DVD Review: British Sci-Fi STORAGE 24

Take a measure of John Carpenter mixed spice (The Thing, Assault On Precinct 13), add a touch of Alien, a pinch of Shaun of the Dead and a smidgen of Die Hard, bring to the boil and rest. Now, get ready to serve-up some Storage 24.

Director Johannes Roberts’ film sees a group of people trapped in a 24 hour storage centre, as they are slowly hunted and killed by an angry (and ugly) alien. The group is led by Charlie (Noel Clarke) who is at the centre to divvy-up his belongings with ex-girlfriend Shelley (Antonia Campbell Hughes), however the warring couple must put their emotions on the backburner if they want to survive. As a fan of ‘one location’ films, I was looking forward to Storage 24, I’d heard good things about it, but I was expecting to be disappointed. I wasn’t. The film has some genuine thrills and the right amount of gore; it proudly wears its genre roots on its sleeve, paying homage to the aforementioned films without seeming like it’s ripping them off.

Triple threat Noel Clarke (he acts, writes and produces) delivers a strong everyman in Charlie, while Colin O’Donoghue is the standout as his best friend, Mark. It might sound harsh to label him as Fassbender-lite, but I mean that as a compliment. Storage 24 isn’t without its flaws, one character totally changes personality during the later stages of the film, the CGI beasty is occasionally shonky, while the climactic battle feels a touch underwhelming considering what has gone before. However, these flaws can be overlooked because the rest of the film holds up so well.

Storage 24 is an enjoyable science fiction thriller that that delivers on thrills, action and humour. It also sets itself up for a bigger and bolder sequel – so come on Storage 24/7 (or whatever they decide to name it!).

Special Features

The DVD features some interesting documentaries which are much too short, deleted scenes and an informative and entertaining commentary from Noel Clarke and director Johannes Roberts. A solid package.