Night of the Twisters (1996) (TV)

Director:

Timothy Bond

Writers (WGA):

Ivy Ruckman (novel)
Sam Graham (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

14 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

They never saw it coming.

Plot:

A Nebraska farm community is plagued by a storm with a series of tornados acting against normal patterns...

Plot Keywords:

Tornado | Nebraska | Working Mom | Stepfather Stepson Relationship | Strict Father

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Devon Sawa	...	Dan Hatch
Amos Crawley	...	Arthur Jones
John Schneider	...	Jack Hatch
Lori Hallier	...	Laura Hatch
Laura Bertram	...	Stacey Jones
David Ferry	...	Bob Irisen
Helen Hughes	...	Grandma Belle Hatch
Jhene Erwin	...	Jenny
Alex Lastewka	...	Ryan
Thomas Lastewka	...	Ryan
Megan Kitchen	...	Ronnie Vae
Graham McPherson	...	Calvert
Ted Simonett	...	Stan
Dan Petronijevic	...	Tough Guy (as Daniel Petronijevic)
Don Allison	...	Phil

Runtime:

Germany:92 min | USA:92 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Sweden:15 (video rating) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Atlantis Films

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In Nebraska, there is no town named Blainsworth, though there is an Ainsworth that would be similar in size to the town portrayed in the movie. However, Ainsworth is over 130 miles NNW of Grand Island, Nebraska, where the tornado outbreak actually took place. Grand Island would've had a population of 35,000 or so in 1980, which is considerably larger than fictional Blainsworth's population.

Quotes:

Arthur Jones: [the words "TORNADO WARNING" are flashing on the TV screen] What does that thing mean?
Dan Hatch: It basically means we're in deep trouble.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

i've seen worse

as TV movies go,this one is pretty good.the special effects are,for the most part,well done.however,the film dwells not so much on the Twisters which descend on as small town,but more on the dramatic area,such as how the relationship between father(John Schneider)and son(Dewon Sawa)changes throughout the course of events.it also deals with the aftermath of the destruction.We do see some twisters,but not as many as you might hope.a lot of the movie shows destruction taking place without actually showing the tornadoes.the acting is a bit suspect,not so much with main characters,but with minor characters such as the newsman reporting on the weather.not very believable,at all.there are also some dialogue issues,such as being corny,and clichéd,or downright ridiculous.the way some of the characters(again,thankfully minor characters)behave during the crisis and what they say is not realistic for the situation.However,the film is still quite watchable and not at all boring,so i give "Night of the Twisters" a strong 6/10