Into the Storm(2014 film)

Into the Stormis a 2014 Americanfound footagedisaster filmdirected bySteven Quale,written by John Swetnam, and starringRichard Armitage,Sarah Wayne Callies,Matt Walsh,Alycia Debnam-Carey,andArlen Escarpeta.It is a meteorological disaster film about arash of tornadoesstriking the fictional town of Silverton,Oklahoma.

Into the Storm
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Steven Quale
Written by	John Swetnam
Produced by	Todd Garner
Starring	Richard Armitage Sarah Wayne Callies Matt Walsh Alycia Debnam-Carey Arlen Escarpeta
Cinematography	Brian Pearson
Edited by	Eric A. Sears
Music by	Brian Tyler
Production companies	New Line Cinema Broken Road Productions Village Roadshow Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	August 8, 2014(2014-08-08)(United States)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50 million
Box office	$161.5 million

The film was released byWarner Bros. Pictureson August 8, 2014. The film grossed $161.5 million against the $50 million budget, and received mixed reviews; while it was praised for its special effects, the film was criticized for its scriptwriting and casting.

Plot

Pete, a veteranstorm chaser,attempts to intercept and filmtornadoesusing Titus, aTornado Intercept Vehicle,but has come up short all year long. Upon learning of a major line of developing storms, his team of chasers decide to head for the town of Silverton,Oklahoma,in hopes of filming tornadoes. After arriving there, the team discovers that the cell they had been chasing has dissipated. It then abruptly strengthens, resulting in ahailstormandtornado.As the team films, the funnel shifts course and heads for a high school.

There, the weather sours. The students are marshaled into the school building. In the aftermath of the tornado, shaken students emerge from the damaged building to view the destruction, while vice-principal Gary Fuller sets out to rescue his eldest son Donnie, who went to an abandonedpaper millto help his friend Kaitlyn with a project; both were subsequently trapped when the tornado brought the building down on them.

As Pete's storm chase team stops in a small part of town, a tornado takes shape just as Gary and his younger son Trey arrive, destroying several buildings. Before the tornado dissipates Gary saves Pete'smeteorologist,Allison Stone. Pete's team then agree to help Gary get to the paper mill. While en route, another round of tornadoes form and encircle Pete's team, destroying a residential neighborhood and a car lot in the process. An explosion turns a tornadoes into afirenado,which cameraman Jacob tries to film, only to be caught up in the storm and killed. This causes friction in the team, as Pete's concern seems to be more on collecting data than ensuring his team's safety, until Daryl admits that he pressured Jacob into filming, causing his death. After recovering their vehicles, Allison leaves with Gary to continue their trip to the paper mill.

At the mill, a water pipe breaks and begins to flood the hole in which Donnie and Kaitlyn are trapped. Injured and at risk of drowning, the two record messages for their loved ones, then prepare for the worst. At the last minute, Gary and Allison arrive and free them.

In the skies above Silverton, aconvergenceof two tornadoes results in a colossal EF-5 tornado that threatens to level the town. Silverton's citizens have taken shelter at the school, but Pete's team determines that the school'sstorm shelterwill be inadequate. Unable to alert the school's staff with mobile devices, Pete's team rushes to the school. While citizens rush to boardschool buses,Pete and his team follow the storm, but the last school bus and some cars are cut off from the retreat due to a downedtransmission tower.

The storm chasers and school refugees take cover in astorm drainat a construction site, but atruckfrom theairportthat the tornado struck damages a storm grate, compromising the shelter. Trying to save lives, Pete hands over his researchhard drivesto Gary, then sacrifices himself by leaving the shelter to move Titus down to the storm grate, to use the vehicle to anchor the storm grate to the concrete face and has the others tie its towline to the crashed truck for support. Titus's equipment, however, cannot anchor the vehicle to the ground. From the camera turret aboard Titus, Pete observes the tornado's funnel as the vehicle is lifted above the clouds, fulfilling his dream, before crashing to the ground, killing him and wrecking Titus. The EF-5 tornado then dissipates.

In the aftermath of thetornado outbreak,the townspeople begin to clean up and rebuild. Obeying their father, Trey and Donnie record messages from the senior class for atime capsuleto be opened in 25 years. Many of those they interview express newfound appreciations for their lives. Allison praises Pete's sacrifice and dedication to science. The last footage shows that two local daredevils Donk and Reevis, who were sucked up by the tornado, have survived the storm.

Cast

Richard Armitage(left) andSarah Wayne Callies(right), who play the lead roles in the film

• Richard Armitageas Gary Fuller, the vice principal of Silverton High School
• Sarah Wayne Calliesas Allison Stone, the somewhat passionate meteorologist on Pete's team. Her desire to be with her daughter often angers Pete.
• Matt Walshas Peter "Pete" Moore, the veteran storm chaser and the leader of his team. His attitude changes slightly throughout the film.
• Max Deacon as Donnie Fuller, a junior at Silverton High School, and son of Gary Fuller
• Alycia Debnam-Careyas Kaitlyn Johnston, a junior at Silverton High School and Donnie’s love interest
• Nathan Kressas Trey Fuller, a sophomore at Silverton High School, son of Gary Fuller & brother of Donnie
• Arlen Escarpetaas Daryl Karley, a camera operator
• Jeremy Sumpteras Jacob Hodges, a camera operator
• Lee Whittaker as Lucas Guerrette
• Stephanie Koenigas Marcia
• Kyle Davisas Donk
• Jon Reepas Reevis
• Scott Lawrenceas Principal Thomas Walker
• David Drumm as Chester
• Brandon Ruiter as Todd
• Kron Mooreas Mrs. Blasky
• Patrick Sarniakas High School Teacher (uncredited)

Production

Oakland University's building, where some shots were filmed.

On October 28, 2011,Deadlinereported thatNew Line Cinemabought the "found footage" natural disasterspec scriptwritten by John Swetnam, and that Todd Garner would be producing the film through his Broken Road Productions company. Garner came up with the idea for the script.On January 5, 2012 it was announced that director Steve Quale would direct the then-untitled"Found-Footage" Tornado thriller.

On April 24, 2012,Varietyreported that New Line had given the green light for their next film project, about anEF6tornado(although the current EF5 category has no upper limit), and that the film was in development and set to begin shooting on July 9 inDetroit.On August 23, 2012, the untitled"Category Six" Tornado project filmgot the titleBlack Sky,and was filming in Detroit.On September 24, 2013, New Line retitled the film toInto the Stormand set the release date to August 8, 2014.

Casting

An open casting call was held on May 19, 2012 inPontiac,Michigan.On May 24, Alycia Debnam-Carey signed up to play a female lead.On June 1, New Line addedArlen Escarpetato the project.On June 22,Sarah Wayne Calliessigned up to play Allison Stone.On July 2, New Line castNathan Kress,who portrayed a brother finding his sibling.On July 11, 2012,Richard Armitagesigned up to portray Gary Fuller, a widowed father who tries to rescue his son from the tornadoes. Shooting was set to begin on July 23 in Detroit.On July 13, Max Deacon joined the film's cast to play Donnie, an introverted teen with a crush on his high school's prettiest girl.ComedianMatt Walshjoined the cast of the film on August 1, 2012 to play the character of Pete.

Filming

Principal photographybegan in July 2012 in Detroit.On August 13, 2012, shooting moved toRochester, Michigan,two weeks after filming wrapped in Detroit.It was also filmed inOakland Charter Township,Oakview Middle School andOakland University.

Music

The film's music was scored byBrian Tyler.The soundtrack of the film was released on August 5, 2014.

Visual effects

The visual effects are provided byDigital Domain,Moving Picture Company,Cinesite,Method Studios,Prime Focus World,Scanline VFXandThe Third Floor, Inc.and Supervised by Jay Barton,Guillaume Rocheron,Simon Stanley-Clamp, Nordin Rahhali,Bruce Woloshyn,Randy Goux, Chad Wiebe, Shawn Hull and Tracy L. Kettler with help fromHydraulxandRhythm and Hues Studios.

Release

On September 24, 2013, Warner Bros. Pictures set the film to be released on August 8, 2014.The film was released on Digital HD on October 28, 2014, and on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2014 by Warner Home Video.

Box office

Into the Stormgrossed $47.6 million in the US and $113.9 million in other territories for a total of $161.5 million, against a production budget of $50 million.

Critical response

Onreview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoesthe film has an approval rating of 21% based on 160 reviews and an average rating of 4.28/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Clumsily scripted and populated with forgettable characters,Into the Stormhas little to offer beyond its admittedly thrilling special effects. "OnMetacritic,the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Variety's Scott Foundas called the film "(a) feature-length VFX demo reel that makes one pine forthe glory daysofJan de Bont". Scott Mendelson ofForbesreviewed the film and commented that the film is visually dazzling and mostly successful in updating the disaster film for the YouTube age. He said, "The special effects work is basically flawless, and you absolutely get what you arguably came to see. You want big-screen images of insanely large-scale tornadoes and big-scale devastation and disaster carnage?Into the Stormgives you plenty of rock-solid disaster porn. "

External links

• Official Website
• Into the StormatIMDb
• Into the StormatBox Office Mojo
• Into the StormatRotten Tomatoes
• Into the StormatMetacritic