What do “A Quiet Place”, “Us”, and “The Boat” have in common? They put you on the edge of your seat with stunning cinematography and almost no dialogue. Now we can add “The Fall”, the short film from writer/director Jonathan Glazer (“Under the Skin”, “Birth”) to that list.

Because his movie only lasts six minutes, it has to be gripping from the start. Well, that’s exactly what “The Fall” is. You’re looking right into the eyes of masked man which already gives a shivering vibe to this film. It becomes even better and darker when we see that he’s surrounded by many masked men. Together they’re cruelly torturing a man by hanging him with a robe and shoving him into a deep, very deep well. Once we go down in that well, we see something very unexpected…

If you’ve seen “Under the Skin” and the videos Gaze made for Massive Attack and Radiohead then you know that he can bring a horror story breathtaking to live. That’s the case when it comes to “The Fall” as well. Not only the story itself but also other elements contribute to that sensational feeling.

The most important element is without a doubt the masks. They’re yellow-ish, all different and scary like hell. The masks are expertly designed by Kate McConnell and ooze that bizarre and intriguing vibe. Another aspect that makes from this short film a real horror movie is the gloomy and dark cinematography provided by Tom Debenham. Debenham worked alongside director Glazer during the making of “Under the Skin” and also this time their corporation was a success. A lot of smoke and the lack of colours heighten the sinister omen of this film. Because there’s no dialogue in this short film, the sound has a much more important role than in another movie. To say it with a song of the British band Editors, there’s ‘No Sound but the Wind’.  We never were more terrified while hearing the wind than we did in this film.

The Fall was produced by Bugs Hartley and Ash Lockmun (Academy Films) and BBC Films and from the 15th of July, it’s coming to diverse online platforms such as Itunes, Amazon, Univerciné, Vimeo On Demand and many more. We understand that those platforms provide you with a lot of films, series, and documentary but you should put The Fall on your to-watch list. Glazer’s latest work is a terrific, enthralling and skilfully made a short film that makes you shiver.

Film and Celebrity Reporter Liselotte Vanophem