Storage 24 (2013)

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Though this movie gets immediately into the plot, it moves rather leisurely after that. The first scene,very obviously a painting, shows this is London. There's nothing to set up the premise except that Storage 224 is somewhere on the outskirts, and a plane has crashed in the city cutting off power.Cue the ominous music.Once we get all the characters introduced and the dialogue out of the way, what action there is starts and it consists mostly of crawling through ducts into various units. There's a smart bit in which they break into another unit looking for weapons and find children's toys and the monster is distracted by an animated toy dog which barks and walks. The dog is used in another interesting way later on.There's a surprisingly lack of gore and the "monster" isn't particularly horrendous in comparison to some. We've seen those interlocking jaws many times before.This story's more about the character and ingenuity of those locked inside the building. It's well acted after the required introduction of the characters is done, and there are some familiar faces...Noel Clarke, who stars and produced, was in some Dr. Who seasons, Colin O'Donoghue has played "Captain Hook" on Once Upon a Time for several seasons.This is an enjoyable film which won't give you nightmares but might evoke a few discussions about some of the characters and scenes. Just don't expect "Alien" or "Predator" or anything of that grandiose ilk and you'll be fine.An entertaining movie which seems shorter than it actually is, and is fairly mild as this genre goes, it has the feel of a TV pilot or first episode of a series, kind of expository in nature, as if there should be more to come.

I felt I had to write in defense of this film, which hasn't been very favourably received in general.It really does have a few things in its favour.1. It's set in a place I know, where people tork lark wot ah do. I know that shouldn't be a deciding factor, but with almost everything that comes to our screens originating from the USA, a home-grown effort makes a pleasant change. The environment, acting, and writing really do evoke the realistic essence of Sarf, sorry South, London.2. It's an interesting idea. The idea of monsters running amok in exotic places like spaceships and Central American jungles has been done to death. All the action of this movie takes place in the most prosaic of locations -- a hired storage lockup.3. It's unpretentious. It doesn't take itself seriously, or pretend to be a work of profound art. It's amusing in places, although I do wonder whether you have to be a Londoner to understand its self-satirizing nature.4. There isn't a stupid, cheesy happy ending (sorry, is that a spoiler?) The movie doesn't finish with a long drawn-out face-sucking scene, which seems to be almost obligatory these days.On the bad side, the monster just isn't scary. But, as others have remarked, few movie monsters are scary when they are dragged out into the light of day.All in all, it's worth watching, particularly if you have fond (or otherwise) memories of the location.

I saw the trailer by chance and decided to see this movie with some good expectations. The acting seemed to be not bad and for the first 30 minutes I found myself thinking that this movie was a lucky discovery. Unfortunately the promises made by a well shoot trailer and by some good scene at the beginning are not followed by an adequate development. In my opinion this movie falls deeply around minute 40, from that moment on it reveals some major script problem, it is not clear whether the movie wants to make you laugh or thrill, and unfortunately it fails both. Another black mark consists of the music, which is almost always inappropriate and contributes in letting the premises of the trailer down.

STORAGE 24 is a British indie featuring several friends trapped in a storage facility with a creature on the loose. Complicating matters is a love triangle which will test the bonds of friendship as all work together to survive. A down-to-earth take on ALIEN, this one adds a layer of suspense through its emphasis on character, setting up and defying expectations throughout the proceedings, and surprising us as to who will be our hero. The creature, although realized in part through CGI (always a caution flag for this reviewer), is very effective and satisfying. Like the facility, itself (a clever setting as the characters forage adjoining units for any resource that will aid their plight), this film has scares, emotional depth, and character surprises tucked away for its audience. The leads are Noel Clarke, who recently appeared in Star Trek: Into Darkness and Colin O'Donoghue, known for Once Upon A Time (TV Show) and the underrated, The Rite, where he held his own, opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins). Highly recommended.