Storm Warning

"From the director of Valentine and Urban Legend …" the rental DVD cover exclaims loud and proud, but I'm not entirely sure if this is the best way to promote your film to true horror fans. Even more so, if I were in directors Jamie Blanks' shoes, I would insist to have those two titles removed as it might even cause people to relinquish from seeing "Storm Warning" altogether. Both "Valentine" and "Urban Legend" are mundane, unmemorable and politically correct American teen slashers, whereas "Storm Warning" is a provocatively raw and unhinged piece of Aussie survival horror. Albeit a fairly prototypic product of nowadays hypes and trends (like torture porn flicks and the revival of Grindhouse-type movie), "Storm Warning" plays in an entirely different – and superior – league than those infantile teen slashers. It almost feels as if Jamie Blanks returned to his home country Australia and finally got offered the chance to make a legit horror movie after all that confined and disappointing Hollywood crap. But, as indicated already, originality isn't exactly this film's biggest trump. We're overflowed with this sort of horror films nowadays (just think of "Hostel", "Scar", "Wolf Creek", "Blood Trails"…) and, since they pretty much all feature the same plot outline, the final judgement of whether it's "good" or "bad" almost fully relies on how gory, shocking and sadistic the film is. Fans of rough and nasty can be reassured; "Storm Warning" reaches an extremely high score on the repulsiveness-scale! The film takes off slow and moodily unsettling, but in the last twenty or so minutes all hell breaks loose and we're treated to a handful outrageously engrossing and surprisingly ingenious torture sequences. A young couple making a sailboat day trip lose their sense of direction and can't return to the harbor because of a suddenly uprising storm. They strand on a remote island and seek shelter in a seemingly abandoned farmhouse. Then, of course, the farmers return and turn out to be two menacing, perverted and psychopathic brothers …. And then the couple hasn't even met their "poppy" yet. The first hour of this short but effective little Aussie shocker is slow but nevertheless suspenseful. Director Blanks clearly adores long pan shots of the ocean and the darkening clouds, but somehow these images set the exact right tone for the events to come. Later on, "Storm Warning" is truly hardcore-to-the-bone, with the French girl suddenly transforming into a do-it-yourself avenging angel! There's also a rather uncomfortable moment involving a cute wallaby and – hands down – the most agonizing penis moment since that infamous scene in "I Spit on your Grave". Nadia Farès is a ravishing lady to look at and particularly the three native Aussie freaks (David Lyons, Mathew Wilkinson and John Brumpton as Poppy) are marvelously convincing.

This is a very effective low budget offering from the Southern hemisphere.

The plot is pretty simple, revolving around a yuppie couple who stumble upon a backwoods family who take them prisoner. What elevates this film above similar tales is the sheer sense of menace and relentless vulnerability that is created, and also the sheer energy and inventiveness with which the captors are depicted.

Personally, I felt very uncomfortable throughout and I empathised with the couple who had somehow got themselves into so much trouble. The woman, who to make matters worse is French, is under constant threat of rape. I felt particularly sorry for her lawyer boyfriend who is helplessly out of his depth and fully aware that he is unable to defend her.

However, she is made of pretty stern stuff and when her boyfriend is incapacitated by the savage yokels they have encountered she takes matters into her own hands and begins the fight back.

This protracted turning of the tables takes up the final third of the film and is handled with great energy and and enthusiasm. Some old-school booby traps are employed against one of the villains whilst she has another trick up her, ahem, sleeve which really has to be seen to be believed.

Without giving too much away, I found the eventual structure of this film quite fascinating and original, but for the casual viewer alike this film really delivers. There is plenty of atmosphere, humour, set-piece carnage and thrills for everyone and the hyped up soundtrack keeps things moving along nicely.

The lawyer Rob (Robert Taylor) and his French wife Pia (Nadia Farès) rent a small motor boat to spend the day fishing at the sea. In the end of the day, Rob decides to steer the boat through marsh islands but they become lost and stranded while a storm is coming.

Rob decides to walk with Pia to find a shelter and they reach a dilapidated house with no one home. Rob also finds a decrepit greenhouse with a plantation of marijuana. Out of the blue, three rednecks arrive in the place and the abusive and deranged brothers Jimmy (David Lyons) and Brett (Mathew Wilkinson) point shotguns to them and torture Rob and Pia while their father "Poppy" (John Brumpton) goes to his room to rest. The couple soon realizes that Pia will be raped by the sadistic and they will be killed after and they decide to fight back.

"Storm Warning" is a brutal and gore slasher with an unoriginal storyline that surprisingly works well, supported by great direction and performances and excellent cinematography, special effects and camera work. The decision of Pia, when she learns that she will be raped by the rednecks, is the best moment of this highly recommended film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Aviso de Tempestade" ("Storm Warning")

Loved this movie. Was not sure what to expect, but after reading some of the reviews decided to watch it. I love a good thriller, and this one did not disappoint, in fact it was better than I expected. The suspense was very good, and in fact stopped the movie a couple of times because I needed to take a breath. Scenery was very good, acting was good, and plot was good.

If I had to have any negative things to say it would be that I found it difficult at times to understand what they were saying. They do speak English but being an American it at times was hard and had to rewind it to figure out what was said/meant.

Carrying a tagline such as "From The Director of 'Urban Legend' and 'Valentine'" may not be the best way to sell a film, but it at least had me intrigued. While I may have initially over-looked "Storm Warning," thinking it was yet another joy-less, modern-day horror film where people get tortured in ultra-violent ways and scream until its unpleasant conclusion (think "Hostel" and the like), it was the name of Jamie Blanks who caught my attention. While "Urban Legend" and "Valentine" are about as sterilized as American horror can get, the Australian director has a strong visual sense that helped elevate both films, and thinking he could save yet another film from being "just another," I figured "Storm Warning" would be a safe bet. Thankfully, I was right.

When a well-to-do couple gets stranded during a quaint fishing trip, they seek shelter in the home of three psychopaths who quickly put The Mr. out of commission and make sexual advances towards The Mrs. every five minutes. The film unravels as a typical, nihilistic piece, until somewhere in the second act when the captors fight back. Soon, the villains find themselves at the mercy of well-placed traps ("Hellraiser," anyone?) and some make-shift birth control. While it plays itself off as yet another "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"-type film, "Storm Warning" is meaner and just plain more fun than most of what this sub-genre has to offer. Throughout the third act, I found myself jumping in excitement as I cheered along Nadia Fares' character and cringed at some of the excruciating and often over-the-top bloodshed. Blanks handles all of this with substantial atmosphere and slick style. Once you get past the cheap looking -- we're talking "Open Water" cheap -- first act, "Storm Warning" submerses you in the dark and dirty, without flinching once. It also helps with two solid leads on hand. Nadia Fares is both stunning and strong as the unlikely female lead, while Robert Taylor keeps it real as the frightened and vulnerable husband. The sickos are a bit over-the-top but suitable, and you're bound to cheer for their demise. Overall, "Storm Warning" doesn't bring much new to the genre, but it's got more than it's fair share of thrills and unique death scenes. If one thing is for certain, it will get a reaction from most anyone, and is worth at least a rental.