Supercell
Directed by Herbert James Winterstern
Written by Herbert James Winterstern and Anna Elizabeth James
Starring Skeet Urlich, Anne Heche, Alec Baldwin, and Daniel Diemer
Runtime: 94 MinutesR
Now playing on VOD and in select theaters

by Miguel Alejandro Marquez, Contributor

Supercell is a disaster-drama flick from Saban Films and is the feature debut of Herbert James Winterstern, a prolific commercial film director, who has more than twenty years in the industry.

The film tells the story of William Brody (Daniel Diemer), the son of Bill Brody (Richard Gunn), the late legendary stormchaser. Will struggles with coming into his own and accepting his father’s legacy, as he receives push-back from his equally gifted, yet stagnated mother (Anne Heche). It should be noted that this was one of Anne Heche’s last feature films which makes for the themes of past triumphs, lasting legacy, and family, seem bittersweet after her recent death. With that said, the film serves as an appropriate send-off to a woman who has had a prolific, yet tragic, life and career.

Supercell is an intriguing, and surprising hidden gem that is entertaining from start to finish. After experiencing the delight of the movie, it is evident that Herbert James Winterstern has a promising career as a whim-tastical director, who has a keen eye for the wonderment of cinema. The strong direction and the atmosphere that he creates feels more in-line of someone seasoned, rather than someone who’s made his first cinematic outing.

Supercell follows Will’s high-octane adventure after he receives a package that’s linked to his tragic past. Conflict occurs when Will tries to get into contact with his estranged uncle (Skeet Urlich) and the sleazy owner of his father’s storm chasing business (Alec Baldwin). As Will gets closer to his family, he gets in closer to more and more deadly situations.

The film uses its premise quite well, as it's filled with moments of suspense and danger. The composition is reminiscent of 1980’s Spielberg pictures, eliciting wonder and curiosity in almost every moment. That being said though, it feels very reserved. It feels like it is held back by its budget, which in turn, is held back by its inability to draw necessarily large set pieces. This is a natural disaster flick, yet it feels like there was nothing massive about it. We never got to see the true weight of the storms and the damage they cause. There seems to be an emphasis on small scenes of possible danger, rather than showing anything too big, and too dangerous.

But man! Those small scenes! In particular the exemplary payphone scene, the film’s opening, and the moments in between, all have as much excitement and danger, as the adventure coming-of-age romps and Hitchcockian classics, that they draw inspiration from. If only this film could have been given a more grandiose budget. This film would have succeeded in giving its audience a big, eye-catching, and cinematically intriguing moment of awe. This fault is sadly overbearing, as, instead, the flick tries its hardest to draw emotion in every scene and every piece of dialogue.

Although, the film’s lackluster CGI, and low-budget presentation, can be ignored in service of enjoying the film’s exciting, yet small, setpieces, as Supercell’s strengths very much outweigh its faults. The wonderment and excitement seen within the eyes of the film’s protagonist, makes it an engaging, and lasting, tale of understanding the dangers of this world, and the legacies we leave behind. Anne Heche’s last few films have proven that even though her later career had stalled, and had some major setbacks, her posthumous projects still have quality and willingness to explore emotion and excitement; this project being a major example of that.

See Supercell if you want to be surprised by a cinematic underdog that seems to have been buried under the recent surge of boring spring releases.