Fall 2: Deadpoint (2026) Lionsgate/Suspense-Thriller RT: 97 minutes Rated PG-13 (strong language, some violent content/bloody images, drug material) Director: The Spierig Brothers Screenplay: Scott Mann and Jonathan Frank Music: Tim Despic Cinematography: Andrew Strahorn Release date: September 2, 2026 (US) Cast: Harriet Slater, Arsema Thomas, Tom Brittney, Grace Caroline Currey.
Rating: ** ½
“Why the hell did you go up there in the first place?!”
That was my reaction to the dilemma faced by the two main characters in the 2022 thriller Fall. Now here’s my reaction to the same kind of dilemma faced by two new girls in the sequel Fall 2: Deadpoint:
“Why the hell did you go up there in the first place?! Didn’t you learn anything from the other girls?!”
The details are different and the writers see fit to throw in a plot twist more apropos for an action movie, but it’ll still trigger the acrophobics foolhardy enough to see it on the big screen.
Directed by the Spierig Brothers (Daybreakers), Fall 2: Deadpoint isn’t too bad for a sequel. Initially, it seems to be trying to establish an identity of its own by opening with a hostage situation. A guide is being forced at gunpoint to lead a dangerous-looking fellow along a rickety wooden plank walk on a steep mountainside during a rainstorm. It doesn’t end well for either of them when they both go plummeting to their deaths.
Then we get to the main story. Jax Hunter (Slater, Outlander: Blood of My Blood) is experiencing mixed emotions about her sister Shiloh’s death in the first movie. She’s grappling with grief and guilt over their last interaction. A friend of Shiloh’s, Luce (Thomas, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), gets the idea for a tribute while looking through her journal. Why not pay tribute to her by doing the next thing on her bucket list (or as she names it, the “F*** It List”)? Jax, although never as courageous as her big sis, decides to go along with it.
The two girls jet off to Thailand where they plan to do a super-dangerous plank walk (4000 feet above ground) around Mount Kwan. They’ll need a guide and they’re hard to come by seeing that what they plan to do is illegal. They go to a bar where they meet John (Brittney, The Westies), a shady type who agrees to lead them a little too easily. What’s this guy really up to, hmmm? Could it somehow be connected to the seemingly unrelated opening scene? Maybe.
It should go without saying that the girls run into trouble not long after they start their trek. A rockslide takes out significant portions of the walk leaving Jax and Luce stuck on a small section with few supplies and fewer options. Oh and what about John? He somehow made it to safety and is trying to contact the girl via a two-way radio that they can’t get to because it’s in a backpack that’s hanging on a metal support bracket several feet away. It’s just one of the many challenges they face in trying to get out of this mess.
Fall 2: Deadpoint is a testament to the power of streaming. Although the first movie was profitable ($21.8M against a $3M budget), it wasn’t enough for Lionsgate to order a sequel right away. That didn’t happen until it hit Netflix where it proved popular with viewers. As of this writing, a third Fall movie is reportedly in development, something also promised by this movie’s final scene. It will feature characters from both films. It could work.
I was gripping my armrests (sticky, ew!) for dear life throughout a good portion of Fall 2: Deadpoint. It takes a little while to get off the ground, but once it does, it’s pretty thrilling. Full disclosure, I am terrified of heights. I get vertigo when I see movie characters messing around in high places. You should have seen me during the climactic tightrope sequence in Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk. I reacted pretty much the same way here. This is when Fall 2: Deadpoint is at its best. It falters in the stuff leading up to it (i.e. establishing character, setting and situation). It takes too long to get to the good stuff.
The drama in Fall 2: Deadpoint makes almost no emotional impact. We get the standard stuff about sisterly estrangement, overcoming fear, grief and closure. It provides context, but never really lands. Then there’s the subplot that truly manifests itself in the aforementioned plot twist at the end. Some will find it surprising, but it’s really not. If you pay attention, you can see it coming from 4001 feet away. The very fact that the writers saw fit to mention it is the biggest tip-off. Why bring it up if it isn’t going to come up again later?
The acting in Fall 2: Deadpoint is fine. I’m not familiar with any of the cast members, but Slater and Thomas are convincing enough as girls in jeopardy. Slater is physically nimble which helps a lot. Thomas brings a small amount of gravitas as somebody who’s holding something back. I’ll leave it at that. Brittney exudes equal parts charm and possible danger. This is all well and good but moot because nobody’s there for the acting.
So I guess the most important thing about Fall 2: Deadpoint is whether or not it’s an effective survival thriller. It is for the most part; that is to say, when it does what it’s supposed to be doing. The rest of it is just filler, empty calories.
