at least Fall 2 dedicates itself to the insanity in a very gleeful way.
Directed by The Spierig Brothers (Daybreakers, Jigsaw), there are some really exciting and tense visuals they use to immerse the audience into the film as much as possible. The use of first-person POV shots looking down through shoddy wooden planks to a 4,000 foot drop are effective. A shot that rotates in an intentionally nauseating way around the action showcases a sense of style that the first film was slightly missing. The impressive direction isn’t overdone, and a lot of static shots do highlight the fact that this is shot on a green screen set. But, there is enough of the impressively dynamic direction to keep the film interesting for its 97 minute runtime.
There are a handful of twists, turns and reveals that are absolutely ridiculous. In fact, there is a 5 minute stretch halfway through the film where a pretty interesting twist is only outdone by another reveal that is on the level of a plotline in Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. It’s laughable, despite being played for sincerity. There is also a plot point that is subtly set up in the first act of the film via a news broadcast that is central to the climax of the film, but you could be easily forgiven if you completely forgot that was even a part of the story to begin with. There are many moments in the script that are heightened and often feel like they’ve been added for tension, not clarity. But it all adds up to the overall experience that Fall 2 is offering.
By leaning into the insanity of its premise more than its predecessor, Fall 2: Deadpoint is an entertaining and tense, albeit messy and ridiculous, sequel that is a fun time if you just let it take you for the ride.
Fall 2: Deadpoint is in Australian cinemas September 3
