Night of the Twisters

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Night of the Twisters
Directed by	Timothy Bond
Produced by	Michael Lambermont Stephen Roloff Sean Ryerson
Written by	Ivy Ruckman (novel) Sam Graham (teleplay) Chris Hubbell (teleplay)
Starring	Devon Sawa Amos Crawley John Schneider
Music by	Lawrence Shragge
Cinematography	Peter Benison
Editing by	Gary L. Smith
Release date(s)	February 14, 1996
Running time	92 min.
Country	Canada USA

Night of the Twisters is a film directed by Timothy Bond about a family's struggle to survive a night with a bizarre and terrible storm passing over their town. The TV movie is based on the novel by Ivy Ruckman.

Plot

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The prologue of the movie is set in a rural area in Dannebrog, Nebraska. Bob Iverson, a storm chaser, is driving down the road and saves a family from a Tornado.

Meanwhile, Dan Hatch lives in fictional Blainsworth, Nebraska, along with his stepfather Jack, mother Laura, and baby half-brother, Ryan. Dan is an artist, but is constantly pushed by Jack to be an athlete and Jack orders Dan to be at his grandma's house to help her walk her dog. Dan and his friend Arthur end up meeting at a park talking about the weather. Arthur's sisters, Eustacia Marie "Stacey" and Veronica Vae "Ronnie" come to tell Arthur that their parents have left town for a vacation. They leave the park and shortly after, while at Arthur's house, Dan remembers that he forgot to walk the dog. Dan arrives at his grandmother's just as Jack is helping Grandma Belle and her dog into his truck to take the dog to the vet as she has a hurt foot. Jack scolds Dan and sends him home. Belle then moans about an ache in her bones, claiming that she hadn't felt that way in a long time.

Dan and Arthur are back at his house just before Laura leaves for work (as a waitress in a diner) with her younger sister Jenny. Soon after she leaves, Jack comes home in the middle of a downpour. As he sits watching TV, his show is interrupted by a severe weather announcement about a tornado sighting 14 miles northwest of Blainsworth, near the town of Dannebrog. Although Dannebrog is well to the north of Blainsworth, it concerns Jack.

At Laura's diner, the "Salty Dawg", Bob comes in for a cup of coffee. Bob tells Laura he has a feeling that Blainsworth might be hit harder than Dannebrog. Laura calls Jack to make sure he is okay and Jack calls Belle, who has fallen asleep by the phone. Jack decides to go make sure she is okay, telling Dan not to babysit Ryan. After a few minutes, Laura calls again, saying she couldn't contact Jenny to get a ride home and the phone line goes dead. At the diner, Jenny comes to pick up Laura, but because her car stalls in bad weather, both women take shelter in the diner.

Back home, when the sirens go off again and an odd whirling sound begins, the house begins shaking. The power goes out and Dan and Arthur realize that there is indeed a tornado coming. Dan goes to get Ryan, sees a huge tornado outside of the window, and goes to the basement. The tornado hits the house and leaves it in shambles.

Dan, Arthur, and Ryan climb out of the basement unharmed. They decide to walk downtown to see if there's a community shelter and communication system up. On the road, they meet Stacey and Ronnie. The kids take a car with Dan at the wheel and drive down the road. They hit a roadblock on the way to Belle's house to see if Jack made it alright. When ordered out of the car, Arthur, Ronnie, and Ryan comply, but Stacey and Dan stay in the car and drive through the barricade.

He finds Belle and Stacey helps Dan get her into the car. While driving, Dan sees Jack and sends Stacey off with Belle as he and some firemen get Jack free. Jack asks a policeman to drive them to Laura's diner to see if she is alive. The wrecked building is marked with an X, meaning the survivors were already picked up. Laura and Jenny are still alive and are dropped off at a shelter. Bob offers to drive Laura to her house to check for Dan, Jack, and Ryan. Then, two more tornadoes hit town. Meanwhile, Jack and Dan separate with Arthur, Stacey, Ronnie, and Ryan at a fire station set up as a shelter. Jack begins asking around about Laura. No one knows anything.

Dan overhears Jack getting a car to find Laura and Jenny and Dan picks up Ryan and sneaks into the car. Jack realizes too late that his sons are in the car with him. He gives in and lets them come along as he drives back up to the house. Jenny, Bob, and Laura also drove up, and the family is reunited. Just as soon as everyone reunites, three tornadoes touch down near them. Bob, realizing no adequate shelter is available, advises everyone to make a run for it. They, along with Bob and Jenny, make it to an overpass and the tornado dissipates. They walk out from under the overpass just as the sun rises on a clear day and the storm has passed.

Reaction

This small-time TV movie was generally panned by critics, mainly for its poor special effects and unrealistic events surrounding the tornadoes.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Night of the Twisters at the Internet Movie Database