“FIRENADO” (2023) LIGHTS A FLAME UNDER NATURAL DISASTER MOVIE FANS

Natural disasters have been a huge part of cinema for a number of decades. Whether they are current natural disasters we currently face (volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes and etc) or the futuristic/fantasy type (such as world-ending events…. we have all seen “Armageddon” and if you haven’t clearly you need to watch it now!).

Having these fearsome forces of nature destroy everything in its path without us being able to control anything except getting out of its way is scary as shit, in my opinion. Sure, we have the somewhat comedic side of natural disaster movies (like “Sharknado” for example…I mean it’s not quite my cup of tea, but it has a fan base so something about it must be good right?) that gives us a lighter side of this. In all honesty, I would prefer a movie that might terrify me enough to be a doomsday prepper (no movie could ever make me do that, but it's nice to wonder), but that’s just me.

If you have read some of my movie reviews before, you know that I am quite a fan of horror due to a good scary story making me terrified well after the credits roll. This is also true with natural disaster movies (hell there are times these scare me more than a slasher movie).

I recently got to check out a new take on a natural disaster movie with the movie “Firenado”. This movie stars Sian Altman, Charlie Boyce, Stuart Falconer, Daniel Godfrey, Leah McCinnes, Gordan Joseph Miller, Stephen Staley, Nicola Wright, and Toby Wynn-Davies. It is directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey but is also written by Tom Jolliffe. This is also another gem from the fine folks at Uncork’d Entertainment (which we can all agree put out some very enjoyable movies, especially horror ones). The synopsis for this movie is as follows:

“This movie tells the story of four scientists that uncover a ground-breaking technology capable of controlling the weather. On the device's first use, it malfunctions and creates a fire tornado. As the Firenado leaves a wake of destruction, the group assists in evacuating nearby residents but stumble upon an organized crime home invasion. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the group struggle to survive the two threats.”

I got to say overall I was pretty surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. Granted, it seemed a bit silly upon the first look at the trailer, but the action, adventure, as well as the intensity of the movie truly grabbed my attention throughout the entire runtime. Not to mention, the effects that were used were pretty damn good (this ain't no “Birdemic 2: The Resurrection” my friends. I mean that is an enjoyable movie but if you’ve seen it, you know what I’m talking about CGI/Effects wise).

I will say I very much enjoyed the plot of this movie as well (even the heist subplot that our main characters stumble upon) was pretty cool. I never felt as if there was any type of lull or dull moment that I wanted to grab my phone for a distraction and that says a lot about how addicted I am to my phone (I blame Pokémon Go and Instagram for digging its hooks into me so long ago). The entire cast brings their own unique approach to their characters. One that really caught my attention the most was the character Dr. Devlin (portrayed by Toby Wynn-Davies). He gave a very good presence to the character and had a very “Doc Brown meets mad scientist Lex Luthor” vibe that totally made my nerdy side smile.

Not only that but the performances by Sian Altman, Nicola Wright, and Daniel Godfrey really made the plot, as well as the cinematic experience this movie gave so enjoyable. A good movie tends to make you think about how you would react in the scenario the movie puts you in (personally I would run and hide after I made a few jokes and wouldn’t be seen until the last 3 minutes of the movie) but also makes you realize through the performance of the previously mentioned actors, they would kick the ass out of 3 Firenados if they popped up on the screen.

As a fan of natural disaster movies, this is one I feel my fellow fans of the genre would not only appreciate this movie but really would enjoy the hell out of it too. Clearly, there is a lot of work that went into making this movie (not only with the performances and the effects but also with the incredible shots you see throughout the entire movie) and it shows.

“Firenado” from Uncork’d Entertainment is now available on DVD, so get your copy today and enjoy your own disaster-fueled experience on screen.

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