Without Warning shows the importance of solid post-production work. The opening titles and music suggest we’re about to see a big-budget Hollywood action movie, and that’s not far off the mark, as it turns out.

Winner of a hugely deserved Best Special Effects prize at the 2007 Young Cuts Film Festival, the movie looks like a six-minute entry in the disaster-epic genre that became so popular in the 1990s (think Deep Impact and Twister). Those movies often revolved around a central love story, and Without Warning is no exception. We meet small-town girl Jess (Rosanna Grelo) as she flirts with her boyfriend Jake (Richard Sutton) in his pick-up truck. This scene is like the calm before the storm – the film is pausing to catch its breath before hurtling headlong into a race against time.

After Jake drops Jess off, he drives out to the main highway. The sky is an awesome sight. I was reminded of that line in American Beauty where Wes Bentley talks about how “there’s this electricity in the air.” Pretty soon things are falling from the sky. A jeep explodes in the middle of the road and Jake has to outrun a tornado.

The movie is a pulse-pounding adrenaline rush. The effects are obviously impressive, but the editing and shaky camerawork also put us in the moment and pump up the energy level. Director Corey Mayne also worked as a technical director on Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf. Expect great things from this guy.