Seven years since his last film was released, Jamie Blanks (director of Urban Legend and Valentine) is back with a vengeance and I for one am very happy.
Storm Warning (which was written by Australia’s premiere fear monger Everett De Roche) follows married couple Pia (Nadia Fares) and Rob (Robert Taylor) who get stranded in the Australian outback during a storm. They find shelter in an old house, but when the occupants return, they don’t take kindly to having uninvited houseguests and the sick pervs soon set about terrorising the duo. Locked in a barn whilst the antagonists decide the couple’s fate, Pia uses her skills as an artist to concoct a number of booby traps in an attempt to escape. What follows will satisfy the bloodlust of many hardened gore hounds.
Considering that this is an indie film, it looks remarkable, with beautiful locations (showcased via gorgeous aerial work), nasty looking sets, and first-rate special effects work. The film also showcases brilliant performances from the main cast (Nadia Fares in particular is excellent here).
Thanks to solid screenwriting, the threat of what might happen to Pia and Rob is inevitably scarier than what actually does happen. The film takes a long time building up to the main event but is expertly paced and is never slow and boring. Nothing really horrific happens until an hour in (the bad guys mainly toy with Pia and Rob) but boy are those first sixty minutes tense. This thankfully delivers on every level in its final thirty minutes of mayhem.
If you are a fan of De Roche’s previous genre efforts such as Razorback, Long Weekend (which Blanks and he are currently re-making) and Road Games then you will be sure to love this.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Catering for fans of classic suspense and torture porn, Storm Warning is a remarkable effort and a worthy addition to the horror genre.
