THE FREE FALL (aka The Voices) **** USA 2021 Dir: Adam Stilwell. 82 mins
On the eve of their wedding anniversary, Sarah (Andrea Londo) witnesses her parents’ murder/suicide. Sometime later, living in the house where the tragedy occurred and suffering from amnesia following her own suicide attempt, she struggles to connect with her husband, Nick (Shawn Ashmore), who she has no memory of.
Isolated from her remaining family and victimised by her increasingly hostile housekeeper, Rose (Jane Badler), Sarah comes to believe that something sinister is going on behind her back. As the world around her devolves into a surreal nightmare she begins to question her sanity. Is she slowly slipping into madness or is their something terrifyingly evil at work?
The Free Fall is a slow boiler, filmed entirely in a single location. Films of this sort live or die on the quality of the cast and the acting here is superb. Londo does a great job of portraying a woman constantly on the verge of mental collapse but Badler steals every scene she is in, portraying the wicked housekeeper. Whilst those that are paying attention will have guessed the ‘twist’ ending before it arrives, it is well executed and makes the film standout from other ‘gaslighting’ films.
Review by Daniel Few
THE FREE FALL (aka The Voices) is available on Amazon