‘Fall 2: Deadpoint’ Aims Higher and Higher

September 2, 2026

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Have a nice Fall! (CREDIT: Lionsgate)

Starring: Harriet Slater, Arsema Thomas, Tom Brittney, Virginia Gardner, Grace Caroline Currey

Director: The Spierig Brothers

Running Time: 97 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Bloody Moments Amidst the Extreme Peril, as Well as Some Drug Material

Release Date: September 2, 2026 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Following the death of her daredevil sister Shiloh (Virginia Gardner), Jax Hunter (Harriet Slater) has been dealing with a lot of unwanted attention. Shiloh died by falling from a 2,000-foot TV tower, so maybe Jax can move on by conquering her own fears from an even greater height. At least that’s what her new friend Luce (Arsema Thomas) thinks is a brilliant idea. So they head off to Thailand to conquer a notorious mountain famous for its dragon sculpture that supposedly eats your fears. None of the locals are willing to show them the way, but they do convince one guide (Tom Brittney) that they have what it takes. So soon enough, they’re all merrily stepping along a narrow bridge on the edge of the mountain. But as you might imagine, disaster strikes, and they end up stranded on a tiny plank 3,000 feet up in the air.

What Made an Impression?: How White Were My Knuckles: Survival thrillers that toy with acrophobia succeed most obviously in terms of how well they can make viewers feel like they too could plunge to their demise, but from the safety of their recliner chairs. The first Fall managed that feat tremendously. While Fall 2 isn’t quite as consistent in this regard, it does deliver a sufficient dose of sweaty palms and adrenaline bursts, particularly one scene when Jax summons her inner gymnast. Those with severe motion sickness should respectfully decline.
It Didn’t Seem Like a Good Idea at the Time: The details of Deadpoint are unique enough that you couldn’t fairly call it “Fall Redux,” but it is animated by some of the same underlying questions. In particular: why does one of the climbers ever agree to this? Jax is in no mood to cheat death, and there are plenty of much safer options for her to deal with her struggles. So how can it be that she so readily agrees to jaunt off all the way to Thailand? It simply doesn’t make sense. But sometimes people make decisions that don’t make sense, especially when they’re grieving.
Come Again?: Like its predecessor, Fall 2 utilizes its deviously simple setup to deliver plenty of lizard brain pleasures. But then in the final act, it serves up a ludicrous reveal that had me thinking, “Yeah, I’m pretty much going to ignore that and instead focus on the first 75 minutes.” It’s a bold decision, but not exactly one I’m convinced was set up properly.

Fall 2: Deadpoint is Recommended If You Like: The first Fall, Free Solo, Nonsensical twists

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Planks

This Is a Movie Review: ‘Winchester’ Fails to Explore Its Premise by Visiting Very Few Rooms in Its Vast Haunted Mansion

February 3, 2018

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CREDIT: Ben King/CBS Films

This review was originally posted on News Cult in February 2018.

Starring: Helen Mirren, Jason Clarke, Sarah Snook, Finn Scicluna O’Prey, Angus Sampson, Eamon Farren

Directors: Peter and Michael Spierig

Running Time: 99 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Gunfire, Creepy Contact Lenses, and a Very PG-13 Moment of Nighttime Companionship

Release Date: February 2, 2018

When a truly original idea arrives in horror, you’ve got to hold on to it tight. Winchester has quite a unique and intriguing premise, but you would not be able to tell from the execution. Inspired by true events, it is a haunted house tale that takes place in, as one character adroitly puts it, “a house under neverending construction built on the orders of a grieving widow.” But the film never takes full advantage of all that lurks within the title abode.

Sarah Winchester (Helen Mirren, fully embodying gothic haute couture) is the heiress to her late husband’s eponymous arms company, and Winchester’s plot is set in motion when Dr. Eric Price (Jason Clarke) is asked to evaluate her mental fitness and therefore capability to continue overseeing the company. Her fellow executives and shareholders have their doubts because of her obsession with endlessly adding more rooms to her mansion, which she is doing to contain the spirits of the many haunted souls who have been killed by Winchester firearms.

There is a perfect opportunity with this setup for a face-off between skepticism and belief in the supernatural. But instead, the existence of the ghosts is pretty much never in question, and no character expresses significant skepticism (nor indeed do they have any reason to). That is not necessarily a big loss, though, as the house itself allows plenty of opportunities no matter what the status of the ghosts. With construction having no master plan or endpoint, the mansion could be the most disorienting maze ever. But the film barely takes advantage of that spatial horror.

I do not mean to tell Winchester what sort of film it must be, but I do mean to express disappointment when what it chooses to be is so indistinct. Forgoing the more challenging haunts that it hints at, it instead is a run-of-the-mill possession and revenge story, with Sarah’s great nephew (Finn Scicluna O’Prey) doing his best creepy kid performance, rendering “Beautiful Dreamer” the stuff of nightmares. He is being influenced by the ghost of a Civil War veteran (Eamon Farren) who is predictably defeated in a final standoff, and then everyone moves on with their lives, the evil contained, for now at least.

Directors Michael and Peter Spierig (who previously worked with Winchester’s Sarah Snook on the twisty, heady Robert Heinlein adaptation Predestination) have a few tricks up their sleeve, holding on a shot just long enough for it to be unnerving when an arm suddenly bursts through a previously hidden opening. But overall they never develop a firm grasp on the jump scares or the slow burns, and they do not seem to be particularly committed to either. Plus, the underlying message of what constitutes terror in this story – something about fear being only in the mind – does not jibe with what is actually happening.

Winchester is Recommended If You Like: The Woman in Black, Helen Mirren in Period Clothing

Grade: 2 out of 5 Rifles