If you want to talk about up and coming directors and writers, there are very few whose first few pieces of work have set up the path to greatness, and director Adam Stilwell and screenwriter Kent Harper have done exactly that with their feature The Free Fall. The movie is a suspenseful, stomach churning horror thriller that is trying to put the missing pieces of her life back together, backed by an incredible performance this surely cannot be missed.
The movie focuses on Sara played by Andrea Londo after her husband, Nick played by Shawn Ashmore finds her with slit wrists in the bathtub. After this incident she is constantly monitored and protected by a now overbearing husband and finds herself suffocating in the situation. However, she also is experiencing amnesia from the trauma and some things start to not line up and the pieces of the puzzle start to disappear until something more sinister makes its presence.
What makes The Free Fall so incredible is the way that Kent Harper crafted his story. There is no indication too early, no easter egg laid out for the audience to pick up on, and no clue that is not meant to be there. This way of creating suspense and thrills for the audience while not revealing the hand too early is simply magnificent and truly captures the audience that much more.
As well, the performances from Andrea Londo and Shawn Ashmore are nothing but impeccable. The chemistry they share, or lack there of as the movie dictates works flawlessly, there is the man who is relentlessly obsessive with every move his wife makes. Given the circumstances it is slightly warranted, to an extent, but his wife has absolutely no patience for him and is losing her mind with his obsession of her every step. Then there is Andrea Londo who just steals every scene she is in, trying to make sense of everything that has happened, her reoccurring nightmares, and who this man claiming her husband truly and actually is. Their performances and the way they play off one another is truly excellent.
What really shines through though, is how all of this comes together to create an absolutely amazing film that is The Free Fall. The writing, direction, and performances all come together perfectly to manufacture this genuinely terrifying, and astonishingly thrilling film that has to be seen to be believed.
