Fall sequel in the works after dizzying thriller became a surprise Netflix hit

EXCLUSIVE: People with acrophobia now look the other way, the makers of the fear of heights thriller fall is planning a sequel after the film became an unexpected hit on Netflix internationally.

British producer Tea Shop Productions and director Scott Mann are discussing ideas for a second film that will try to unsettle audiences with another chilling story set at high altitude.

fall Premiered last August and stars Grace Caroline Currey (Shazam! wrath of the gods) and Virginia Gardner (light gas) as friends who climb a 600-foot radio tower in the desert and crash.

The indie thriller grossed nearly $22 million after filming on a $5 million budget and enjoyed word of mouth on streaming services including Netflix, where it scored top 10 spots in four territories. It is available on Starz in the US

fall was Netflix’s second most watched film in the UK for two consecutive weeks, behind only Idris Elba Luther: The fallen sun perform better.

The film hit Netflix in the UK in January, and Deadline reckons it’s done an impressive job for the streaming service, which hasn’t committed any marketing resources to the title.

So says James Harris, co-founder of Tea Shop fallThe simple central idea and carefully composed artwork and trailer helped get audiences talking.

“We are pleasantly surprised by how everyone’s reaction to it is so strong,” he said. “This is one of those movies where word of mouth really helps.”

Mark Lane, the other Tea Shop co-founder, added: “People pick up a streamer easily. You can see the concept in the poster image and we find that when people try it, they’re instantly hooked.”

Having control over marketing materials is important, Harris said. “You can make a good film, but if you don’t give companies a way to market it, they often screw it up. It was very important for us to tell people to ‘go away’ and determine how to do the marketing.

The couple found success with a similar concept, 47 meters deepin which two women are trapped in a shark cage at the bottom of the sea.

Comment one fall Harris continued, saying, “We have some ideas we’re playing around with… We don’t want to make anything that feels like a copycat or less than the first.”

They may want to bring Currey into the second film, but no decisions have been made yet. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (the living dead) Played Currey’s father in the first film. It is planned to “move” with the project before the end of this year.

fall was captured in June 2020 with support from Capstone Group after multiple studios shared the photo. Lionsgate later optioned the film for US theatrical release.

The film was shot outside Palmdale, California, with Tea Shop erecting a 20-foot tower atop a 30-foot hill to provide false perspective while the rest was taken care of in post-production.

Although Covid-19 was one of the first films to get off the ground during the pandemic, it wasn’t always the biggest problem. Filming was suspended for a day after a rare thunderstorm was revealed to have caused an ant infestation on the tower.

fall saved about half a million dollars on reshoots by using deep fake technology to copy all of Currey and Gardner’s wild “f*cks” and make them suitable for PG-13 audiences. Mann’s company, Flawless, provided the artificial intelligence for the solution.

“We had to throw away most of 100 shots,” Harris said. “It can really happen that movies spend millions of dollars on very small reshoots. You can really change the story in the post in a more affordable way.