Paco Reviews: "Fall"

Fall is nearly here, but before we get there, Fall is here, now playing in theaters. (See what I did there?)

The new thriller Fall—and I'm speaking in all sincerity here—may be just about the most frightening movie I've ever seen. But it's not a horror movie.

What's so scary about it? For me—keep in mind, I'm deathly afraid of heights—it's because the film spends the majority of its 107-minute running time with its two protagonists stranded at the top of a 2,000-foot-tall radio tower pole in the middle of nowhere (see the accompanying movie poster, which paints a pretty good picture of what their danger looks like). And they don't just "wait there" the whole time they are stuck.

Let me go back to the beginning. In the opening scene of the film, poor Dan, rock climbing with his wife, Becky, and Becky's best friend, Hunter, tragically slips and falls several feet to his death.

A year later, Becky is a boozy, guilt-riddled, depressed mess. She can't forgive herself for what happened. Nevertheless, Hunter swoops by to convince her that she needs to start climbing again in order to get over what happened, and what better object to climb than the aforementioned radio tower?

(I deduct points from my IMDB ratings when the main characters show incredible stupidity, so it was at this point that this movie lost a few points.)

After a grueling climb, our protagonists finally reach the top, despite numerous ominous signs (and music) that what they are doing is both incredibly dumb and reckless. But then worse comes to worst, and they have to figure out how to survive.

Admittedly, I squirmed in my seat a great deal throughout this ordeal, or I just looked at a corner of the screen rather than looking at what was being shown—all because I chose to see a $6 movie that ended up making me very, very uncomfortable. A gentleman on the same row as me had to get up and leave twice because it was so nerve wracking to watch. (As the credits rolled, I turned to him and asked, "How's your blood pressure doing? Mine went way up just now." I didn't make a new friend by doing this.)

Paco's rating: 6 out of 10

The Good: If you're a thrill seeker, or something of a masochist, I'm sure you'll love it.

The Bad: The two girls end up becoming so annoying that you might end up rooting for gravity (or nature?) to win. I wouldn't recommend this film for those who are easily spooked or unsettled, and/or those who are prone to nightmares after watching something really scary. Also, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan on "The Walking Dead") is pretty much wasted in a small supporting role.

The Ugly: Rated PG-13 for foul language, some vulgarity, peril, and violence. If you're acrophobic, you'd be much happier watching something else. See Top Gun 2 again, perhaps?