Fall 2: Deadpoint movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: Fall 2: Deadpoint

This psychological thriller is playing in theaters, and is also available on streaming-on-demand platforms.

You can see it on Amazon Prime while getting a free trial with this link: https://amzn.to/4A2ca0z

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hr 40 min

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C+

Featured Product About This Movie: 

Green laser pointer like the one used in the movie!

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IN A NUTSHELL: Hold onto your stomach! Fall 2: Deadpoint takes the white-knuckle vertigo from the viral 2022 hit movie Fall, and moves the high-altitude horror to a sheer mountain plank thousands of feet above the ground. Directed by the Spierig Brothers, the story follows Jax (Harriet Slater), the grieving sister of the late Shiloh “Hunter” from the first film.

Still processing her sister’s posthumous social media fame, Jax gets roped (iterally) into a daring memorial climb up Mount Kwan with a woman named Luce (Arsema Thomas), who claims to be Hunter’s college friend. But when a massive rockslide hits, leaving them trapped 3,000 feet up on a crumbling plank, they quickly discover that gravity isn’t their only enemy! Throw in drug smugglers, secret identities, and dizzying drop-offs, and you have a sequel that really tests your fear of heights.

Writing credits go to Jonathan Frank and Scott Mann.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• High-intensity peril and vertiginous heights that will trigger anyone with acrophobia.

• Violent character deaths, falls, and fighting on high precipices.

• Plotlines involving drug smuggling, fentanyl, and organized crime violence (a character mentions losing fingers to cartels).

• Emotional themes dealing with grief, guilt, sibling rivalry, and betrayal.

• Alcohol
• People do ridiculously dangerous things. These are terrible role models for kids who watch the film.
• Some profanity

THEMES:

• Overcoming trauma and confronting fear head-on.

• Sibling rivalry and the painful shadows left by grief.

• Trust, deception, and secret motives.

• Survival instinct and split-second decision-making.

• The importance of following safety signs like “Warning. Do not enter.” Duh.
• Showing respect to others’ personal boundaries.

THINGS I LIKED:

• The stomach-dropping camera angles will definitely give your sweaty palms a workout! The directors used some green screen, but they also put the actors on elevated sets to augment their performances. Some sets were as high as 50 feet off the ground! Scary!

• Arsema Thomas’ mother didn’t want her to appear in the movie after she saw how dangerous the first film was. When the mom called her, Arsema was on top of a high set piece because filming had already started!

• Harriet Slater gives a very grounded, committed performance as Jax wrestling with her sister’s chaotic legacy and death in the first movie Fall. At one point during the filming, she said the actors had so many safety precautions that she sometimes felt “too safe.”

• We see flashbacks with Virginia Gardner from the first movie.

• If you’re a fan of the original Fall movie , you’ll appreciate the throwback nods. You don’t need to watch the first movie to understand this one, although you’ll miss the connections and importance of some conversations.

• The first part of Act 1 gives us a good reminder of the power of social media and the insatiable desire to be an Influencer.

• We get to spend time in beautiful Thailand! It’s on my Bucket List! Some of the scenery is really beautiful.
• While the people were up there on the plank walk, I kept wondering, “Why on earth would anyone build such a dangerous thing?” I appreciated that the guide explained they built the path to get closer to heaven.
• Overall, it’s a heart-pumping popcorn flick that will scare you and make you want to laugh at the stupidity at same time.
• There is already talk of a Fall 3! Is that something you want to see?

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• The plot piles on way too many wild subplots, including cancer lies, drug dealers, and secret identities on top of mountain survival!

• Some heavy CGI takes away from the visceral, practical realism that made the original tower so terrifying.

• Characters make absurdly frustration-inducing choices while stranded thousands of feet in the air. Way before that, the girls didn’t seem to do any research to learn that it was the worst time of year to even consider doing that climb and that the mountain was closed anyway. Check the weather report!  So dumb.

• The ending is pretty predictable.
• Looking for an adrenaline rush is one thing, but ignoring common sense is something else altogether.
• Screaming “Help!” from 10,000 feet up on a mountain isn’t going to help.
• Wow, I have absolutely NO desire to climb mountains. I never have. How about you?

FUNNY LINES: None! (The film keeps things strictly tense and dramatic up on the mountain without laugh-out-loud humor.)

INTERESTING LINES:

“I can’t live in her shadow anymore.”

“You got a death wish?”

“Fear is something you can control.”

MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE:

• Fall (2022)

• The Ledge (2022)

• Vertical Limit (2000)

• 127 Hours (2010)

WATCH THE Movie Review Mom YOUTUBE REVIEW WITH THIS LINK: Coming soon!

@MovieReviewMom @TrinaBoice

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Dr. Trina Boice is a university professor, author of 36 books, professional author coach, YouTuber, podcaster, film critic, and mom of 4 awesome sons.