Sometimes TV movies break the mould and become something quite entertaining and unique. Thrill Seekers for me is one of those movies. Taking an interesting concept for disaster and playing generally within its budget constraints, there’s a lot to like.
Released: 1999
Runtime: 1hr 28 mins
The Premise
A company decides to use time travel to give people the experience of a lifetime to live as part of huge disasters such as Hindenburg or Titanic in safety. When someone cottons on and tries to stop the disasters, problems occur!
The Disasters Faced
Plane crashes, fires, bombs, missile guns, what looks like the early invention of an iPad (nooo) and some really jumped up baddies.
The Execution
Thrill Seekers is first and foremost a sci-fi /thriller movie but it’s weaved around disaster elements – which is why I’ve decided to include it on the site as a bit of an anomaly. Its story is the key to its enjoyment. Casper Van Dien, whose acting is wooden here to say the least, uncovers a Thrill Seeker which is a person who time travels to witness first hand big disasters in history. A strange package holiday to say the least! When Casper works out his plane is the next destination, he stops the disaster taking place and then begins to work on stopping the rest of the brochure taking place too. The company running Thrill Seekers isn’t impressed and sends back two dubious baddies to catch Casper. The story genuinely kept me really interested and when it gets going in its full flow, it’s a really enjoyable romp. The pacing is well done and there are not too many dodgy CGI scenes as everything is kept low-key until the final thirty minutes.
The Effects
The train crash looks to me like it’s had footage ripped from a film called Money Train (and isn’t the only film to have committed this crime) and the plane and bomb scenes are littered with poor CGI. There is one good explosion though and the iPad’s in waiting are quite fun to see how in 1999, they could be so close to what we get now.
Why It’s Worth Watching
The story is very entertaining and I like how it weaves lots of real-life disasters around its own fictional ones. Catherine Bell makes a good reluctant heroine, Casper an awful lead and Theresa Saldana is hilarious as Cortez – the stilted acting bad ass whose in it for the money. It also gets my vote for a really high death count and isn’t afraid to kill most of the cast off at some point!
Drinking Game
The old drinks game can be used for whenever either baddie runs through the public holding a gun and no one remotely reacts, or when Casper / Theresa fail to act at all.
Best Death
I’ll go for Elizabeth (Catherine Bell) who dies in the best explosion when Cortez gets bad ass with her missile gun.
Favourite Character
It’s got to be Cortez – she kept me in stitches throughout and I’m not sure it was intentional. One thing I will say about the film is all bar the lead have good characters and some development with them.
Weirdest Moment
It’s not weird, but Charlie Sheen is the big star in the movie yet he has about ten lines and say a minute of screen time. Elsewhere in an attempt for comic relief, our cop duo have some terrible dialogue that is groan-worthy.
Random Trivia
The train scene has a wonderful goof in it where the train itself has its destination as “out of service”.
Conclusion
A disaster / sci fi / thriller hybrid and one of the most interesting and unique takes on the disaster genre. For once, a TV movie with an IMDB rating above 5! At least I’m not alone in thinking Thrill Seekers is actually an enjoyable romp. I was entertained from start to end and that’s what any filmgoer wants.
I Love Disaster Movies! 