Lava Storm

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.

Its like a car crash, it is so terrible that you just can't look away. It was nearly 2 hours that i will never get back. The constant negative attitude of the daughter just made me want to slap her. There is no way they should even be alive with all the waiting around and slow moving that they all do. I just don't see how the actors could have looked at the script and agreed to do this movie. It is like an even more terrible version of Dante's Peak, and that was a bad movie, and the little blurb at the the end of the movie saying its based on what could really happen just makes it all that much better. If that boy put his hat on and off one more time I would have jumped off the nearest cliff. I'd love to know how the avalanche blaster survived in that building when the rest of it was totally destroyed by fire. All of the photo flashbacks were a pointless waste of time. The fact that these people never once hurried to do anything, even though lava was rushing at them at unrealistic speeds, just about made me lose my mind. It's also amazing that all those lava meteors that were crashing around them never managed to blow up their truck. It was all TERRIBLE.

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.

Every now and then i see it on TV..I actually worked in transport dept of that move and i must say i met some good folk..A friend of mine who worked on it as well called me as a last min replacement,god luv here to..I had fun doin it.. Only got near ian zearing and he was a pompus ass just like he is on every other TV show and d rated movie..I said hello to him face to face and he just shrugged up his nose and brushed past me.. Oh yeah,the movie pppfffttt i just watched it to see the credits at the end and if anyone from the business/finance dept of this movie ever sees this "I STILL NEVER GOT PAID FOR MY TIME" Funny how they had my ph# twice to call me plus my info on paper work i filled out for them PLUS they knew who contacted me to work the movie but still forgot to pay me... Guess some of the upper management had to have their cozy cabins with assorted non legal adult enjoyment rather than pay at least this worker... Justto add salt(no pun) to ians work,that sharknado sucked to..