Publication Date: 09-06-2026

Fall 2: Deadpoint (2026) review

Dir. The Spierig Brothers

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★½

In 2022, Lionsgate dropped Fall into a few thousand theaters, and it proved to be a cut-above its cocktail napkin premise of two thrill-seekers climbing a rusted-out, 2,000-foot broadcast tower only to be stranded atop of the apparatus, baking in the blistering heat. With its efficient pacing and various camera angles engineered to make your palms sweat and your ankles weak, it performed well in theaters and found further legs on streaming, so a sequel was inevitable. Enter Fall 2: Deadpoint, which at times feel likes its direct-to-video counterpart in terms of character development and motivations, but still retains the kind of anxiety-inducing videography that renders it at least competent.

Despite its simplistic premise, Fall 2 screenwriters Scott Mann (who directed the first film) and Jonathan Frank probably found themselves wracking their brains in attempt to conjure up a sequel both half-plausible and spiritually connected to the original. The first film saw Shiloh (Virginia Garnder) die and her friend, Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), probably wouldn’t scale another tower or building if her life depended on it. This time around, we follow Shiloh’s estranged sister Jax (Harriet Slater, who looks so much like a young Lindsay Lohan it’s uncanny), who meets her late sister’s friend, Luce (Arsema Thomas). The story of Shiloh and Becky has become viral fodder for TikTokers and YouTube reactionaries all over the world, but Jax hesitates parting with any of Shiloh’s possessions, and keeps her sister’s scrapbook close by. She has still-unresolved fears of heights and trying new things, something Shiloh tried desperately to help her break, but it’s Luce who thinks the two of them should tackle one of big sis’ items on her “Fuck-It List.”

This plan involves a journey to Thailand to plank-walk on Mount Kwan several thousand feet in the air. This comes after a Thai bartender informs them that their initial plan to go on a slightly less-dangerous trek is not possible due to it being the wrong season. Now, if you’re older, braver sister lost her life illegally climbing a tower, why the hell would you even consider doing something arguably more dangerous if you’re Jax. Not to mention, her and Luce were resourceful enough to scrape together a couple grand to make this trip, but not smart enough to research their endeavor ahead of time; doing so would’ve shortly made them realize that the excursion is shut down?

So, the two dim-bulbs venture up Mount Kwan with a local tour guide named Jon (Tom Brittney). A rusted chain secured around the mountain allows for hikers to “clip into” it as a way of security, but the platform is a rickety assembly of wooden planks maybe 10-feet wide. Jon states that many centuries ago, monks erected these planks and the large, stone dragon at the end of the line that “eats” the fears of those brave enough to find it. Sure, absolutely. The ensuing rainstorm, earthquake, and mudslide that sends rocks careening down the mountain and destroys most the planks in one fell swoop that renders Jon missing and the girls precariously perched on a corner of the mountain was the first-ever unfortunate hazard for this rickety pathway not even Alex Honnold would consider traversing.

If you’re someone who likes to imitate “CinemaSins” while watching a movie, you’re going to be talking to Fall 2 more than the folks of Mystery Science Theater probably would. The development of and dialog between Jax and Luce is admittedly atrocious, incredulous to be kind and ludicrous to be more accurate. When the girls are stuck, with their backpack, suspended in midair, just out of reach, the two struggle to keep their faith as they have barely any cell service and no way of communicating with the small community below them.

The bright side is that Andrew Strahorn’s cinematography — despite being set to a mostly digital backdrop — achieves that kind of vertigo-inducing experience you’re seeking. The Final Destination-esque closeups on loosening bolts and slippery planks contribute to that very specific feeling you get in your knees and ankles when you’re high off the ground. I detest heights like a sickness, so these movies are as much as entertainment as they are an endurance test.

It’s as if Mann and Frank were aware of some of the inane details of their characters, so they packed the second and third act with multiples twists that, let’s just say, don’t steer the plot in the direction of making one of the characters Tyler Durden or something similar. Somehow, the back-to-back truths Luce confesses to Jax are deeply implausible, but they also work in the film’s favor of being something to chuckle about. The absurdity might even keep your brain from telling yourself, “these two deserve this fate.” Considering the Spierig brothers, who direct this sequel, were behind Jigsaw, a massively hyped reboot of the Saw franchise that felt like a bargain bin entry in the series. I think it’s probably too hyperbolic to say there’s a “spirit” to the Fall series, but the integrity of the premise and its primary goals mostly remain in place for this wholly unnecessary but marginally entertaining rehash.

My review of Fall (2022)

Starring: Harriet Slater, Arsema Thomas, Tom Brittney, Virginia Gardner, and Grace Caroline Currey. Directed by: The Spierig Brothers.