Fall 2 (12A)

Haunted by the death of younger sister Shiloh, Jax Hunter prepares to give away Shiloh's belongings to her sister's good friend, Luce. When Luce sees that Jax is in deep psychological pain and scared to move forward with her life, she suggests a trip to Thailand to tick the next climb off Shiloh's bucket list: a plank walk around Mount Kwan and the famed Devil's Elbow.

LondonNet Film Review

Fall 2 (12A) Film Review from LondonNet

Don’t look down. High-altitude thrills and spills stay in the family in a nimble sequel to the 2022 action thriller, which replaces Scott Mann in the director’s chair with brothers Peter and Michael Spierig. Filmed on location in Thailand from a script co-written by Mann and Jonathan Frank, Fall 2 contrives another knife-edge battle for survival at death-defying heights that expands the backstory of characters from the original film…

Jax Hunter (Harriet Slater) is tormented by the final words she spat in anger at her adrenaline-junkie younger sister, Shiloh (Virginia Gardner), shortly before her sibling fell to her death during a daredevil climb to the top of an abandoned 2,000 feet TV tower in the middle of the desert. Shiloh’s passing inspires an outpouring of grief from online followers and Jax struggles to deal with strangers’ interest in her sister’s life. She prepares to give away Shiloh’s belongings to someone she can trust, her sister’s good friend Luce (Arsema Thomas).

When Luce sees that Jax is in deep psychological pain and scared to move forward, she suggests a life-changing trip to Thailand to tick off the next climb off Shiloh’s thrill-seeking bucket list: a plank walk around Mount Kwan including breathtaking views from an outcrop dubbed the Devil’s Elbow. Jax decides to face her fears and accompanies Luce to Thailand where they hire a guide, Jon Platt (Tom Brittney), to lead the illegal climb. He explains the route they will be taking “has been closed to the public for over three decades”. The women ignore the obvious red flags and during the ascent, a cataclysmic rockslide separates Jon from his inexperienced climbers, stranding Jax and Luce on rickety planks with no obvious route down.

Fall 2 demands a greater suspension of disbelief than the first film to accept two novice climbers would willingly place themselves in peril, thousands of metres up an unstable mountainside, as a memorial to someone with considerably more experience. Slater and Thomas are well-matched as the foolhardy heroines, who discover courage and resilience in stomach-churning adversity, balancing physical demands of their roles with quieter moments when they can let tears plummet as characters unload grief and guilt. Brittney’s impact is limited by screen time.

A sprightly running time trims 10 minutes off the original and sustains tension and in the second hour, Mann and Frank’s script engineers some satisfyingly gnarly twists including one gasp-inducing surprise, putting clear narrative distance between the Spierigs’ picture and its predecessor. The brothers choreograph action set pieces with gusto, with thunderous accompaniment from Tim Despic’s overly enthusiastic score. A clunky coda brings the plot full circle and baits the hook of a third instalment, which will be written and directed by Mann. Fall 2 defies gravity, not expectations.

– Jo Planter