Into the Storm (2014) Directed by Steven Quale. Starring: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh. IMDB says: “Storm trackers, thrill-seekers, and everyday townspeople document an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes touching down in the town of Silverton.”
The basic premise for Into the Storm is simple. A group of stormchasers is out to find a tornado and film a video from within the eye of the storm. During the course of their travels, their paths cross with a small town and its high school. The interesting thing about this film is that it is almost entirely found footage. It’s an interesting take on a rather outdated natural disaster concept.
Let’s start with the bad, because there is quite a bit of it. The plot is serviceable but that is all. The lead stormchaser who will stop at nothing to get his documentary completed is a little predictable and the multiple romantic connections feel very forced and unnecessary. Also, because of the found-footage angle, essentially everyone carries a camera at some point which doesn’t really make sense at times. The acting is not great and actually stretches into the unbearable at points. Looking through the actors’ bios it would seem none of them have any real film experience, most having a background in television. A lot of the challenges the characters are faced with are formulaic and predictable.
I actually rather liked some of the effects but based on my conversations with other viewers, this may be a matter of opinion. For me, they were enjoyable if somewhat over-the-top. I also took issue with some of the physics at work, as large heavy objects are being thrown around and the characters simply have to walk slowly. There were several times I let out an audible “really?” while watching certain scenes.
Overall, it was a fun film to watch in a theater because it does have a lot of action and several visually-striking scenes. What it boils down to for me is a film that would feel more at home on Lifetime or some other television network versus the silver screen. That being said, the film appeals to the eyes while leaving nothing for the mind. It’s probably worth skipping until it comes out on television and even then only if nothing noteworthy is on.
OVERALL SCORE: 46%