Synopsis
Four families in a Heartland town are tested in a single day when a tornado hits, forcing paths to cross and redefining the meaning of survival.
Directed by Lindsay Gossling.
Written by Travis Farncombe and Lindsay Gossling.
Starring Amy Smart, Thora Birch, Anne Heche and Peter Facinelli.
Released currently on Netflix to stream.
Review
A new disaster film, cue excitement. Even a low budget disaster film can be good…
Life is disrupted when a storm turns its eye on a small town. Residents are tested, and they must put their differences aside to help each other make it through safely.
... that thing I said above about even low budget disaster films being good? Yeah, I don’t know how much this cost (I’m assuming not a lot), but it was not good.
This could have been a great short that ran 13 minutes, instead, it’s 1 hour and 48 minutes long. Those extra 95 minutes are made of bloated storylines, and while they overlap, none of them really have any weight. Removing a couple could easily have allowed the others more time to develop and actually let the viewer become more invested.
Out of the cast I can’t really call out anyone. There are faces you’ll recognise from other things, and they’re generally solid actors, but in this... there wasn't really a lot for them to work with.
There are many moments that defy sensible behaviour, as you'd expect from a disaster film. Only one amused me, while the others were mainly annoying.
You either need to take yourself seriously, or embrace the inevitable ridiculousness behind the idea. If this had leaned hard into the ridiculousness it could have been great. 13 Minutes disappointed on so many levels that adding truly terrible effects may actually have helped! I won’t need to watch this again, a disaster film that barely has a disaster in it was not what I signed up for.
[Side note: Initially I gave this 2 out of 5 stars. I have since retracted a star for this film's sheer audacity.]
What you should do
If you're thinking about watching this... just don't. Choose another film... literally... any other film. To get both ends of the spectrum choose Twister or Sharknado, both have epically more to offer.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I watched this a week ago, thankfully I've nearly forgotten everything about the film, so I'm just going to skip this.
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