The Men Who Fell

After two space prisoners crash their aircraft in the desert, they enter an underground hallucinatory bunker under orders from a company willing to knock time off their sentences upon completion of a mysterious mission. Ultra indie sci-fi effort squeezes every last penny from its wallet, AE and available warehouse sets to convincingly portray a beautiful/ugly fantasy world. The film relies heavily upon its two leads (Wild Dogs alumni Aaron Stielstra and Brendan Murphy) who endlessly bicker and whine much more than your average space detention criminals, but add a level of professional that clashes with some of the sillier plot elements that later enter the picture. Which is part of the problem. The film's first act is so good and gritty it's like a Don Siegel program with nomads and Mad Max action, including a documentary-lite space shootout complete with bo staff needles and other crap I can't even explain. The story soon takes a more whimsical sci-fi turn with the heroes walking around and talking in set after CG set, which admittingly look good, but bring the pacing to a grinding halt. Some other mumbo jumbo, inner and physical demons appear but can't do much to elevate the already sloggy second act, further compromised by a weak Slayer character and it's decision to drop the second male lead from the plot (only to later appear in a dynamite return). But even if the monsters and demon children threaten the established dark tone, they are appropriately gooey, atrocious, and most importantly, scary. Visuals are as good as they can get from a DVX100 with lots of balanced lighting, pleasing widescreen compositions and stark contrast, all accompanied with a decent score. Perhaps some more cutting all around would help things, but as it stands, a highly recommended and enjoyable effort. 7/10

Lets get something straight. We're talking about a movie that was filmed with a DVX-100 camera in various locations within Tucson, AZ most of which was either in a warehouse or at home. The sound was done entirely in a garage; most all of the work behind the scenes was done by "count em" three people. The models, sets, & props were built by the director. The computer effects were done by the producer; and the costumes as well as the set dressing were done by the directors wife!! And oh yeah, the complete budget was a mere $20,000. By the way, the door sound wasn't lifted from Doom or any where else. I think it's pretty impressive.

The film started not bad but turned into a complete nonsense quickly and finished with some idiotism. I don't mind the low budget, but the whole story line is plain awful and nothing compensates for its total ugliness, though acting and costumes are quite good. Even the initial scenes of the earth devastated terribly by some kind of a cataclysm bring rather a disappointment. There are too many scenes shot with no apparent purpose and too many events left unexplained.

In general, it's just another amateur work which you could watch for free to kill some time and forget about it after all. If these boys and girls ever decide to produce another sci-fi film like this one, they should find a much better writer and place their characters in the clearest light.

This movie considering its budget (none practically) and small work team is quite a technical accomplishment. The visual effects, sound effects, and overall sense of 'atmosphere' come together quite well on the screen to create a desolate, desert vision of the future. Also, the lead male is compelling and provides just enough character to fuel the sometimes clunky (and dragging) storyline.

However, like other films of this caliber, the overall story development and acting tends to drag "The Men Who Fell" down into an amateurish production with little action. There were some points that remained unclear (the toys/chair/role of the Company..etc) and some plot lines that were completely unnecessary and trite (read: The Slayer). As for the acting, the strongest was by far the lead (kudos to the Demon too)... it is his crazed buddy and "the Slayer" who produce the bulk of the groan-inducing lines and stilted performances that remind viewers that they are definitely not viewing the work of professionals. That said, this film is worth a watch if you're looking to see ingenious set design and impressive special effects.

I loved this movie!! I don't know what the other critic was talking about. Everything seemed clear and to the point to me. The characters were established and the story line was easy to figure out. I guess some people no matter how old they are should stick with Bob the Builder and Dora the Explorer. I thought it was exceptional considering size of the budget they had to work with. The effects were awesome. The costumes were so..... "Like it would be" if it were the real thing; for lack of a better way to put it. Acting was good too. As far as the only critic I can see, come on guy, it's not rocket science nor a word search. Just pay attention. Really excellent job. When's the next one??