Disaster films. I love them. Maybe it’s because I’m a journalist who has covered many disasters – or maybe I just like to have the bejesus scared out of me.
I’ve experienced a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Seattle, listened to the tornado warning sirens wail when I lived outside Atlanta, and watched Mount St. Helens erupt in 2004. I know disasters.
So, if a disaster film has a "natural disaster" in the leading role – I’m onboard. No matter how good, bad or campy the film is – if it’s based in some shred of reality or perceived reality – bring it - I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.
I’ll never forget the terror I felt as a young teen watching the 1974 film “Earthquake” at the Avo Theater in Vista. It was particularly scary since I was a kid who just moved here from New Jersey and only recently learned about earthquakes in school. I watched on the big screen as people panicked in the streets, and wondered: would that mother find her son? Bridges collapsed, landslides took out homes, powerlines fell to the ground, and if that wasn’t enough – cue the Sensurround. This technique allowed you to experience the earthquake on the big screen by screwing with your seat and making it vibrate. Oh and there was some sort of reverb in the room that made a loud rumble. I was hooked.
For me, disaster films tell a story of survival - against all odds - a glimpse of who we really are when the going gets tough and that’s not always a pretty picture. My favorites include disaster film standards like "Dante's Peak," "2012", "Twister," "Poseidon Adventure," "Towering Inferno," "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Volcano."
(I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the first film I worked on as a production assistant in New York was the end-of-the-world film "Deep Impact.")
A disaster film also needs to be quirky for me to be interested.
You know there will always be death, destruction, and panic but in the end the lead actor turned hero always saves the day and sometimes the world. The best disaster films also leave us with memorable quotes like “the earth will literally crack open” from a geologist in the newest disaster film "San Andreas."
But if you watch enough of these films you begin to wonder – do they need a plot? It helps, but sometimes special effects can be all the drama and hero you need. That’s also the case in "San Andreas."
While it may be just another disaster film based on California getting hit by the "big one" (not a complaint) it has special effects that rival films like “2012” when there’s a volcanic eruption and California slips into the Pacific Ocean.
In "San Andreas" an off-the-chart quake destroys Los Angeles, San Francisco, and yes, even Bakersfield. Who you gonna call? How about Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? If anyone is going to save California – I’m betting on The Rock.
The film reminded me of some of my favorite disaster films.
It has a high-rise building on fire with flames trapping people inside like in "The Towering Inferno," and airplane and helicopter maneuvers like in "2012." And just when you thought there wasn’t another disaster to throw in – the quake triggers a tsunami coming toward San Francisco. At the end of the day when destruction lies before him The Rock utters the “We will rebuild." Hmmm? Remember Hurricane Katrina?
Back to the plot. Oh plot? Aside from the geologists trying to figure out where the quake would hit next, the only other storyline involved The Rock’s family struggles and loss. That was it.
If there’s this much going on in a disaster film I should be able to follow numerous plots. And where were all the people? In many scenes cities looked abandoned and I know not everyone was dead.
The graphics and special effects kept "San Andreas" moving and made me realize one thing: I need to get a pilot’s license. It’s my only hope of surviving an actual off-the-chart earthquake.
--Patty Lane is a producer for KPBS Midday Edition.
