With their generic titles, oft-sensationalist subject matter and frequently boilerplate storytelling styles, Netflix documentaries deserve the scrutiny of The Eyebrow Raise of Skepticism. And while The Twister: Caught in the Storm for the most part boasts these fundamental qualities, itâs nevertheless an excellent encapsulation of a large-scale catastrophe via the stories of human perseverance within it. Director Alexandra Lacey (whose producing credits include two other Netflix doc projects, Untold and Anna Nicole Smith: You Donât Know Me) pieces together on-the-ground footage and testimonies from the massive EF5 tornado that demolished large portions of Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011, killing more than 160 people. It was the deadliest tornado recorded in the U.S. in 64 years, carving a 21-mile path and boasting winds estimated at 250 mph â stats you wonât learn from the film, which isnât big on context or facts and figures. But itâs nevertheless an intense re-telling of the story, and a worthy exploration of the emotional experiences and fallout from the tragedy.
THE TWISTER: CAUGHT IN THE STORM: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The Gist: On May 21, 2011, the world was supposed to end. Well, according to religious zealots who expected the Rapture to occur on that day, anyway. Many, many people knew the prophecy would not be fulfilled, and fun-loving young people like Joplin residents Mac and Kaylee used it as an excuse to party hard. It was an uneasy day for 17-year-old Joplin High School junior Cecil, though â he grew up a believer, and feared his family would be Raptured and he wouldnât, because he was hiding the fact that he was gay. Nothing happened, of course, and Cecil got up on the 22nd and went to work at the frozen yogurt shop like usual. Mac and Kaylee shook off their hangovers and, prompted by Macâs self-described amateur storm-chasing interest and a compelling blob on his weather-app radar readout, grabbed Kayleeâs brother Eric and hopped in the truck to check out a storm brewing nearby.
Meanwhile, it was graduation day at Joplin High. Roughly 500 capped-and-gowned students and their families gathered in an auditorium for commencement, including Keegan, captain of the football team, and Will, a budding YouTube star. Elsewhere, Steven and Doug cruised around Joplin in a car with their buddies, which Steven liked to do when he wasnât building and racing BMX bikes. And 13-year-old Chad and his mother arrived in Joplin from San Diego. A budding meteorologist, Chad had arranged a job shadow with âTornado Alleyâ TV weatherman Doug Heady, and noted the strange dark clouds on the horizon as the plane landed. He and his mother checked into their hotel and sat down in a nearby diner for some dinner. Chad had grown bored of the endlessly calm and sunshiney SoCal climate and wanted to go where there was some real weather, and if this isnât a case of being careful about what you wish for, I donât know what is.
Through these people, Lacey tells the story of the Joplin tornado: How Chad stepped outside the diner and saw the unusually massive storm coming â but would a bunch of blase been-there/done-that Joplin residents listen to the warnings of a 13-year-old from California? Doug Heady reported from inside the TV studio, warning residents that the tornado was heading directly to the heart of Joplin. Mac and Kaylee put the pedal to the floor to try to outrun the storm, eventually being forced to take shelter in a convenience store. Cecil ushered a family into the yogurt shopâs bathroom, then huddled in the corner of a storage room that would soon get its walls ripped off. Keegan drove over the curb to avoid post-commencement traffic so he could get home and shelter with his father, and the two of them would use their EMT training to help people in the aftermath; his friend Will was one of many people who went missing. And Steven and Eric got caught in the storm, Steven sucked out of the car by high-pressure winds as the vehicle was lifted off the ground and tossed. Somehow, Steven survived to be in this documentary.Â
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Not to be glib in a movie about real-life calamity, but itâs OK to not use the word âtwisterâ in the title of a movie â or use footage from Twister, like this doc does. And note, if you want a splash of cold-water reality after watching the yee-haw action-driven entertainment of 2024âs Twisters, this doc will do the trick.
Performance Worth Watching: Kaylee, Mac, Cecil and Steven show considerable vulnerability while sharing their deeply harrowing survival stories â stories that ultimately end up being inspiring.
Memorable Dialogue: A couple of lump-in-your-throat bits of narration:
âI go outside and see the town exploding.â â Cecil
âWe said our âI love youâs and waited to die.â â Kaylee
And this one from Steven, showing a bit of humor and bullheadedness as he relates how his dad texted him and told him a tornado was bearing down on them: âI donât know if Iâm stupid or not, but I saw âWizard of Oz,â and it didnât look dangerous.â
Sex and Skin: None.
Our Take: The Twister needs what we in the biz call a nut graf: Essential facts that give viewers an idea of how the Joplin tornado fits into a larger context. (I guess we can always look up the data on Wikipedia, but frankly, documentaries shouldnât give us homework to do.) That undermines the filmâs whole-picture journalism somewhat, but ultimately allows Lacey to maintain a crisp narrative pace and lean into its gripping stories of human perseverance (especially Stevenâs) and illustrations of irony (Chadâs desire to be where the action is; a clip from a graduation speech with a line about âbig thingsâ happening on that day). All the movie needs is a few minutes to further illuminate why this is âtheâ twister instead of just âaâ twister.
Cecilâs saga is a boon to the film, neatly encapsulating the broader spectrum of the tragedy, from his feeling like an outcast to his selfless actions and religious beliefs. In his quite moving testimony, he shares how he once yearned to get out of Joplin, but feels a sense of pride and community in the wake of the tornado. (Failing to probe Cecil further about his current religious beliefs, or ask if he believes in miracles, is a missed opportunity.)
Laceyâs work here isnât the most technically proficient or visually inspired â she leans on archival footage, talking heads and corny slo-mo reenactments, rendering The Twister very much a made-for-TV doc. But she assembles a propulsive and suspenseful narrative that intensifies and peaks like the storm itself, and provides her interview subjects plenty of opportunities to share the raw emotions of their stories: Mac addresses his struggles with PTSD, Kaylee recognizes both her survivorâs guilt and renewed sense of vigor for life, and Steven relays a near-death experience thatâs worthy of its own documentary. We get to know these people intimately, and that opens the door to legitimate feelings of hope amidst so much despair. The Twister ultimately reminds us that even the biggest, nastiest, most destructive cloud still has a silver lining.
Our Call: With apologies: Itâs easy to get swept up in The Twister. STREAM IT.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The post Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Twister: Caught in the Storm’ on Netflix, a Harrowing Documentary About the Historically Destructive 2011 Joplin Tornado appeared first on Decider.
