La falaise maudite

I just finished watching this TV-movie on Lifetime but I remember that it aired on NBC in November of 1996. I must say great movie! Maybe it should have been called Fall Into Secrets And Schemes instead of Fall Into Darkness hey it doesn't matter! A great story that had plenty of twist and changes that kept me entertained for the entire time, and it's rarely that a TV-movie does that. A group of youths or college kids lead by the beautiful but crude Charlotte Ross plan a scheme to destroy Tatyana Ali after Charlotte's brother dies. We later find out in the end many surprises to who lead the group. The best part of this film is Tatyana Ali she is going to be another beauty. Oh Mamma that scene of Tatyana wearing a purple bra it proves how she's grown and matured beautifully from her days on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". Tatyana defeats her troubles in this movie and just to say this is a nice TV-movie to watch for enjoyment and see two cute and very lovely women Tatyana Ali and don't forget Charlotte Ross.

I just saw the movie not long ago and thought it was a pretty good adaptation. The actors cast for the characters fit the impressions I got from the book pretty well and they did a good job of keeping the plot the same for the most part. All in all, again, it was a pretty good adaptation. However, I'd have to recommend that anyone liking the movie read the book by Christopher Pike. He's one of the best "teen/young adult" writers out there and does a great job at writing books about teens but not solely meant for teen readers. In comparing the movie to the book, the book (like the vast majority of books made into movies) is undeniably better simply because it can be more in-depth. For those not interested in the book however, Fall Into Darkness definitely gets a high-end rating as far as TV movies go.

I caught this movie on TV many years ago and I remember finding it very good and quite enjoyable, especially for a daytime movie thriller and the fact that it featured two stars which I liked at the time very much Tatyana Ali from TV's (Fresh Prince Of L.A.) and Jonathan Brandis (Sea Quest DSV & IT). So I was very keen to watch it.

The plot = A young music student named Sharon McKay quickly makes friends with a group of rich kids but when she turns down one of the boy's advances and he dies, his sister Ann blames Sharon for his death and therefore sets out to destroy her.

Right firstly I have never read the book but I must say that this movie is very good indeed, and the characters are played well and acted well too, and the twists and turns throughout this movie are pulled off neatly and it did have some surprises in store as well. The whole fake death murder plot by Ann was very cunning and very believable, and I had no idea as to what or how it was gonna turn out, from the opening scene with Ann falling off the cliff and Sharon crying while being arrested was very gripping viewing, and there are even a few slasher elements thrown in, like the stalk scenes with Sharon at her house being watched by someone of POV shot was quite eerie and very creepy and when Sharon goes to investigate about what really happened to Ann after she disappeared kept me on the edge of my seat and I was hooked all the way through, and even the final girl chase scene towards the end was very well handled and quite tense and came to a compelling climax and plus there are even a few deaths thrown in as well, which definitely made the whole plot more interesting and I would have loved more but it's not that kind of movie.

The performances are very good in this movie Tatyana Ali who played the female lead Sharon was very good and I felt for her as to what her character went through throughout this movie, I also remember Tatyana was quite big at the time, I remember she was a singer and starred in another decent slasher I liked "The Clown At Midnight" but then she kinda disappeared which is a shame. The late Jonathan Brandis was the breakout performance in this movie in my opinion, his shy and withdrawn and not so confident character made him very convincing, and especially towards the end where he showed his true colours was very good, it's a sad shame that he will never be seen in any movies ever again, such a sad and tragic loss, he should have been the star he was born to be. Charlotte Ross as the Ann was another very interesting character I loved her scheming and although she bowed out a bit too soon, she was still great and fun to watch.

All in all "Fall Into Darkness" is a very good watch and definitely for fans of a good thriller and some good performances to be thrown in and definitely worth tracking down.

FALL INTO DARKNESS is one of those dull TV movies that they seemed to constantly churn out during the 1990s. This one has the distinction of being based on a novel by author Christopher Pike, although the cover of my DVD bizarrely proclaims it to be a true story. The story is just ridiculous enough for it to possibly be true.

The main cast are a group of annoying teenagers who are joined by a newcomer, THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR's Tatyana M. Ali, who spurns the advances of one of the members. When the guy later kills himself, his vengeful sister decides to bring Ali's character down by faking her own death through a convoluted plot and blaming Ali for the crime.

The story is as silly as it sounds, and there are further twists (including an extra villain) which stretch the viewer's credulity even further. The film as a whole is badly directed and one sequence in which a character falls from a cliff top is laughably awful. With so many cliff-climbing sequences you'd think this would at least look good but it looks like what it is, cheap. Tatyana M. Ali is okay as the lead, as is Jonathan Brandis (from the SEAQUEST DSV show), but the rest of the cast - particularly Charlotte Ross - are very poor.

Apart from the fact that this film is shockingly bad in every possible respect, what's with the whole 'True Story' thing?

I bought this film for my girlfriend as part of a box set called 'The Hollywood True Stories Box Set'. The DVD itself is titled "Fall Into Darkness: A True Story". I'm sorry but there is no way that this pile of rubbish is true. It also states on the back of the DVD box that it is based on a novel, even further contradicting the 'True Story' strap-line.

Anyway, even if it didn't claim to be a true story, it is still one of the most unbelievable films I have ever seen. The directors attempts at twists and turns are either predictable or just plain stupid.

This is the kind of made-for-TV film that you would end up watching on a cable channel as a last alternative to suicide. It's rubbish, don't watch it.