Is Fall based on a true story? Its inspirations discussed

After Becky’s husband Dan falls to his death during a climbing expedition, she turns to alcohol to manage the grief. Hunter, Becky’s best friend, hatches a plan to save Becky from spiraling completely out of control: she challenges Becky to climb a 2000-foot radio tower, claiming it’s what Dan would have wanted. 

The climb to the top is relatively straightforward. However, as they prepare to descend, they note that the ladder is unstable – the bolts supposed to secure the ladder have fallen out. At 2000 feet above the ground, they are out of cell phone range and have no other means of calling for help. 

Fall is a fictional story written by Scott Mann and Jonathan Frank

Fall is not based on a true story. The thriller film is based on a fictional narrative written by Jonathan Frank and Scott Mann. 

Scott told SciFiNow that the inspiration for Fall sparked as he filmed a stunt with Dave Bautista for Final Score. Mann said:

“We were stood on this high roof, and obviously everyone’s being super safe, but the threat of that drop was there. Then we started talking about how heights are this weird thing, because it’s kind of nothing. It’s a psychological, inert, fight-or-flight kind of thing, like a fear that we all have.”

Mann said that he and Frank realized that productions hadn’t addressed the fear of heights fully. “That’s what set us off as a central concept for something that’d be really interesting,” Mann continued. 

Mann added that he was inspired by the psychological terror in Free Solo. “I remember listening to an audio clip in my car of that and feeling terrified and I didn’t even see anything!” he exclaimed. 

The idea was to produce a short film, but Mann and Frank realized they had enough material for a feature film. Mann described filming Fall as the most challenging shoot of his career. 

The production team faced searing heat, rainfall, insect swarms, and hurricane-like winds at 2000 feet above the ground. Mann said they braved the difficulties of filming at such a height because the footage captured – though imperfect – increased the film’s authenticity. 

“At 2000 feet, doing this stuff,” Mann said. “For me that’s the big thing that made a huge difference. You feel that it’s real. It’s embracing the nuance and mess you get from filming up at a height because the cameras can get knocked by the wind, and the sound isn’t perfect.” 

“They all have an effect on the viewer. I think there’s an energy that you can capture when you’re on location that you can’t fake. So I think that all fed into to that and the psychological trauma for Virginia and Grace.”