Fall movie had me gripping my seat and feeling my palms sweat as I watched two women become stranded atop a dizzying 2,000-foot-tall television tower. This nerve-wracking survival thriller certainly delivers on tension while operating on a modest $3 million budget—yet it managed to gross an impressive $21.8 million worldwide.
Despite its relatively small scale, the fall movie 2022 became an unexpected success story in Hollywood. Shot in IMAX format against the dramatic backdrop of California’s Mojave Desert, the fall created a visually intense experience that resonated with audiences. What makes the fall movie particularly impressive is how lead actresses Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner performed their own stunts, adding an unmistakable layer of authenticity to their week-long ordeal of hunger, dehydration, and psychological challenges. We were surprised to learn that this edge-of-your-seat thriller has performed so well that two sequels are now in development.
The Plot of Fall: A Climb Gone Wrong
“Life is fleeting. Life is short, too short. So you gotta use every moment. You have to do something that makes you feel alive, and that shit, that would spread that message far and wide.” —
The tragedy of losing her husband Dan propels the entire narrative of fall movie. Initially, we meet Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) as a grief-stricken widow who has abandoned climbing and sunk into alcoholism following Dan’s fatal climbing accident a year earlier. Her adrenaline-junkie friend Hunter (Virginia Gardner) appears with an unusual proposition to help Becky overcome her depression: climb an abandoned 2,000-foot B-67 TV tower in the desert.
How Becky and Hunter end up on the tower
Hunter’s motivation appears genuine—she suggests Becky scatter Dan’s ashes from the summit as a healing ritual. However, Hunter also sees an opportunity to film drone footage for her 60,000 social media followers. After some hesitation, Becky agrees, hoping to finally move forward with her life. The pair embark on their journey, climbing several severely corroded ladders to reach the tiny platform at the tower’s peak.
The turning point: ladder collapse
Following their emotional moment scattering Dan’s ashes, disaster strikes. As they begin their descent, the rusted ladder breaks away from the tower. Becky plummets but is caught by the safety rope, with Hunter heroically pulling her back to the platform. Now stranded nearly half a mile above the desert with no cell service, limited supplies, and no way down, their survival instincts kick in.
Survival attempts and hallucinations
Consequently, the women attempt multiple rescue strategies. They drop Hunter’s phone in a padded shoe hoping it will survive impact and send a distress message. They use a flare gun to signal nearby campers, who merely steal Hunter’s car instead of helping. Furthermore, they attempt to send a drone with an SOS message to a nearby motel, but a truck destroys it mid-flight.
The shocking twist: Hunter’s fate
The most jarring revelation comes when Becky, delirious from dehydration, realizes Hunter never actually made it back to the platform after retrieving their backpack from a satellite dish below. Hunter had fallen onto the dish and bled to death—Becky had been hallucinating her presence as a psychological coping mechanism.
Becky’s final escape and rescue
In a desperate act of survival, Becky—now alone—kills and eats a vulture that attempts to feed on her wounded leg. With renewed strength, she climbs down to Hunter’s corpse, types a text message to her estranged father, places her phone inside Hunter’s shoe, and pushes the body off the tower. The corpse cushions the phone’s impact, allowing the message to transmit. Emergency services arrive, and Becky reunites with her father in an emotional conclusion to her harrowing ordeal.
Behind the Scenes: How Fall Was Made
Director Scott Mann’s vision for fall movie required extraordinary filming techniques to create authentic height sensations. The idea originated during his work on Final Score when conversations about fear of heights sparked inspiration for what would eventually become fall movie 2022.
Filming location and tower construction
The production team scouted locations throughout California before discovering the perfect spot in the Shadow Mountains of the Mojave Desert. Rather than using a full-size 2,000-foot structure, they built a 100-foot section of the tower atop a mountain cliff. This ingenious approach meant that Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner were genuinely thousands of feet above ground level, creating unmatched authenticity.
Mann rejected green screen options, explaining: “I knew from the start I didn’t want to do it green screen… height has a certain kind of air, light, wind and all these elements going on that are very hard to fake”. The fictional B67 tower was modeled after the real KXTV/KOVR tower in Walnut Grove, California, which stands at 2,049 feet.
Use of practical effects vs CGI
In an era where CGI dominates filmmaking, fall movie took the road less traveled. The director brought in the actual builders of similar real-world towers to construct their set. This practical approach allowed actors to experience genuine height conditions that CGI simply couldn’t replicate. Mann noted this authentic route was chosen because a studio version with extensive digital effects “would be like a $50 to $100 million movie”.
Actor stunts and safety challenges
Remarkably, both Currey and Gardner performed their own stunts. “I think there was just so much curiosity on my part, and Ginny’s, to try it,” shared Currey. Their hands developed blisters from repeatedly climbing the tower for multiple takes, eventually requiring CGI wraps in post-production.
Weather and environmental obstacles
Mann described the production as “like a Bear Grylls Adventure”. The team faced:
- Hot rain melting set dressing
- Lightning and strong winds
- Swarms of flying ants that invaded the tower tubing
- Constantly changing conditions requiring flexible scheduling
After struggling against these elements, the crew learned to “go with the rhythm of nature” rather than fight it.
Reception and Impact of Fall Movie 2022
“Don’t you wanna punch fear in the dick?” — Hunter, Main character in Fall (2022)
Despite a limited theatrical release, fall movie surprised industry observers with its financial trajectory. Initially earning $7.24 million domestically with an opening weekend of $2.51 million, the film ultimately accumulated a worldwide box office of $21.77 million. Considering its astonishingly low $3 million budget, fall movie 2022 made approximately seven times its production cost.
Box office performance
The success story of fall became more impressive once it reached streaming platforms. After a modest theatrical run, the thriller found its true audience on Netflix, where viewership numbers soared unexpectedly. This streaming popularity has since guaranteed the film’s future, with a sequel officially confirmed.
Critical reviews and audience reactions
Critical reception was notably mixed. The Guardian praised it as “the most exciting and effectively agonizing action movie of the summer”, while Roger Ebert’s site criticized its “juvenile dialog” and “overzealous edits”. Nevertheless, audiences embraced the film’s intensity. Netflix viewers described experiencing “sweaty palms,” feeling “uneasy,” and being unable to “climb the stairs tonight” after watching. One viewer tweeted: “The amount of times I got off my bed because my heart couldn’t take it and my hands were just sweating”.
Why the ending stood out
The hallucination twist—revealing Hunter had died earlier—resonated deeply with viewers. This surprising element elevated what could have been a straightforward survival story into something more psychologically complex. Critics noted that “the title of the movie Fall isn’t merely about physical height, but also the fall of the human spirit and hope”.
Comparison to similar survival thrillers
Film critics frequently compared fall to other tense survival thrillers. The Descent (2005) shares similar plot elements with female protagonists dealing with grief and extreme conditions. Additionally, Open Water (2003) and 47 Meters Down mirror fall’s formula of placing characters in seemingly inescapable situations. These films collectively represent a subgenre where “characters are pitted against nature or a circumstance, rather than a person”.
The Future of the Fall Franchise
The unexpected streaming success of fall movie has paved the way for a full-fledged franchise. Lionsgate not only greenlit a sequel after the film’s surprising box office performance but went a step further with even bigger plans.
Confirmed sequels and production updates
Capstone Studios officially announced both Fall 2 and Fall 3 are in development, creating a full trilogy from what began as a standalone survival thriller. The Spierig Brothers (known for “Jigsaw”) have taken over directing duties for Fall 2, with original director Scott Mann staying involved as co-writer alongside Jonathan Frank. Mann will return to direct the third installment. Production on Fall 2 is scheduled to begin in June 2024, with filming locations set for Los Angeles and Australia.
Will Becky return?
Grace Caroline Currey, who played Becky in the original fall movie 2022, has expressed interest in reprising her role. “It’s been a surprise to see how much people love that movie,” Currey noted, adding that “the idea of getting to return would definitely be really cool”. Given that Becky survived the harrowing ordeal in the first film, her return makes narrative sense—although it raises questions about why she would ever climb again after such trauma.
New characters and locations in Fall 2
Official statements confirm Fall 2 “will bring back original characters from the first film, while simultaneously leaving room for new ones to be introduced”. Although specific plot details remain under wraps, the sequel promises a fresh scenario with higher stakes. Unlike using the same tower, Fall 2 must introduce a new setting to avoid feeling repetitive.
What fans can expect next
The Spierig Brothers have promised to deliver “another nail-biting, vertigo-inducing thrill ride”. Given the USD 21 million box office success from a modest USD 3 million budget, expectations run high for an even more ambitious sequel. First-look images yet remain to be released, yet the film’s rapid development indicates strong studio confidence in this emerging franchise.
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Conclusion
Fall stands as a remarkable testament to what filmmakers can achieve with limited resources and boundless creativity. Throughout this nail-biting journey, we’ve seen how a modest $3 million production transformed into a $21.8 million worldwide phenomenon that left audiences white-knuckled and breathless. Undoubtedly, the decision to film with practical effects rather than relying on CGI created that authentic sense of vertigo which digital effects simply cannot replicate.
The psychological depth added by the hallucination twist elevated Fall beyond a typical survival story, giving viewers not just physical tension but emotional investment as well. Additionally, the committed performances by Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner, who performed their own stunts despite the obvious dangers, deserve significant recognition for bringing raw authenticity to every scene.
Though critics offered mixed reviews, audience reactions tell the true story of Fall’s impact. The film found its perfect home on streaming platforms where viewers continue to experience those sweaty-palm moments that define great survival thrillers. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Lionsgate and Capstone Studios quickly greenlit not just one but two sequels.
As production for Fall 2 begins in June 2024 under the Spierig Brothers’ direction, fans can eagerly anticipate another round of vertigo-inducing thrills with both familiar and new characters. Whether you’ve already experienced this heart-pounding adventure or still need to brace yourself for the climb, Fall has certainly secured its place among the most effective survival thrillers of recent years. After all, as Hunter would say, sometimes you need to “punch fear in the dick” – though perhaps without climbing any abandoned TV towers yourself.
