I always love it when I go into a movie with no expectations and have no real idea of what I am getting myself into. It really allows you to take the movie at face value and you have no previous feelings about the film. That is the case with Storm. I had never heard of the film and I only knew that it was being handled by the folks over at the Danger After Dark label. Usually when we are talking about them you can expect a lot of madness and chaos. So I was pleased to get my hands on a copy to see what they will be unleashing next upon the masses on DVD. Now Storm is exactly the kind of movie that we wish Hollywood would make. But apparently whenever someone from Hollywood watches these types of films they think Americans won't get it. While the story is broken up into three different acts it is definitely not something that is too hard for the average person to grasp.

The first act plays out like an action sci-fi flick. We are introduced to DD, our main character who is also narrating most of the film. The narration adds a great bit of humor to the movie which is done in a fantastic way that I have not seen in any films recently. His narration takes you directly into what he is thinking about friends and just random people he runs into. This brings us to Lova who busts into his life out of nowhere and turns his existence upside down. Everything he became comfortable with is now compromised as some evil gang of suits is trying to kill her. She hands off a metal box to him and tells him he must go back to where it began.

Act two is really when the movie does a one eighty and we are brought into the more horror/thriller aspects of the story. He is somehow transported back to his gloomy hometown that is seemingly abandoned. As he is wandering around trying to find someone he begins to remember what happened in his deep dark past that may be the key to opening the box. In act three both of the worlds are brought together and Lova and the evil forces are both tugging at him to try and make him either open the box or just continue to live the way he did in the dark.

Its really an obvious good vs evil story here but it holds much more than that. The scenes in which he discovers some of his deep dark secrets are truly intense. They create an eerie atmosphere that just adds to the edge of your seat mystery surrounding the metal box and the secret that it holds. DD is a character that you really can begin to like in the first act because he is so laid back and care free about his life. He seems like a genuinely nice guy. Which is something else that this film comments on. No matter how someone appears when you meet them, you really have no idea what kind of past this person may have.

The first act of the film didn't really have me sold on the film actually. At that point I thought it was a good flick but by the time you get into the second part of the film you really are drawn into the story and all of the odd goings on in the beginning just disappear because you realize what the box really is. But what helps get you through all of that is actually the sense of humor that DD has about the whole encounter with Lova and her "assistant". Even in the face of death he seems to have some kind of comment he can make to lighten the situation.

Act two however is a completely different story which is a stark contrast from the beginning. It's when all of the light and action from the first act is gone. This is when most of you will perk up and begin to pay attention. His entire home town is completely empty and it reminded me of those shots in 28 Days Later or Silent Hill only in a much smaller town. Every place has it's secrets and this town is definitely no exception. So how does act three play out in terms of tone? Basically combining all the elements of the first two parts of the fllm and throwing in a nice bit of inner turmoil from DD.

Storm is a well crafted tale of one mans twisted trip through his deep dark past sprinkled with a bit of mystery. I was completely wrapped up in the story from beginning to end. It combines humor, horror and action all in such a brilliant way. This film deserved a much wider release than it received. My guess is that because the film is in Swedish they didn't think we could read. Nonetheless my hope is that TLA is putting together a Special Edition DVD with a nice batch of goodies for the eventual release. Keep your eyes out for this one because this is a film you do not want to miss out on. 

- Luke Franklin