‘The Twisters’ VOD Review
Stars: Mark Justice, Tiffany, Kayla Fields, Sofia Riba, Paul Logan, Curtis Strong | Written by Jeffery Anderson | Directed by Michael Su
No, that’s not a typo, for their latest mockbuster, The Twisters the folks at The Asylum simply added “The” to the title of the film they’re cashing in on. That’s a pretty ballsy move even for them, and since I haven’t heard of any lawsuits being filed, they seem to have gotten away with it, much like they did simply tacking an “s” onto the end of The Exorcist and releasing The Exorcists a few months ago.
This time out, the film begins as a tornado is about to take out Topeka, Kansas. Nobody but Dr. James Garland (Mark Justice; The Weapon, The Immortal Wars: Rebirth) knows. He knows because his new predictive algorithm, code-named TINA, told him so. But, the weather is clear and sunny so nobody, least of all his boss Dr. Janet Evans (Tiffany; Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, Necrosis). That is, until the twister materializes and flattens the city.
Suddenly the priority becomes Dr. Garland reconciling with his sister Dr. Erica Garland (Kayla Fields; Who Is Killing the Cheerleaders?, DC Down) before she realizes his software is using her sensors, and she locks him out. And they’re going to have to bury the hatchet and get along, because Mother Nature is about to unleash a wave of fast-forming F5-level tornados on the Midwest. Of course, she has her doubts, until it conveniently, and correctly, predicts one forming in their location.
Director/cinematographer Michael Su (Snow White and the Seven Samurai, 12 to Midnight) and writer Jeffery Anderson (Alien Apocalypse) give us the usual Asylum disaster film formula with very few changes. Most notably, the estranged protagonists are brother and sister rather than husband and wife.
Most of the film follows them, news reporter Claudia (Sofia Riba) and cameraman Penn (Paul Logan; The Horde, 2025 Armageddon) as they run around keeping the system operating in the face of bigger and bigger storms. As if that wasn’t bad enough, once they reach F5 size, they combine to form a massive super tornado. Back at headquarters, Dr. Evans gets to deal with General Murphy (Curtis Strong; Vampire Survivor, Smelly Consequences) who is trying to coordinate seeding the tornados to control them. Ultimately the solution involves a giant Tesla Coil, space lasers and a tanker truck. Exactly how it works I’m not sure because The Twisters features some of the most nonsensical technobabble I’ve heard in a long time.
The Twisters does however have a few things going for it. The script does manage to space the various scenes of destruction throughout the movie to avoid the kinds of long dull stretches so many of these films have. And with the characters being siblings rather than a couple, there isn’t the usual romantic subplot or predictable subplots involving their kids acting up due to their separation.
The effects, while still of very variable quality, are mostly on the positive side of acceptable this time around. The various scenes of the tornados destroying buildings mostly work, but while scenes involving fire still need work. There’s still the matter of real disaster footage that doesn’t match the effects scenes being spliced in, but at least some of the CGI is slowly improving. Beyond that, though, The Twisters is slightly better than the usual film from The Asylum. While it’s as brain-dead as most of their films, it never bogs down in dialogue to the point where it gets boring. So while it may be dumb, it frequently manages to be dumb fun.
If you’re looking for filmic junk food to zone out to, The Twisters should satisfy your craving. It’s reasonably fast-paced, easy to follow as long as you don’t try to make sense of it, and is over in just under an hour and a half. Just don’t expect any of it to be anything more than a snack.
*** 3/5
The Twisters is available on Digital Platforms via The Asylum.
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