Fall (2022)
Fall is a 2022 survival psychological thriller film directed by Scott Mann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jonathan Frank. The film stars Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, Mason Gooding, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It follows two women who climb a 2,000-foot (610 m) decommissioned television tower, only to become stranded at the top with limited supplies and no means of communication. Produced on a budget of $3 million, Fall was released theatrically in the United States on August 12, 2022, by Lionsgate Films. It emerged as a commercial success, grossing $21 million worldwide.
Plot:
Becky, her husband Dan, and their friend Hunter are rock climbing when Dan loses his footing and falls to his death. A year later, Becky has become reclusive and withdrawn, struggling with grief and contemplating suicide. She has also become estranged from her father, who believes Dan would not have mourned her in the same way. On the anniversary of Dan’s death, Hunter invites Becky to climb the decommissioned 2,000-foot (610 m) B-67 TV tower in the desert.
Hunter suggests scattering Dan’s ashes from the top as a form of closure. Though hesitant, Becky agrees. After reaching the base, the two ascend via a series of rusted ladders to a small platform at the summit. There, Hunter encourages Becky to briefly free-hang from the platform while recording the moment for social media. Becky scatters Dan’s ashes, and they begin their descent—but a ladder segment breaks off, leaving them stranded at the top with no way down.
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Filming:
Principal photography took place in the Shadow Mountains of the Mojave Desert in California. The fictional B67 TV tower in the film was modeled after the real-life KXTV/KOVR tower in Walnut Grove, California, one of the tallest structures in the world at 2,049 feet (625 m). The film was shot in IMAX format to emphasize its vertical scale and enhance the tension of high-altitude scenes. To create the illusion of extreme height, the upper sections of the tower were constructed atop a mountain, allowing the actors to be filmed at real elevations of up to 100 feet above ground level.