Exiting the ruined house, guests step out under a rusty metal awning which faces a dusty lot bordering the Galaxy drive-in theater from the film.

In the distance beyond the weather-beaten picket fence, tonight's movie appears on the large drive-in screen.  But there's no time to order up a hamburger at the Rocket snack stand -- winds are picking up in the neighborhood as the tornado warnings continue.

As the storm approaches, a deadly bolt of lightning blasts a tree thirty feet away, exploding through the trunk in a sparking fireball.  Civil Defense sirens wail across town, announcing the arrival of the tornado -- but far too late to seek safe shelter. We're trapped out in the storm with no better protection than the metal awning above us.  At least it provides cover from the rain which pours down now.

The tornado arrives at the far end of the drive-in, ripping apart the giant movie screen as it sways amid the frequent lightning flashes, spinning ever closer to our position. The wind increases dramatically, signaling we're about to get hit by the twister head-on, as the rusty awning rattles, creaks and buckles under the powerful gusts.

The funnel carves a path of destruction through the lot, plunging the terrified group into utter darkness as transformers explode nearby.  Howling winds hammer the snack stand and nearly uproot the crosswalk sign shaking wildly in its path.  The destructive base of the funnel is mere yards from our position as it passes by, and in a final bid for destructive terror, the tornadic vacuum suddenly lifts up the rusty awning overhead before dropping it back onto its supports with a loud, metal-crunching bang!  This quite unnerving effect startles guests to great effect, and also manages to dump some of that diverted rainwater onto them in the complete darkness of the finale.  The funnel abruptly weakens and trails off in a harmless cloud of condensation, sparing the brave guests who faced the twister and lived to tell the tale.

I didn't expect much of this attraction upon entering, but I quickly grew to appreciate its complexity of detail and strong concept, all about a ride theme that's really nothing but thin air at high speed.  A fun thriller that feeds upon its audience's innate fears of the dark, storms and forces of nature larger and more powerful than ourselves. 

Next up, we face our fears and violent forces that humanity has unleashed upon itself in a certain apocalyptic sci-fi scenario.

          

© 2001-2002 scott weitz