Storm Warning – Unrated (Dimension Extreme DVD)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: C     Film: C

 

 

I was not a big fan of Urban Legend and would add that it helped ruin Horror films and usher in Torture Porn, but director Jamie Blanks tries to revisit several controversial films (some of which are classics) with Storm Warning, which starts as a “couple lost in a boat at sea” film and quickly turns into Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs and its many imitators, especially The House By The Lake.  In both films, a couple is assaulted by a group of “hick” predators including threats of rape and murder, either of which could and/or do happen during the film.

 

He and his cast even give it a serious go to make this film work and it is ambitious, but despite this being Unrated and therefore uncut, it gets too caught up in revisiting the shock moments of those better films and the lack of script or any points to be made are glaringly obvious even before the film wraps up.  Too bad because this has some energy going for it and a potentially interesting situation, or good twists on an old one, but it implodes in the end and does not add up.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 does look very good throughout, which is atypical of the Horror genre today, while the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is lively and has a good soundfield (for a change) with some character and interesting detail.  The combination is very watchable, making it sadder that this ultimately does not deliver.  Extras include teaser, trailer and filmmaker commentary that is fairly good.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo