Night of the Twisters

I've had a morbid fascination with tornadoes for more than 40 years, since my 5th grade teacher, a native Texan, told stories of ones he saw in his youth. Fortunately, I've lived my whole life in the middle Atlantic states, where tornadoes are rare and usually not as violent as the ones in the Midwest, but I have had two close encounters, one in PA and the other in NJ, in the past decade.

I enjoyed the family scenes, particularly the conflicts between Jack and Dan Hatch. When the tornado was close, Dan knew most of what he had to do, and he probably learned this in school, since I know that tornado safety is an important subject in parts of the U.S. where these storms are more frequent. However, characters in the movie did two things that some people think are supposed to be done or are safe to do in tornadoes but are actually not supposed to be done or are unsafe.

When the siren first sounded, Dan and Arthur went through the house and opened the windows. For years, this is what people were told to do, but tornado safety web sites now advise against doing this. Also, people were shown hiding in a highway underpass. This method was made popular by an early 1990s video made by a T.V. crew during a relatively weak twister in Kansas. However, in the most serious tornadoes, people can be sucked out from these underpasses. This happened during a May 1999 outbreak in Oklahoma.

The tornadoes in this movie hit in the fall, which is not a common time for them to happen. (Then again, one of my close encounters took place in late September.) Also, they traveled from northwest to southeast, while most such storms in the northern hemisphere go from southwest to northeast. However, this is not all that unusual. A famous tornado that struck Joliet, IL, in the early 1990s traveled in that direction (as did the one involved in my other close encounter).

I think that the movie should have been set in the spring. This movie was based on a book that in turn was based on an actual event that happened on June 3, 1980. But it was still a compelling story.

My kids and I have almost memorized the lines to "Night of the Twisters", we've seen it so many times! We have so many favorite scenes and lines that it's difficult to compile them all here! One thing for sure: You can watch this with your mother and not be embarrassed. It's about a family facing a natural disaster and its aftermath with courage and compassion. The filmmakers didn't succumb to any sexual innuendoes or "bad attitude" dialogue either. Some parts are kinda corny, but all in all, it's a refreshing change from the usual TV movie fare. I really enjoy watching Dan and Arthur "jamming" up in Dan's room before the storm hits; plus, how Dan so nonchalantly checks on his baby brother in the storm's beginning stages. Watch it when you can.

I remember watching this movie as a kid and loving it. I was obsessed with it at the times and me and my friend even got a thermos and put coffee in it and acted to make sure there were no cyclones on the way (I live in Australia).

With that being said though, it's not the greatest movie. A typical TV Movie attempting to do something that usually on a big budget can do well (disaster movies)- it has been done much better in Twister and even that crappy movie with Eric Roberts.

If you are bored and need something to waste your time and this is on, then by all means check it out. But don't go out of your way to.

... And in my humble opinion does a better job of it! Okay, so NIGHT OF THE TWISTERS is a family movie, and it does gloss over the realities a bit. Also, because it's set at night, you don't get to see that much of the tornadoes.

But, for all this, I still like it better than TWISTER. At least the tornadoes in this film are comprised of real footage!

Ok. Sorry, but those people who praised this movie with their comments must have seen a different movie, because this movie was sad. The acting was horrible, the actions the characters took were ludicrous, the special effects were the worst I have ever seen, and I mean EVER. It looks as tho all of the tornado scenes were filmed with the actors in one place, while the horrible SFX moved around them. They were just so horrible. It is a cheap rip off of bigger movies like Twister....and I keep asking myself...why do they even make movies like this? It's like going out with a camcorder and making a ten minute movie...it serves just as much purpose as this load of crap. By the way...when the dad is driving the truck...how on earth did his foot get "stuck" on the gas when he got knocked out? Impossible. That scene had to be the worst....fake. .05/10