Review of The Fallout, directed by Megan Park

Back in 2021, I was taking a gap year between undergraduate and graduate schools. Burned out by a university I absolutely despised, I needed a year to simply sit back and think about what my next move was going to be. It was during this time I also began my job as a film critic, which proved to be life changing.

Anyways, I spent a lot of this year watching movies. Some were background noise, thoughtless comedies I could put on as I sat down to type my thoughts and blog posts for the day. Others were more serious.

I originally watched The Fallout as one of my critic reviews. My review still exists somewhere on the site I was writing for, but I was thinking about it recently when I’m typing this. That’s the end of August 2024 (that’s the magic of preplanned posts y’all—I’m way ahead of schedule).

My sister is technically a school shooter survivor, and my high school was supposed to be shot up and bombed. The only reason it wasn’t was because the student got drunk and was pulled over on the way doing it.

So movies like these strike a chord. It feels very American to have these kinds of experiences, which is tragic to say that I can feel this way.

I’m starting to ramble, but this is why this movie touches me! Let’s get into the review.

A school shooting unravels the lives of two girls who survived.

This is a movie that has two protagonists: Vada and Mia. We meet Vada first, as she comes to school, as normal, and expects it to be a typical day in the classroom.

She asks to go to the bathroom when she spots her little sister calling her. Turns out she just got her period for the first time, and needs some advice from her older sister. But when Vada is in there, a school shooting starts.

So begins a series of terrifying events for those in the bathroom. Vada isn’t alone in there: classmates Mia and Quinton are also in the bathroom. The three of them huddle together in a stall and wait for the worst of it to be over.

Turns out Quinton’s brother is killed in the shooting, and Vada is emotionally impacted by the fact she was at school that day. She slowly withdraws from her friends and family, and her best friend, Nick, even becomes concerned about her reaction to what has happened.

Her trauma is so extensive she specifically cannot go in the bathroom where she hid during the shooting, and she has reactions to loud sounds, like a soda can being crushed.

Vada then turns to drugs tot ry and escape the feelings she’s been having, including ecstasy. Vada then meets up with Mia, who tells her she has a crush on her and is slowly falling in love.

The two have sex after that, but then Vada has another moment later on. Nick decides to confront her about everything going on in her life and how she’s handling it, and then she runs away, angry at Nick because of their concern. Vada goes to Quinton to rant about it.

But as she does that, she tries to him, and he rejects her. He’s not ready, especially considering he’s still grieving the loss of his brother in the shooting. This sets Vada off further, and her depression spirals. She doesn’t talk to anyone any more.

Her sister also confesses that she felt like she put Vada in extreme danger, and the two of them have a little heart to heart. That becomes the spark to get Vada to reconnect with everyone in her life, and she realizes that she might never have the same relationship with her best friend again.

The movie ends with Vada waiting for Mia, then getting a panic attack seeing another school has had a shooting.

Overall Thoughts

When I saw this movie originally, I didn’t expect it to have as much emotional impact as it did. I think this is a movie you need to come into prepared, especially if you have trauma about these kinds of situations.

I found it to be pretty compelling when it came to how it tells these stories. By focusing on one girl we can see the individual impact, but we also get peeks into how it screwed up so many other lives around her.

It’s like a ripple effect—it might not be a movie about a community grieving, but we can see how everyone surrounding the main character is impacted. We can also see that things will never be the same as they were before.

Such a haunting movie. Go watch if you have not already—I think it’s worth watching at least once if you can handle it.

Follow me below on Instagram and Goodreads for more.