Fall Sequel In The Works, Will Presumably Trap More People On That Tower
In news that's terrible for people with a fear of heights but fantastic for those with a penchant for schadenfreude thrills, Scott Mann's gripping survival horror film, "Fall," is getting a sequel. /Film's own Chris Evangelista described the film as a "surprisingly effective nail-biter" in his review and the relatively low-budget tale of two adrenaline seekers getting trapped on top of a decommissioned tower 2,000 feet in the air was a modest hit at the box office. However, a recent report from Deadline notes that the sequel news is not a result of the box office performance, but instead, due to the film's massive popularity on Netflix internationally.
The publication states that director Scott Mann and British producer Tea Shop Productions are currently brainstorming an idea for a follow-up feature, once again centered on the terrifying idea of being stuck somewhere way, way up high. "Fall" was initially supposed to be a rated-R horror film but utilized deepfake technology to snag a PG-13 rating, allowing the film to be accessible to a wider audience. "Fall" is currently streaming on Starz in the U.S. but has been dominating the top-10 rankings in multiple international territories on Netflix. According to the Deadline report, it has been the second most-watched film in the U.K., only trailing behind "Luther: The Fallen Sun" starring Idris Elba.
"We were pleasantly surprised by how everybody has such a visceral reaction to it," Tea Shop cofounder James Harris told Deadline. "It is one of those movies where word of mouth really helps." Mark Lane, Tea Shop's other co-founder pointed out, "It's an easy thing for people to pick up on a streamer. You can see the concept in the poster image and we're finding that if people try it, they are getting hooked instantly."
2 Fast 2 Fall?
James Harris and Mark Lane of Tea Shop know their way around a "trapped in a wild circumstance that makes the audience sweat" style of thriller, as they were also behind Johannes Roberts' "47 Meters Down," which is about two women stuck in a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean. Like "Fall," the film is equally as tense, trading the fear of falling with that of drowning. Harris told Deadline "We've got a couple of ideas we're kicking around. [...] We don't want to make something that feels like a copycat or less than the first one."
It'll be interesting to see what Mann and the folks at Tea Shop develop for a sequel to "Fall." Part of the terror of the first film was the small platform at great heights, but perhaps they could look toward a similar yet different scenario like trying to scale the Burj Khalifa in Dubai or ... I don't know, an out-of-control hot air balloon.
Deadline reports that the sequel may include Grace Caroline Currey (who starred as Becky in the first film), but this has not yet been confirmed.