One night, in the town of Silverton, USA, four young people go for a road trip. The weather turns bad and a violent thunderstorm breaks out. Suddenly, a funnel cloud forms, giving birth to a tornado that picks them up in its path⦠The tone is set.
A few days later, we find ourselves on the road with a team of tornado chasers driving a high-tech armored car specially designed to film and measure these meteorological phenomena, and more specifically, the eye of the storm. They are accompanied by a meteorologist who, aboard her van, continuously tells them which direction to take to get as close as possible to potential tornadoes. Heading for Silverton.
Meanwhile, in this town, we are attending a graduation ceremony at a school, when the weather quickly deteriorates. The sky turns black. The students and their principal run to take refuge in their high school. Outside, it’s raining cats and dogs, the wind gusts are getting stronger, and then a tornado forms and hits the building. Everything is devastated.
By force of circumstance, the tornado chasers, the meteorologist, and the school principal and his two children all converge on the same spot in town and thus become acquainted. As they bravely face the raging elements, what they learn from the meteorologist is that this disaster is only the beginning, because something of gargantuan magnitude is brewing and will strike…
Directed by Steven Quale and starring – among others – Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, and Matt Walsh, Black Storm is a film that rides the wave of Twister (1996), without managing to match it. Based on my tastes in disaster movies, while Twister is at the top of the tornado chaser spectrum, I’d say this one is average. Neither good nor bad, quite the opposite…
The characters are rather bland and caricatured. But when they work together, they demonstrate a wonderful sense of solidarity and courage, which makes them more believable. As for the two rednecks who survive everything despite their insane behavior, I really enjoyed them.
The story isn’t a hit (well, it is, thanks to its tornadoes), but it’s a bit corny at times. But that’s okay.
However, and in my opinion, the strong point of this film lies in the way it was filmed, that is, with handheld cameras, but also with smartphone cameras. This gives the impression of being watched live, which lends a great deal of realism to the situation. You can clearly sense the tension and the immediate danger to which the various protagonists are exposed.
And then, when you say “disaster movie,” you mean “special effects.” And here, it must be said: they are spec-ta-cu-lar! A word of advice: bring a comb, because it’s a real ruffle, and hold on tight to your seat, because it’s a real rip-roar!
In the end, Black Storm isn’t a memorable film; nevertheless, despite its strengths and weaknesses, it’s still a pleasant experience. Watch it with your brain off to enjoy its sensational aspect, because with this hair-raising film, you’ll get your money’s worth in terms of thrills
