Into the Storm

Review By: John Delia

Reminiscent of the 2011 tornadoes in America that wreaked havoc causing loss of life in many states the film Into the Storm puts the feel of the catastrophic events in your lap. The terrifying depiction of super tornadoes in the movie gets so realistic that I felt myself gasping for air during the height of the storm. Speakers blaring and high definition visuals put the viewer into the action creating an experience that has never been duplicated on the screen. The feeling is like taking a rollercoaster ride and when you have reached the top of the highest point for one instant you are hanging out over the drop. Immediately you plunge toward the ground with the G-forces and wind impacting your body, it’s much like that.

The story centers on Pete Moore (Matt Walsh) filmmaker and boss of a team cameramen who are taking their last attempt during a fleeting storm season at getting a close-up video of a tornado. Riding through the countryside in Oklahoma, Moore along with meteorologist Allison Stone (Sarah Wayne Callies) have been missing chances due to elusive storm cell locations. Their crew made up of three of the best videographers, Lucas (Lee Whittaker), Daryl (Arlen Escarpeta) and Jacob (Jeremy Sumpter) are apprehensive that they may not get the shots that Moore requires and show signs of giving up.

In the town of Silverton, Vice Principal of the high school Gary Morris (Richard Armitage) is just leaving home to attend the year end graduation ceremonies. Before leaving, he emphasizes to his two teenage sons Donnie (Max Deacon) and Trey (Nathan Kress) who attend Silverton to make sure the ceremony is covered in the 25 year video time capsule they are making for the school.In the meantime, Pete is pressing Allison for information from her Doppler radar to choose a location where she thinks he can get the best shot of a super storm. After some quick calculations she tells him his best bet is the town of Silverton.

Director Steven Quale (Final Destination 5) takes John Swetnam’s script and turns it into a terrifying motion picture. It flows nicely with a very good setup of characters, cinematography, CG, special effects and locations perfect for the catastrophic events that will take place in his movie. Developing the plot, Quale doesn’t take long to introduce the action with the opening scene that starts the chilling forecast for what’s about to begin. Using seasoned actors in pivotal roles, the story’s as compelling as the devastation and carnage of the storms that lay waste to the towns. His camera crews pick up the exciting action of actors holding on to the walls of a storm drain with winds nearing 200 hundred miles an hour and other scenes with actors ridding out a twister inside a storm tracking vehicle and high school. It all looks real and the stunt people as well as some of the actors who actually worked the scenes can attest to the powerful wind blasts used to make the film.

The computer generated tornadoes are very scary with funnels that reach thousands of feet and cover city blocks. Pulling apart brick buildings like they are child’s toys and flipping school buses, 16 wheelers and airplanes the storms are horrific. Leaving a wake of destruction in the aftermath of the giant storm, it’s just rubble where homes stood, people shopped and schools taught children.

The film is not all panic and nature gone mad as Quale takes a break or two for some comic relief. Two local yokels’, Donk (Kyle Davis) who’s an amateur daredevil that will do anything to get hits on YouTube and Reevis (Jon Reep) his video guy who encourages Donk’s crazy antics, create a lot of laughter between the insane tornadoes. Driving their old pickup truck as if it were a storm chaser, they try to join the real hunters with some very wacky results.

Into the Storm has been rated PG-13 for sequences of intense destruction and peril, and language including some sexual references. In 1996 a film called Twister drew a lot of attention to the devastation caused by tornadoes, but you can see it even better with this film that features new filming technology and speaker systems in today’s movie theaters.

FINAL ANALYSIS: The most realistic and gripping depiction of nature’s fury in a movie. (B)