This week’s SFF has me facing one of my worst possible fears. Brought to us by the people at Special Problems, a ‘multi-disciplinary studio’ that creates music videos, commercials and shorts, as well as many other pieces of content, 43,000 feet concentrates on the thoughts that go through your mind as your falling from a great height… like, really great.

There are few things I fear more than the knowledge of death or impending pain to the point that I am very anxious around things that can cause it. Daredevil I am not. I only wish that I could keep the composure of 43,000’s single and solitary character. In his mind, he is the eternal optimist, thinking not only how best to survive the fall, but also, what to tell the media when they inevitably interview him post-pancaking. Me, I would be thinking “oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit” and would most likely piss, soil and vomit on my self. In fact, it is the dry deadpan of Dylan Pharazyn’s performance as a statistician playing out all of the variables that gives Hooper’s film a tremendous charm.

The script is coming to us by way of Matthew Harris who approaches the subject matter with an almost philosophical bent, which leads to some tremendous fun at parts, but it is the slick direction from Hooper that has this film standing out. Using split screen techniques, close-ups of eyes, raindrops, car doors, and other beautiful shots, Hooper commands strange precision at what the camera is focusing on while not allowing you to see everything around it. This gives the film a very slick sheen.

Enough chit chat! Check out the film below: