Shadows in the Storm

Shadows in the Storm
Directed byTerrell Tannen
Written byTerrell Tannen
Produced byA.J. Cervantes
Ronald S Altbach
Strathford Hamilton
J. Daniel Dusek
StarringNed Beatty
Mia Sara
Michael Madsen
James Widdoes
Donna Mitchell
CinematographyJohn J. Connor
Edited byMarcy Hamilton
Music bySasha Matson
Distributed byVidmark Entertainment
Release date
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Shadows in the Storm is a 1988 horror film directed by Terrell Tannen, and starring Mia Sara, Ned Beatty, Donna Mitchell, Michael Madsen, and Joe Dorsey.[1][2]

Plot

Thelonious Pitt, a daydreaming businessman, goes to the Redwood Forests of California. There, he meets a beautiful woman, Melanie. She looks like the woman he has been seeing in his dreams.

At the river late at night, when Melanie's husband finds them, he attacks Thelonious until Melanie pulls out a pistol and fires three shots at her husband. His body goes into the river. That is when the nightmare begins.

Cast

  • Ned Beatty as Thelonious Pitt
  • Mia Sara as Melanie
  • Michael Madsen as Earl
  • Donna Mitchell as Elizabeth
  • James Widdoes as Victor
  • Joe Dorsey as Birkenstock (Joe Dorcey)
  • William Bumiller as Terwilliger
  • Peter Fox as Hotel Clerk
  • Troy Evans as Detective Harris
  • Bob Gould as Detective Wand
  • Tracy Brooks Swope as Mercy
  • Ramon Angeloni as Birkenstock's Assistant
  • Marta Goldstein as Terwilliger's Girlfriend

Home video

Shadows in the Storm was released on VHS the week of March 18, 1990 by Vidmark Entertainment.[3][4][5]

Reception

Fred Haeseker of the Calgary Herald called the film, "a blunt stab at a traditional California film noir" and that it "stirs up not so much lurid menace as unrelieved tedium."[6]

Ray and Brenda Tevis wrote in their book The Image of Librarians in Cinema, 1917-1999, Shadows in the Storm continues to manifest male reel librarians in most unflattering images.[2]

Jim Murphy of The Age wrote : "Neophyte thriller fans should enjoy it hugely."[7]

References

  1. ^ Tevis & Tevis 2015, p. 152.
  2. ^ a b Tevis & Tevis 2015, p. 153.
  3. ^ Pearson, Mike. "Disney Blockbuster Nits Video Stores This Week". The Telegraph. Vol. 120, no. 297. Ogden Newspapers. p. 45. OCLC 22532489. Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Webster, Dan (March 18, 1990). "What Happens To Those Old Rental Tapes? Sold Or Swapped". The Spokesman-Review. Vol. 4, no. 48. Cowles Company. p. D9. ISSN 2993-1274. OCLC 11102529. Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "New Releases". Reading Eagle. Reading Eagle Company. March 18, 1990. p. D3. ISSN 2469-3448. OCLC 232117921. Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Haeseker, Fred (February 24, 1990). "Would-be film noir falters on elements of timing, menace". Calgary Herald. Postmedia Network. ISSN 0828-1815. OCLC 29533985. Retrieved October 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Murphy, Jim (April 6, 1989). "After the deluge – it's 'River's Edge'". The Age. Vol. 135, no. 41, 763. Nine Entertainment. p. 12. ISSN 0312-6307. OCLC 224060909. Retrieved February 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources