Don't Look Down (1998)

You won't be disappointed!

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

***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.

What a waste of time!!!There are few movies around that are so bad that you feel disappointed for those who had to work on it. I rented this movie because the words "Wes Craven" were plastered all over the cover. I foolishly thought that this would be a genuine thriller but I was oh so wrong. What I saw was a dreadfully boring and completely un-needed piece of cinematic embarrasment.The movie is about a person with an extreme fear of heights due to the loss of her sister over a cliff... This "plot" plods through until about 10 minutes before the end when we get one of the worst and most innappropriate "twists" that makes one want to jump off a cliff also.I think the best word for this film is innappropriate, or even better, not-needed. My head explodes thinking of so many better ways that this money could have been spent. I put myself in the position of someone who was editing the film, I think I would have turned to the rest of the film makers and said "umm, guys, this really is umm ORDINARY, perhaps we should cut our losses and move on..."Seriously, I think it is time we had movie police, we should not have to waste our time and money on this crap. I am furious that I now have to go and pay for this movie and I now have a chronic fear of selecting movies.

When I first started watching this film, I thought "oh no, not another low budget, waste of time", but actually I changed my mind after about ten minutes. It was a good story (although very predictable), but one that you have to watch right till the end, just to confirm what you have already figured out. However, I do have to say that although I predicted everything about this film, much to my dad and sisters' annoyance, I thought the ending was good.

This picture isn't what you are likely to expect from horror master Wes Craven, even though he only produced it. It isn't gory or really "horror" at all, it is kind of very thrilling psycho thriller with a surprising twist in the end. It is surprisingly good for a TV movie and you will not spend one single minute bored. I can't believe the bad rating it actually has. The acting is quite good and the "mountain sequences" are stunning. My personal rating is 9 out of 10.