These cinematic twisters had us on the edge of our seats! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 20 most destructive, fictional movie tornadoes - including classic disaster movies, but also some one-off and spectacular scenes.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 20 Most Destructive
00:14Fictional Movie Tornadoes, including classic disaster movies, but also some one-off and
00:20spectacular scenes.
00:31Number 20.
00:32Tornado.
00:33Now, I was assigned to a project two days ago, and I'm doing the best I can to catch
00:38up.
00:39Well, this is just the place for a crash course.
00:42Welcome to tornado season.
00:43With The Evil Dead's Bruce Campbell topping the bill in Tornado, you get exactly what
00:48the title promises.
00:50Campbell's Jake Thorne is a storm chaser, and there are some big storms cutting their
00:55ruinous path through this made-for-TV film.
01:03Naturally though, the one near the end is the greatest, and most consequential of all,
01:09as Jake is made to suffer, all while trying to gain funding for an early warning system
01:14that could one day change the world.
01:17In general, the year 1996 was a breakout moment for movie tornadoes, and we will be returning
01:24to it later in this video.
01:36Number 19.
01:38Fire Twister.
01:39You know, if you get me close to it, I think I can figure out a way to extinguish it.
01:50How to make a devastating tornado even worse?
01:53Just add fire.
01:54That's the premise behind this low-budget and poorly-received movie, but what it lacks
01:59in cinematic style and visual effects, it makes up for, well, in its intent to destroy.
02:06No matter how you slice it, the firestorm at the heart of the action here is straight
02:23out of hell, a blistering twister that melts steel and incinerates its victims.
02:28It also happens to be almost unkillable.
02:31There's a lot of questionable story building to set it all up, with corrupt CIA officials
02:37and a long list of dead associates, but the unique storm is the main event.
02:48Number 18.
02:50Where the Heart Is.
03:07Right in the middle of a romantic drama movie isn't, perhaps, where you'd expect to find
03:12a ferocious tornado, but what did you know?
03:15It works.
03:16With Natalie Portman playing the lead as Novali, up until this point, we've seen
03:20her forced to hide out in a Walmart at the beginning of the story, and then having to
03:25raise her daughter, alone.
03:27And when a tornado rips through the town in which she's building a new life, taking
03:31among its victims one of her dearest friends, it's a pivotal moment.
03:35In terms of the tornado itself, the moral of the scene is always remember to close your
03:41storm shelter doors.
03:53Number 17.
03:54Man of Steel.
04:11As a god on Earth, and a legend among us, you might think that Superman would be unfazed
04:16by the wind, no matter how powerful it may be.
04:20And yet, a tornado plays a vital role in his origin story, in the first installment of
04:25the DC Extended Universe.
04:27After a tense conversation between him and his adopted father, Jonathan, the family realize
04:33that they're driving into trouble.
04:35But despite Clark most likely having power enough to at least influence events, Jonathan
04:41is intent on him keeping his powers hidden from the world, intent to the point of heroic
04:46sacrifice.
04:47In this moment, when faced with nature's fury, even Superman is powerless.
05:07Number 16.
05:09Night of the Twisters.
05:20On to our second movie from 1996, and still not our last, Night of the Twisters sets the
05:27action in Nebraska.
05:29Multiple towns are caught up in the chaos as some sudden and violent cyclones take hold.
05:34There isn't quite the budget as there is with some of our other entries.
05:39But even so, when the storm hits proper, it sparks pandemonium.
05:43And with it all happening in the dark of the night, there's always that feeling that
05:48you never quite know what will happen next.
06:03Number 15.
06:04Thor.
06:05Admittedly, this is probably Tornado in the loosest possible sense, but even so, there's
06:22no denying its power.
06:23We're back in the early days of the MCU here, and Thor looks down and out in his first
06:28movie.
06:29The Mjolnir goes to him and all kinds of atmospheric wonders unfurl.
06:34In the swirling carnage of what happens next, our hero is able to defeat the Destroyer and
06:39turn the tide against the forces of evil.
06:53If nothing else, it's a scene to prove that when you need to show the power of a god,
06:58then a tornado-like, cyclone-esque something just makes a lot of sense.
07:09Number 14.
07:10A Serious Man.
07:22It's by no means a disaster movie.
07:25And the tornado actually only appears in the very final scene, and for the briefest
07:30of moments.
07:31But the implied destruction is key.
07:34After the problems faced by all their characters appear to have been resolved, for better or
07:40worse, the Coen brothers throw us a curveball at the close of A Serious Man by showing that
07:46any kind of harmony that may exist will be short-lived.
08:02This tornado is much more a metaphor, signifying that no matter how much we may feel we're
08:08in control, Mother Nature, or the wrath of God, can always turn up to suddenly ruin everything.
08:15It's the hopelessness of life, in tornado form.
08:41Number 13.
08:42Finch.
08:43There aren't many movie scenarios that Tom Hanks hasn't tried his hand at, so why not
08:55a post-apocalyptic tornado?
08:57In Finch, he plays Finch, an ailing robotics expert trying to survive on a barren earth
09:0315 years after a catastrophic solar flare.
09:07Extreme weather is now the norm, so when a tornado suddenly appears, Finch battens down
09:12the hatches and heads into the hopeful safety of his RV.
09:24In just a few short minutes, he almost loses everything, including his faithful dog, Goodyear.
09:31Fortunately, the pup emerges unscathed, but an already bleak existence gets just a little
09:36bleaker all the same.
09:50Number 12.
09:5113 Minutes.
10:03Perhaps one thing that some tornado scenes are lacking is that, in focusing on just one
10:08or two characters, they forget to properly cover everyone else.
10:13Here though, there's a real feeling that the entire community is in danger.
10:17In 13 Minutes, the tornado acts as a true before and after moment for the residents
10:22of a small Oklahoma town.
10:24And when the disaster actually hits, a series of close-up shots gives the sense of claustrophobic
10:31panic for those sheltering from the winds.
10:34With hailstones the size of golf balls on the ground, there's no doubting that this
10:39is a major storm.
10:50Number 11.
10:51Geostorm.
10:53There are tens of thousands of storm simulations in here, and each one is starting in a different
10:56place.
10:57They all end the same way.
10:58A geostorm.
10:59I mean, unlike anything we've ever seen.
11:04What if you could weaponize the weather?
11:06That's the question to inspire this slightly alternative take on the disaster movie model.
11:11And ultimately, tornadoes are but one small part of the overriding chaos.
11:17In the scenes where they do appear though, it's carnage, and there's nothing Gerard
11:22Butler can do about it.
11:28With a malfunctioning satellite system cruising around the Earth, a terrifying twister can
11:32be whipped up with ease.
11:35Along with tidal waves, killer lightning, instant freezes, the list goes on.
11:40If science fiction has taught us one thing over the years, it's that it rarely pays
11:44to play God.
11:53Number 10.
11:54Category 6.
11:55Day of Destruction.
12:05Right from the title, we know we're more specifically dealing with hurricanes in this
12:10TV movie two-parter.
12:12But suffice to say, there's a decent share of swirling vortices too.
12:16First, Las Vegas finds itself in the path of devastation, and then Chicago.
12:21Day of Destruction is ultimately about the merging of three bizarre weather events over
12:27Chicago, including strong winds, a heatwave, and a cold snap.
12:31The science behind the drama is perhaps a little questionable, and yet drama it certainly
12:38delivers.
12:50And tornadoes are an ever-present looming threat.
12:54One of the key side characters even goes by the name Tornado Tommy.
13:07Number 9.
13:08X2.
13:16While the 21st century has seen a fair flurry of superhero movies, not many have managed
13:22to get the weather right.
13:23With Storm and X-Men, though, it's total climatological control.
13:34In this memorable scene from the second film in the franchise, she manages to shake off
13:39a couple of pursuing fighter jets by mustering up a whirlwind or two.
13:43At the time, this was cutting-edge, never-before-seen visual effects.
13:48The grey and heavy clouds make for a tense, if brief, battle, all channeled through Storm's
13:54mutant mind.
13:55When the sky finally breaks, you really know you've been on a ride.
14:04Number 8.
14:05Mad Max Fury Road.
14:19So the tornadoes are more just one element of the wider sandstorm here.
14:23But nevertheless, they play their part in a high-octane scene that certainly is destructive.
14:29Intent on shaking off her manic pursuers, Furiosa drives the rig right into the heart
14:35of total fiery chaos.
14:38With scorching cyclones all around, the chase is whittled down until it's just her versus
14:43Nux, with Max carried along for the ride.
15:01The storm is so massive that, once you're inside, you realize it's really multiple
15:06storms combined.
15:08All of which makes for what's perhaps one of modern cinema's greatest scenes, complete
15:13with some memorably killer lines from Nux.
15:19Number 7.
15:20Take Shelter.
15:36While for most tornado movies, it's all about the immediate and relentless force of
15:40the storm itself, Take Shelter takes a more psychological route.
15:45Michael Shannon's Curtis LaForge is plagued by endless visions of a coming apocalypse.
16:01Throughout the film, we see what he sees during dreams and premonitions, and tornadoes are
16:06never far from his mind's eye.
16:08In this instance, it's the lurking threat of the storm that proves most destructive.
16:13Curtis is inescapably caught in an overbearing life obsession to build a doomsday shelter
16:19that might one day save him and his family.
16:22But the kicker is that, at the movie's close, his paranoia appears justified.
16:36Number 6.
16:37Sharknado.
16:38It's rare that a movie delivers exactly what its title promises.
16:55But Sharknado is nothing if not direct.
16:58The cyclones cutting their path through this unique premise are all united in one thing
17:04They carry killer sharks.
17:06In totally turning its back on realism, this now cult movie asks, what if the deadliest
17:12of the deep sea predators could also ride along on storms?
17:26The results are total chaos.
17:28Undeniably absurd, unapologetically silly, but still pretty darn destructive chaos.
17:35For those who favor a subtler story or halfway decent CGI, perhaps this one isn't for you.
17:43But for everyone else, it's proof of one of the more simple rules for movie making.
17:48Everything's better with sharks.
18:05Number 5.
18:06The Wizard of Oz.
18:22In terms of outright fame, few can beat this legendary storm at the beginning of The Wizard
18:27of Oz.
18:28It's a tornado apparently powerful enough to transport Dorothy and Toto to an all-new
18:33world.
18:35The scene itself sure delivers the drama.
18:37With Dorothy too late to safely shelter in the storm bunker with the rest of her family,
18:42she's forced to hide out in the house.
18:44A window smashes, she falls to the bed, and the rest is cinematic history.
19:02As the house is captured by the storm, Dorothy watches as the world passes by her window
19:07until suddenly, finally, she's brought back down to earth and Oz awaits right outside
19:13her door.
19:29Number 4.
19:30Storms in the Hearts.
19:43There's a lot going on in this critically acclaimed Oscar-winning drama, and it could
19:49never be described singularly as a tornado movie.
19:52But the storm scene at the midway point is vital.
19:56With Sally Field, Danny Glover, and John Malkovich in leading roles, there's rising
20:01panic in every moment.
20:03The family just about manages to stay together, crowding into the shelter in the nick of time.
20:09But there are plenty of hairy moments.
20:23And there's a real sense of the physical strain involved in battling against the conditions.
20:28When the dust finally settles, the scenes of the demolished farmyard are heartbreaking.
20:46Number 3.
20:47The Day After Tomorrow.
20:59The superstorms at the heart of this movie are essentially like nothing else humankind
21:03has ever witnessed.
21:05But, once again, the tornadoes make for some of the best and most memorable moments.
21:21Here they erupt all over LA, ripping through the city and catching everyone unawares.
21:27The iconic Hollywood sign gets destroyed, the high-rises get ripped down, the airports
21:32Newsmen get killed, and vehicles are sent flying.
21:36And when the many smaller tornadoes merge into bigger and bigger storms, well, it's
21:41only the very lucky who make it out alive.
22:01Number 2.
22:02Into The Storm.
22:09It's almost graduation day at a local high school.
22:12And what better way to celebrate than by running for your lives from a series of deadly weather
22:17events.
22:18There are tornadoes and firenadoes in Into The Storm, as the locals in an Oklahoma town
22:24must struggle to survive.
22:26While the script was, in parts, criticized upon release, there's no doubting the effects.
22:31And there's more than one epic scene.
22:46Perhaps the most notable though, is when one character, a storm chaser named Pete, meets
22:51his fate to the last and largest tornado of all.
22:54His inside view of the spectacle is a real moment of terrible beauty.
23:25Number 1.
23:26Twister.
23:34Every so often a movie comes along to not only define a genre, but to essentially create
23:40it.
23:41Twister is probably that movie for tornadoes, at least in the mainstream.
23:46Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton lead us through a series of gradually intensifying storms,
23:51until the big one at Twister's climax.
23:54The F5.
24:07There's serious jeopardy here as, not only are the intrepid storm chasers risking their
24:13lives, but they need to also successfully deploy the last remaining prototype of a weather
24:18sensor that could change the world.
24:21Over the course of the film, they've already destroyed three of the machines, so the closing
24:25act is their final gamble.
24:27And it's a gamble that takes them right into the tornado's core, and to the very
24:31edge between life and death.
24:46Which is your favorite movie tornado of all time?
24:49As always, be sure to let us know.