Survival films, whether comically far-fetched or based on a true story, are entertaining and effective by exploiting real human fears. Fear of heights, the sea, confined spaces, or just the idea of ​​being stranded in nature with no way out can be more stressful than a horror movie about a haunted house or a masked murderer. The Survival thriller Fallingwhich recently landed on Huluis no different, following two mountaineers trapped at the top of a 2,000-foot tower. Led by Scott Mann, Falling was a box office success upon its release in 2022 and experienced new success when it appeared on Netflix in 2023, leading to the development of several future sequels. It’s no Free solobut with impressive cinematography, Falling makes one Great job getting your blood pressure up if you’re even a little afraid of heights.

What is “Autumn” about?

Falling begins with tragedy when climber Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), her best friend Hunter (Virginia Gardner) and her husband Dan (Mason Gooding) goes on a climbing expedition and Dan falls to his death. Almost a year later, Becky is depressed and even contemplates suicide before Hunter shows up and convinces her to go on another climbing trip with her. In the time since Dan’s death, Hunter has become a popular daredevil influencer, determined to rise to the top to create new, death-defying content, and wants Becky to come along to face her grief and Dan’s ashes to scatter at the top. This time, instead of a mountain, Becky and Hunter will climb a mountain 2,000 foot tall tower based on the real KXTV/KOVR Tower in California. And if that doesn’t sound frightening enough, the tower is obviously rusted and wobbly, screws have come loose and ladder rungs have broken off. Once they reach the top, Becky and Hunter are soon trapped with no way to climb down or call for help.

“Fall” knows how to exploit your fear of heights

Like all survival thrillers Falling takes advantage of one of the most common human fears: heights. It uses common – and frightening – Wide angle shots and long-range drone footage show how high up Becky and Hunter are and the absurdly great danger that the two women face. Becky and Hunter approach the climb quite differently, with Becky’s concern and fear contrasting with Hunter’s enthusiasm and fearlessness, but both attitudes serve to inject fear into the viewing experience. Falling Most of all, it puts us in Becky’s shoes, and every time she looks down at the floor or slips on one of the ladder rungs, you take your breath away. Hunter, on the other hand, is far too comfortable climbing such an old and obviously unstable structure, and her determination to get a stunning photo for her followers by hanging from the tower with one arm will have you covering your eyes .

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Amidst the thrills, there is the rather compelling story of the friendship between Becky and Hunter as they reconcile after growing apart following Dan’s death, which affected them both deeply. As they make their way to the top of the tower, Becky and Hunter support each other, both physically and emotionally, but even in the more joyful moments lies an underlying sense of fear and terror at the danger in which they will soon find themselves, what Every time it gets worse every time they almost fall. The platform at the top of the old, rickety tower is, as Becky puts it, about the size of a pizza box, leaving very little room for them to stand, sit, and/or figure out what they need to do to get help call. However, the narrative isn’t really the focus Fallingwhat is instead much more concerned with creating a visceral, terrifying viewing experience through cinematography as a unique story.

Falling is mostly predictable, but a strong performance Grace Caroline Currey makes Becky’s fear palpable and the film doesn’t let up when it comes to dizzying images. Even though Becky is an experienced mountaineer, it’s easy to identify with her constant fear Miguel “MacGregor” Olaso’s dizzying cinematography alone delivers exactly what an acrophobic survival thriller essentially wants to achieve.

Falling is available to stream on Hulu in the US.

WATCH ON HULU

Falling

Release date

August 11, 2022

director

Scott Mann

Pour

Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Mason Gooding, Jasper Cole, Darrell Dennis, Julia Pace Mitchell, Bamm Ericsen

Duration

107 minutes