The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Bare Terror and Awe in Thrilling Tornado Docu

Martin Lisius’ 48-minute documentary The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky offers stunning views of tornadoes across the plains of America as well as the destruction they leave in their wake. 

Divided into seven chapters, the narrative illustrates the work of storm chasers, the difficulties they face, the full scale of dangers of tornadoes, but most of all, their absurd, unearthly beauty. Looming over the plains and wheat fields, it is impossible to not be in complete awe of the multi-hued clouds, sometimes shaped like an alien ship come to fetch you, and sometimes like a fox coiling further into itself. The many interviews of storm chasers and meteorologists boil down to the same wonder sparked love; there is something moving about that common element when their object is a beast so enormous yet so ethereal. 

Watching this documentary in the wake of Twisters extends the fascination and fear that such gigantic natural events are capable of inspiring. The coincidence goes back further: Lisius has himself worked as an advisor on Twister. 

It has its weak points. The editing is a little less tight than it could have been; personifying nature in airbrushed shots was not particularly useful. But the flaws fade away from the experience over its runtime, helped especially by its score. 

The absolute magnificence of the footage is undercut by the paradox of loving something so deadly so enthusiastically when the documentary heads into a chapter that delves into the first known storm chaser deaths caused by tornadoes: Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras, and Carl Young. It is at this point more than anywhere else in the film that the vortices chill you with their simple capacity for destruction. Many times, the footage makes you think of Jordan Peele’s Nope, especially when a specially constructed camera rig is framed against a gathering storm. The similarity enriches both films. 

The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky rewards its viewers with an experience of utter beauty, found in both the stable, picturesque shots and the urgency infused footage from active chases. It is the kind of exhilarating adventure that does not need a villain to make the ride worthwhile. Instead it reminds you that some of the best joys are found in being witnesses. 

Watch The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky Documentary Trailer