Lava Storm

I know, I know... Then why did I watch it? Well I'm a sucker for disaster movies so the name in itself drew me in, then of course I recognized the lead. Ian Ziering. Back in the day I liked Ian Ziering on 90210 so figured I had nothing else to watch so why not? All I have to say is you know a movie is bad when the director pulls out all the stops to try and improve the story by using every camera angle and trick in the book. Sadly, it just makes it look like a film student playing at being a director and does nothing to improve such a poorly written story. What you end up with is lame, predictable and something hardly watchable.

This was a total waste of my time...it's almost 2 hours of my life that God will never let me have back~! Our regular blend of horrific Canadian acting and bad FX~! But as an even worse ache in my lower intestine was the script and directing...imagine a town where absolutely nobody else comes into contact with anyone other than the main characters~! Imagine a time when a volcanic eruption doesn't attract the help and aid of emergency services across the country or even from another country~! Someone should have done something to at the very least make this script some what believable.... It's only use I can see would be a painful wipe when I run out of toilet tissue~!

Lava Storm uses the lava storm as a metaphor for a family on a brink of destruction. The insightful dialog references the underlining problem well. The disaster makes the family members regain the trust and care for each other.

Great application of HD cinematography. The accomplished depth of field, contrast and application of multiple shades of warm colors indicate mastership on the cinematographer's side.

Cute and compelling cast. Ian and Valerie make a seductive couple. The locations and visual effects work well to depict the disaster. The visuals are nothing short of ones seen in big blockbuster movies depicting similar situations. It's great to see how much can be done on a 100 times lesser budget. If you are into the genre but also appreciate good plot, I recommend this movie.

This is without doubt the worst of all the disaster/monster movies that are showing on cable at the moment. This makes Megashark v Giant Octopus look good, it even makes Komodo v King Cobra look like Oscar material. I am sure that all the actors (not that they were doing much of that) have conveniently erased this entry from their filmography. I didn't think Ian Ziering could cap his abysmally poor performance in Beverly Hills 90210 but he managed it. I gave it 1 out of 10 only because there is no option for a zero. Oh, and whoever ognena is, who gave the 2008 review for the film, he/she must be involved in it somewhere because he/she cannot possibly believe what he/she is writing.

This is poor, even by the standards of a typical Asylum or SyFy Channel disaster flick. The problem with LAVA STORM isn't with the nonsensical storyline or the bad acting - hell, we expect both of those, some of us EMBRACE them - but it's with the almost entire lack of incident. A lava storm threatens to engulf a US city, and it's up to a dedicated team of scientists and researchers to stop it. Aside from a ridiculous climactic 'blow up the dam' set-piece, nothing happens here.

A bunch of characters end up getting trapped underground so have to navigate subterranean passages for what seems like hours on end. The po-faced protagonist must race to stop things above ground, but his journey is so dull that the film-makers are forced to insert lots of stock footage of lava into their movie to try to make it interesting. There are the requisite CGI shots as well and yes, they're very poor.

It's hard to believe that SHARKNADO was a step up for actor Ian Ziering but after seeing his efforts in this mess that's the honest truth. There are no other familiar faces, and why an annoying teenage daughter was added to the character list I don't know; it just makes LAVA STORM all the worse. Dull, dull, dull, and one to avoid even for FANS of this genre.