‘Supercell’ VOD Review
Stars: Daniel Diemer, Skeet Ulrich, Alec Baldwin, Anne Heche, Richard Gunn, Jordan Kristine Seamon | Written by Herbert James Winterstern, Anna Elizabeth James | Directed by Herbert James Winterstern
At the back end of 2022 it was announced that the 1996 hit Twister would be getting a sequel in 2024. So it should perhaps come as no surprise that similar movies are starting to release in 2023. Supercell would be one of those movies.
The start of the movie shows a young couple storm chasing, while it is made clear that they are doing this for scientific reasons, and not just as thrill-seekers. Unfortunately, the male of the couple ends up dying when he gets too close to a tornado and we shoot forward a number of years to his now grown-up (well, about 18 years old), son and his mother. After discovering his fathers, notebook, he wants to lead the way in the scientific field and runs off to find his uncle and storm chase like his dad.
For his first feature film, director Herbert James Winterstern has managed to assemble a largely recognisable and talented cast. Three of his main cast are better known for being stars of the nineties but they nonetheless give the movie some pretty good name value. Skeet Ulrich (Scream, The Craft), Alec Baldwin (The Hunt For Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross) and the late Anne Heche (Volcano, Donnie Brasco), in one of her very last movies. All star and all put in decent performances. They bring a certain charisma that generally, experienced actors bring to film and I enjoyed each of their performances. Alongside them, in the main other lead is Daniel Diemer, the kid trying to follow in his father’s footsteps. Although inexperienced, he recently appeared in Netflix hit The Midnight Club, and he does more than hold his own against much more experienced actors. It’ll be no surprise if his career continues with bigger opportunities.
Supercell clearly wants to be a big epic summer blockbuster but unfortunately has nothing like the budget to reach that goal. The movie doesn’t look bad at all but when your film is about storms and tornadoes, viewers are going to want to see those things and Supercell doesn’t really deliver on that. Some of the characters get caught up in a dangerous hail storm but we get to ‘see it’ from the inside of a car. And, right from the opening credits we get to see lots of shots of clouds. Just clouds. Clouds that look about as menacing as clouds can but they rock up again several times throughout the movie. The film doesn’t really have enough action, and that’s its biggest downfall.
Supercell can never really decide what it wants to be. It seems to want to go down the kind of serious side of a summer blockbuster. But every now and then it will crack a joke or attempt a scene that wouldn’t be out of place in something like Sharknado. I think eventually, it opts for that more serious route, and it’s the right choice. I never really felt that the characters were in proper danger but, that said, I enjoyed going on the ride with them. The main story is a little clichéd but the performances are good enough and it’s shot well enough that I think many people will enjoy this. So, until the Twister sequel is released, Supercell is worth checking out. And I’m sure when the director gets a bigger budget, he’ll be able to make something even better.
Supercell is out now on digital download from Vertigo Releasing
