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I thought I'd kick the new year off with another movie marathon. I thought it was time to check out a few old school mystery flicks. Som...

Monday, April 15, 2019

Storage 24 (2012)


A couple of guys are headed to a storage facility in London to pick up some items after one of them has had a messy breakup with his ex. Along the way there is a plane crash nearby which causes traffic issues as well as all sorts of electrical problems. When they arrive at the facility the security gates are mistakenly down, trapping people inside. The repairman thinks he has them fixed but doesn’t as they slam down after everyone strolls inside. Trapped in a creepy storage facility… that isn’t going to end well.

The plane crash was either caused by or accidentally let out some sort of monster that was onboard. That same monster is in the storage facility that the characters are now trapped in. There are some creepy bits before they realize there is danger with the lights flicking on and off, power issues from the crash, as well as strange sounds echoing in the large building. When the monster does make its presence known the action ramps up and we get even more scares as well as some good old fashion kills and violence. Who lives and who dies? Not going to ruin that for you.

This movie is a prime example of how a filmmaker can set themselves up for success. One is to have a solid cast filling well defined roles. That is what we get here with a simple plot that establishes the characters and then lets the monster at them. It’s that simple, though there is a nice twist at the end which I’ll mention later. The actors are good and do a fantastic job of playing terrified and angry as they spend most of the time either running away or yelling at each other. The ending is great but be warned there is a spoiler coming.

The survivors get out of the facility only to realize London is being attacked by space ships. Seems like the fella inside had friends and was definitely not a local. But that isn’t the twist I wanted to mention. Most of the movie the characters fall into predictable archetypes and I totally thought I knew what was going to happen in the end. The guy and his ex-girlfriend survive, but when she asks him if he wants a lift he smiles and walks away. He might have saved her from the alien monster, but she did cheat on him so no making up after that! I like that ending.

The other thing that they do very well is the setting. Storage facilities can be spooky places, especially these big indoor ones. Don’t believe me? Walk around one in the dark and then talk to me again about it. In addition to having a great atmosphere this is also a nice plot device to isolate the characters which is unsettling and can also control the number of actors and extras you have to deal with. It is the kind of shooting location that allows for complete control of the environment and they use that brilliantly with the lighting and sound design. Storage 24 is a creepy movie that builds tension and has a couple good jump scares. That is all because of the location and how the filmmakers are able to use it.

The weakest part of the movie is the creature. The design itself isn’t too bad and it certainly has an otherworldly vibe to it. The face is all teeth and nasty looking finger like appendages. We do get to see how it uses those only once on screen, but it is horrifying and awesomely gross. It grabs and eats face while the victim is squirming around. But for as cool as the practical creature effects look CGI is also used heavily. What is odd is that the scenes with the actors are okay, but we have some where it is moving down a hallway that is awkward to the point of being distracting. It feels like they ran out of budget or time before they were finished because some of these scenes don’t feel done.

In spite of my issues with Storage 24’s creature I’d say that overall it is a fun monster movie. I just wish they had spent more time and resources on the creature, but this is still a recommendation for me.


© Copyright 2019 John Shatzer

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