Psychological thriller Fall 2 and action thriller Onslaught hit cinemas

Two films centered on fearless women opened in Turkish cinemas this week: the psychological thriller Fall 2: Deadly Ascent and Adam Wingard’s action thriller Onslaught.

Fall 2 continues the story of the 2022 film Fall, which was made for $3 million and earned $21.8 million worldwide. In the first film, Becky and her best friend Shiloh climbed a 610-meter tower after Becky’s husband died during a climb. In the sequel, Shiloh’s friend Luce invites Jax, who misses her sister deeply, to travel to Thailand and keep her memory alive. They decide to climb Kwan Mountain, closed to the public for 30 years, with a guide named Jo.

The Spierig brothers move the danger from the first film’s tower to a 1,200-meter mountain. At the Devil’s Elbow section, an earthquake breaks the walking boards and Jo disappears, leaving Jax and Luce stranded on the beams. The directors place viewers inside the ordeal through camera movement, with many scenes shot from Jax’s perspective.

The film pays tribute to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thrillers while building tension through broken chains, nails flying from wood and a loosening screw that does not quite fall. The production used sets rather than green screens. Actors were secured with wires and exposed to sun, rain, heat and cold. The review also praises the performances of Harriet Slater, Arsene Thomas and Tom Brittney, as well as the editing, framing and sound design. Sound becomes a central expression of the hostile environment, with Paul Massey and sound supervisor David Barber among the experienced figures involved.

Onslaught marks another turn for Wingard, who moved from original low-budget thrillers to the $300 million production Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire in 2024. The review says his new film combines B-movie madness with an A-level production after a decade working on franchise projects and navigating their political compromises.