14 Sweaty-Palm Movies Like Fall 2: Deadpoint (Sky, Water & Underground)

Fall 2: Deadpoint takes the idea of the first film, two people stuck a long way up with no way down, and moves it to a mountain in Thailand. The fear it sells is old and simple: you are very high up, the ground is very far away, and one mistake ends everything. If that is the feeling you want more of, the films below are for you. You can read more about the sequel on our Fall 2: Deadpoint page.

We picked 14 films and sorted them by where the trap is: in the sky, in the water or under the earth. Not all of them are about heights. Some take the ground away in another way, but they all have the sweaty palms and the feeling that there is no easy way out. Each entry tells you what the film is about, why it is similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint, what sets it apart, and where you can stream it.

At a Glance: Our Sweaty Palm-O-Meter

All 14 films in one table. We rated each on the Sweaty Palm-O-Meter, from 🖐️ (you are fine, really) to 🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️ (please check the sofa for damage). Click a title to jump to the entry.

Sky & Heights: Movies Like Fall 2 Set High Above the Ground

Fall 2: Deadpoint is all about the fear of falling, so we start with the films that put you high above the ground, with ropes, ledges and nothing under your feet. If you only read one section, make it this one.

1. Fall (2022)

Becky is still grieving after her husband died in a climbing accident. Her best friend Hunter, a daredevil who films her stunts for social media, talks her into climbing an abandoned 2,000-foot TV tower in the desert. They reach the top, the ladder breaks, and the only thing left is a tiny platform in the sky.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: This is the film Fall 2: Deadpoint grew out of, so it is where to start if you have not seen it. The idea is the same: two women, a long way up, no rescue coming, and a phone with no signal. Read our page on Fall 2: Deadpoint to see how the sequel compares.

What sets it apart: Fall is smaller and more grounded than its sequel. The whole story takes place on that tower, and the stunts and views are real enough to make your legs go weak. Some of the dialogue is rough, but the setting does the work.

Watch it here:

2. Frozen (2010)

Three friends sneak onto a ski lift for one last run on a Sunday night. A misunderstanding at the lift station leaves them stopped in mid-air, high above the slope, as the resort closes for the week. Nobody knows they are there, and the temperature is dropping.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: The closest standalone match. A simple mistake leaves ordinary people stuck far above the ground in a place that was never meant to hold them, and every option for getting down is a bad one. It has the same slow build of fear that Fall has.

What sets it apart: Adam Green, who also made the Hatchet films, keeps it to three characters and one location. The first half is mostly talk, and it takes its time, but the second half is brutal. The cold is just as dangerous as the height.

Watch it here:

3. The Ledge (2022)

Kelly goes on a climbing trip with friends. When she sees something she should not have seen, a group of men starts to hunt her, and the only way to escape is to climb up a cliff face.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: Climbing, exposed rock and the constant risk of a fall. It is the film on this list that is closest to the mountain setting of Deadpoint, with the extra pressure of people chasing the heroine.

What sets it apart: It is a thriller first and a survival film second, so the villains matter as much as the cliff. Director Howard J. Ford mixes real climbing with a chase plot, which makes it faster and more violent than Fall.

Watch it here:

4. A Lonely Place to Die (2011)

Five climbers on a trip in the Scottish Highlands hear a sound in the woods and find a young girl buried alive in a box. They decide to carry her to safety, but the men who put her there are following them.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: Cliffs, ropes, gorges and a long, difficult descent where every step is dangerous. The first half is a pure mountain story, and it has the same fear of the next hold that Deadpoint has.

What sets it apart: After the climbing section the film becomes a chase through the Highlands, and then a very different thriller. Julian Gilbey shot much of it on location, and it looks great. It is violent, so be ready for that.

Watch it here:

5. High Lane (2009)

Also known as Vertige. A group of friends in the French mountains takes a high trail made of narrow ledges and suspended bridges. When one of the bridges fails, the hike turns into a fight to get off the mountain, and they find out they are not the only ones up there.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: The first half is exactly what you want from a film like Fall 2: wobbly bridges, long drops and the dread of looking down. It makes you feel the height in your stomach.

What sets it apart: This is a French horror film, so after a while the survival story turns into something nastier and bloodier. If you want only the vertigo, enjoy the first half. If you want more, the second half delivers.

Watch it here:

6. Vertical Limit (2000)

Three years after a climbing accident, Peter Garrett joins a rescue mission on K2 to save his sister, who is trapped in a crevasse high on the mountain. The team has only a few hours before the weather and the oxygen run out.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: Mountains, falls and a rescue with a ticking clock. If Deadpoint is about being stuck, this is the story of the people who try to get you out, which makes a good second feature.

What sets it apart: This is a big Hollywood action film, with explosions, avalanches and some very silly moments. It does not try to be realistic, and it is more fun if you do not take it seriously. The opening climb is the best scene.

Watch it here:

7. Touching the Void (2003)

In 1985, two climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, reach the summit of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. On the way down, Joe breaks his leg, and the two of them have to decide how to get off the mountain alive.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: The real version of what Fall 2 pretends to be. It has the same fear: one bad injury on a mountain, far from help, and choices that no one wants to make. It is especially strong because it actually happened.

What sets it apart: Kevin Macdonald mixes interviews with the real climbers with reenactments, and the result is as tense as any thriller. It is a documentary drama, not a horror film, and the most moving and honest film on the list.

Watch it here:

8. Cliffhanger (1993)

A mountain rescue climber, played by Sylvester Stallone, is pulled into a criminal plot when a group of thieves crashes a plane in the Rocky Mountains and needs help finding the stolen money. The mountains are the real danger.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: It has the dizzying heights and the cliffside sequences that make you grip the arm of the sofa. If you want to see how big a mountain film can get, this is one of the classics.

What sets it apart: Cliffhanger is a full action film, with fistfights, a villain played by John Lithgow and plenty of 1990s excess. The opening scene alone is worth seeing. It has far less tension than Deadpoint, but a lot more fun.

Watch it here:

Deep Water: Movies Like Fall 2 in the Ocean

Take away the height and add the ocean. These four films keep the helplessness and the ticking clock of Fall 2, but the danger is below the surface instead of far above it.

9. 47 Meters Down (2017)

Two sisters on holiday in Mexico go cage diving to see great white sharks. When the cable snaps, the cage drops to the sea floor, 47 meters down, and their air supply is limited.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: Almost the same formula as Fall: two women, one impossible situation, a ticking clock and no way to call for help. The danger is below the surface instead of far above it, and the feeling of being trapped is the same.

What sets it apart: Director Johannes Roberts keeps it small and quick, and the murky water makes it hard to see what is coming. The ending is the part that people still talk about. There is also a sequel, but the first film is the better one.

Watch it here:

10. The Shallows (2016)

Nancy, a medical student, surfs on a secluded beach in Mexico when a great white shark attacks her. She makes it to a small rock a short swim from the shore, and the tide is rising.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: The shore is in sight, but every try to reach it could be her last. That mix of safety that looks close and is not is the same pressure Fall puts on its characters on the tower.

What sets it apart: Jaume Collet-Serra makes it slick and fast, at under 90 minutes and with a great look. Blake Lively carries almost the whole film alone. It is more of a thriller than a horror film, and the ending is pure Hollywood.

Watch it here:

11. Breaking Surface (2020)

Two half-sisters, Ida and Tuva, go on a winter dive in a Norwegian fjord. A rockfall pins Ida underwater, and Tuva has to find a way to save her with the oxygen running out.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: A very tight survival thriller with two women at its center, a strong sister bond, and a hard time limit. It is the same human-scale story as Fall, only under the surface.

What sets it apart: The film is small, quiet and cold, with only a few characters and almost no tricks. The fjord looks beautiful and frightening. There is a 2023 remake called The Dive, but start with this one.

Watch it here:

12. Open Water (2003)

A couple on a scuba diving trip surfaces and finds that the boat has left without them. They are alone in the open ocean, with no land in sight, and as the hours go by, the water starts to feel crowded.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: Helplessness is the point. There is nowhere to go, no one to call, and the fear grows slowly as the characters realize that nobody is coming. That is the same dread that makes Fall work.

What sets it apart: Chris Kentis shot it on cheap digital video with real sharks in the water, and it looks like a home movie that went wrong. It has no score, very little action and a lot of waiting. It is based on a real case, which makes it worse.

Watch it here:

Underground and Caving Suspense Movies like Fall 2

No heights, no water, no room to move. These two films swap vertigo for claustrophobia, and they are not for anyone who dislikes tight spaces.

13. The Descent (2005)

Six women go on a caving trip in the Appalachian Mountains. A rockfall closes the way out, and as they look for another exit, they find out that they are not alone in the dark.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: It replaces the fear of heights with the fear of tight spaces. The feeling is the same: panic, no way out, and the sense that every decision could be the wrong one. If you liked Fall for its dread, this will work for you.

What sets it apart: Neil Marshall made a horror film, and it gets nastier than Fall. The first half is a pure caving thriller, and it is already hard to watch. The cast of women is excellent, and it is one of the best British horror films of its decade.

Watch it here:

14. Buried (2010)

Paul Conroy, an American contractor in Iraq, wakes up trapped inside a wooden coffin buried underground. He has a lighter, a phone with weak battery and very little air.

Why it’s similar to Fall 2: Deadpoint: It is the most extreme version of being stuck. One person, one place and a countdown, with every phone call making things better or worse. If the confinement of Deadpoint worked on you, this will push it as far as it can go.

What sets it apart: Rodrigo Cortés shot the entire film inside the coffin, and Ryan Reynolds is the only person on screen. It is more of a thriller with political edges than a horror film. It is also one of the tightest 95 minutes you will see.

Watch it here:

Where to Start?

If you want the closest match, watch Fall first and then Frozen. If you want the real thing, Touching the Void is the best film on the list. If heights are not your fear, try Breaking Surface for the water or Buried and The Descent for the tightest spaces. And if you want a lighter night, Cliffhanger is a lot of fun.

Looking for more survival thrillers? Have a look at our list of movies like Whalefall.