Don't Look Down

source: Don't Look Down

source: Don't Look Down

Mark (Billy Burke) takes his wife Carla (Megan Ward ) to a remote look out to photograph her. Carla's sister Rachel (Tara Spencer-Nairn) tags along and ends up at the bottom of the cliff....watch that first step. Carla develops severe acrophobia and joins a special group that forces people to face their fears. Members in the group start to die and it appears Rachel's ghost may be responsible. This was a made for TV film with the thrill and suspense of a Lifetime adventure. It was certainly more drama than horror and even with the Hitchcock twist, I was still board. Too long for too little. We see little of the action.

Wes Craven's Don't Look Down (1998) on VHS? Okay. We found this rare nugget for sale on the internet for a mere four dollars and despite our previous review, decided to waste the money. This film is still as crappy as it was when it premiered on Halloween 1998. Scaled down to 89 minutes (aren't all television movies 93 minutes after they've been edited?) and boasting the traditional (what else?) unrated logo, this piece of garbage is destined to go down in the annuals of Shock Video Magazines as an even more embarrassing to Wes as his most current movie offerings. The traditional who-done-it with terrible acting, and an even worse storyline. This leaves us wondering, why would Wes put his name on this awful movie? The logical answer would have to be the obvious: money. Run from this mega-professional LP Speed video now!

Right from its thrilling opening sequence,"Don't Look Down" managed to keep me engrossed all the way. The story, when everything is revealed at the end, is rather old stuff (many have called it predictable, though the ending is just one of several possible outcomes that cross a viewer's mind), but the movie is very well-shot, especially considering its made-for-TV "credentials", with a really committed performance by Megan Ward. Just try to forget that Wes Craven's name was in any way associated with it (which is what most viewers have failed to do, thus their disappointment); it is vastly different from his usual output. (***)

Let me start off by saying I am not a Wes Craven fan nor a fan of the horror genre, so I can't judge this in terms of Wes Craven. I do know it's atypical of him, having sat through half of one of his films which is now banned. Spectacular scenery highlights "Don't Look Down," about a young woman who witnesses the horror fall which results in the death of her beloved sister. She joins a group to get over her resulting fear of heights. Unfortunately the members of the group start ending up dead. The denouement of this film was guessable from the first frame. The performances are decent and the setting is truly gorgeous. It's certainly entertaining. I caught this on Lifetime where I've seen much worse. I think with films like this, it makes a difference whether you see it in a theater, rent it, or catch it for free. I say wait and catch it for free.

A little early you might say? Yes, but I have to comment on this one! This rocks!!!! Although it's not Wes Craven's best. His best are ANOES and Scream. But it's still good!

Found this one in Paris (under the title "Acrophobie") on dvd for 10 Euros and was not disappointed. Excellent picture quality, stunning scenes, and above all an unguessable "dénouement". Acting was very good if a little amateur and the mountain scenes were stunning. Also I was very happy to have this in picture ratio 4:3 ( which fills my tv set completely ) instead of the usual goddammned 16:9, or even worse 2;35 which leaves me with big black bars ! The story is quite mysterious, and obviously these are not well known actors but the performance is pretty good. Highly recommendable for the price !

Has anybody seen the DVD menu? whats up with that rock n roll music in it? i mean.. isn't it a drama or horror movie? and whats up with the trailers LOL IT MADE ME LAUGH MY ASS OFF and the angry girl showing her bloody teeth, i never saw any blood in the movie The script is somewhat fine. But this kind of movies make me laugh just to think its supposed to be serious.. Actually you should see the DVD, you'll have some fun for sure. just don't expect it to be a serious movie, because it ain't, if you're sarcastic and realistic. And it didn't surprised me that her husband was the bad one, whatever.......................................................

***SPOILERS*** Hitchcock-like thriller with a strong "Vertigo" flavor to it. Unable to save her younger sister Rachel, Tara Spencer, from falling to her death Carla, Megan Ward, had developed a deep sense of guilt in Rachel's death and at the same time a terrifying fear of heights. Unable to get back to work as a TV news reporter and needing help for her acute acrophobia,fear of heights, Carla gets in touch with a Dr. Sadowski, Terry Kinney. Dr.Sadowski has a class of like wise agoraphobics and is doing work on curing them with his own brand of "Shock Treartment". It's during this time that Carla starts to hear and have visions of Rachel accusing her of letting her die. Even Carla's husband Mark, Billy Burke, starts to realize that his wife is on the brink of insanity when, among other weird things that she does, he finds her spilling Rachel's ashes looking for a titanium screw that she had in her leg to make sure that it, the ash remains, are really her. It's during the time that Carla is undergoing treatment that a number of her fellow patients have mysterious accidental falls that end up killing them. One of those patients Hallie, Kate Robbins,writes Clara's name out in her blood as she lay dying in the street which make the police, and even her husband Mark, suspect that she may have had something to do with Hallie's death or murder. The class that Dr. Sadowski is conducting is beginning to take it's toll on his patients with those still alive quiting with only Carla left to be treated by the good doctor. It also comes out that Dr.Sadowski is not exactly what he says he is when Mark finds out, in an old newspaper story, that he had a previous class of agoraphobics take a hike on Mount. Rainier which left everyone, but Dr. Sadowski,crushed to death in an avalanche! Clara is by now on the verge of being committed with the voice of Rachel instructing her to kill herself and at the same time being the top suspect in the murder of two of her patience friends Zack, Aaron Smolinski, and Hallie. The only one that Clara can turn to is Dr. Sadowski who she feels, despite what was uncovered about his past by Mark, has the key to what's been happening to her but at the same time she's taking a big chance; he may very well be the one who's been killing off all his patience's and may do the same to her. Breathtaking photography of British Colombia and Vancouver as well as a terrifically tense and and cliff-hanging ending makes "Don't Look Down" one of the better made for TV movies released during the 1990's. The surprise at the end of the film isn't as predictable as you would have thought and as good as in any other well made Hitchcock-type thriller or even in the many classics that Alfred Hitchcock himself directed.