MEGAFAULT
(not rated)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5)
STARRING
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In the middle of West Virginia, a mountaintop-removal team detonates explosions underground and are met with a massive earthquake that literally rips apart the land. When seismologist Amy Lane (Brittany Murphy) gets to the scene, she discovers that the earthquake has exposed a huge fault that runs across the North American continent. Lane races ahead to warn people of the opening in the Earth’s crust while helping to come up with a plan to stop the devastation.
WHAT I LIKED
A few weeks ago, I had a chance to review “Abandoned,” which was Brittany Murphy’s last film she made before her untimely and unexpected death. Of course, few knew that her penultimate movie was The Asylum’s “Megafault.” While not everyone can have “The Dark Knight” as their swan song, Murphy brings a level of quality to this film that you don’t always get with the stars slapped on a cover box.
Like The Asylum’s other disaster flicks, “Megafault” manages to tell an ongoing story while throwing enough special effects at you to keep your eyes busy. It’s a low-budget disaster film, but it works… and it doesn’t take itself nearly as seriously as a film by Roland Emmerich.
Also, unlike some of the other films I’ve seen from The Asylum’s repertoire, “Megafault” manages to put the stars in the action rather than bury them in a control room. Kudos to Brittany Murphy for giving it her all in this relatively small flick.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The problems with “Megafault” are everything you’d expect from an Asylum film. The effects are a bit cheesy. The writing’s not completely polished. And the acting isn’t great. But that’s what you get with these fun little thrillers from the fun schlock house. I will give them credit in the sense that it’s not knocking off any specific movie… not even “2012,” which had its own knock off last year.
All in all, “Megafault” has some problems, but there really isn’t a mega fault that ruins the film.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD comes with a making-of featurette, cast and crew commentary, the extended version of the film and trailers.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Brittany Murphy fans and those who like The Asylum’s movies.