In the span of a single day, the town of Silverton is ravaged by an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes. The entire town is at the mercy of the erratic and deadly cyclones, even as storm trackers predict the worst is yet to come. Most people seek shelter, while others run towards the vortex, testing how far a storm chaser will go for that once-in-a-lifetime shot. Told through the eyes and lenses of professional storm chasers, thrill-seeking amateurs, and courageous townspeople, Into the Storm throws you directly into the eye of the storm to experience Mother Nature at her most extreme.

My Opinion: I’ve posted the initial teaser trailer for Into the Storm above because it’s the most representative of what I expected, and even wanted – disaster porn. It’s part of why people watch films like Sharknado. Ridiculous circumstances that can be wrapped up in 90 minutes – it’s better than living through an actual storm, obviously.

The final product, though, is more lacking. That’s because the film uses a solid chunk of its short screen time to not only introduce the roughly dozen characters, but try to give them all enough of a backstory for audiences to hopefully make some sort of connection. It’s not only unnecessary, but it diminishes whatever potential the film has. If the film had chosen to focus solely on the professional stormchasers, that would have been enough. But the film adds in a family and a pair of wannabe YouTube stars. Their inclusion comes across as nothing more than an attempt to help form a loose storyline that will connect various parts of the storm once the storm actually kicks in.

As for the storm itself? It’s massive, and particularly when viewed on large-format screens, it’s visually impressive enough. But there’s still something lacking in the storm’s portrayal.

Finally, one complaint: the film uses the found-footage technique – mostly. There are multiple scenes, though, where the filmmakers seem to have forgotten this and cameras appear out of nowhere. I don’t necessarily have a problem with found-footage, and there are some films that use it rather well (see: Chronicle). But if it’s going to be used, it has to be done consistently.