"Black Rain" is a kind of toxic rain disaster conspiracy thriller with a paint-by-numbers plot, stock characters, and a rather suspect science premise. It's the kind of thing you watch, late at night, when you're not too fussy, and the only other movie playing is "Terminator", which you've already seen 27 times. There seems to be an entire movie industry built on these low-budget made-for-TV potboilers. But wait. The writers threw a wrench into this one. Jack, Jenny and Andrew are out camping. Jack and Jenny (I know, I know, those names) are an item. Andrew is the fifth wheel. Andrew is gay. Enter Kevin, a hot guy with a cute butt. Kevin is a hermit living in a tent, nearby, with his chemistry set. Kevin is also gay. Do you see where this is going? Will they or won't they? Anyway, bad things happen but Kevin and Andrew save the day. They kiss just before the final fade-out. It's good to see a gay romantic subplot in a project such as this, even if it's presented in a rather chaste manner. Otherwise, this is strictly generic fare - filler for cable movie channels and a hook on which to hang commercials.
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rpvanderlinden7 April 2011
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bnc-363405 July 2022And then about half way through, the story and characters took a turn for the worse. I can't remember which scene did it but there was a point where I audibly groaned because I knew it would be downhill from there.
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bitbucketchip27 June 2022SPOILER ALERT
The first few minutes are nail on chalkboard annoying and it never gets any better.
END SPOILER ALERT
There's a hermit who fled society because he has the acting skills of a piece of cardboard. Three improbable friends who agree on nothing and seemingly hate one another stumble upon said hermit and attempt to drive him into becoming an axe murderer by annoying the audience with their off-putting personalities.
Unfortunately for the viewers (that's us) their valiant effort fails and we're forced to endure these four dumdums dealing with rain. If that doesn't sound worth clicking the play button for, my work here is done.
Three overly generous stars for reasons I can't imagine. Maybe because I'm happy it's over. Three stars. -
russell1372527 September 2020In board meeting room:
Hey, lets make a movie about a really smart great looking college guy who lives in the woods and is really buff. Will throw in an ass shot. Then lets have 3 other insanely hot brainiacs go camping and run into this guy. Then lets have the guys cute girlfriend of the 3 people constantly go over to the guy in the woods tent but the boyfriend doesnt seem to care,,, he just wants to sleep,,, oh, but lets have it turn out the guy in the woods is gay anyway,,, but not only that... lets also have one of the 3 college kids be gay as well. Then let's have the entire lake turn into acid after only a few drops of rain has fallen and when he washes his face with it it only burns the face but not his hands. Then as they run through the down pour it only burns the guy that they also leave blinded outside while they're in the tent. Oh, and the guy who runs to get the car crashes into a tree for really no reason. Oh,, one last thing guys... after the brainiacs heroically stop the rain and save the world lets have the two gays kiss and fall in love as they walk off the camera to end the movie.
Others in the room: Oh lets!!
Stay away people,, this is terrible. -
lee-9669620 August 2022This is a strictly low budget, paint-by-the-numbers, greed-head-business -person-causes-disaster movie, though there is not much disaster save for some rather severe dermatitis and a few annoying characters who get killed off.
It starts with three college student campers -- they look thirty-ish -- who pitch their tents across a creek from an ultra hot, Chippendales' quality genius -- graduate degree from Stanford at age 17 -- who lives as a hermit in a tent with a chemistry set. He resents the quarrelsome threesome invading his privacy but after three or four passive-aggressive snippy encounters he bonds with them. He is pretty deadpan, not at all like a boy prodigy, with little dialog, like he has some sort of spectrum disorder.
Then the fun begins. A storm is brewing and the inexplicably horseshoe shaped forecast track has it coming right over the campsite. When it does, the precip has battery acid-like qualities. Mayhem ensues.
Fortunately the acid rain does not damage windshield wiper blades or tires (it actually Vulcanizes them, we are told, makes then stronger!) so an escape can be started. Trees are fine too. But it is hell on a paint job. And it is like a chemical peel on unsuspecting humans.
Blah blah blah fast forward and we learn all about about an evil businesswoman. A greedy anti-green ore mining company. Some ridiculous plot turn involving a past relationship between two of the characters. It is not really explained. And a corrupt veterinarian / spokesperson for the company.
This is all like a really bad SciFi Channel movie meets Hallmark Channel. OK for wasting time. But not if you are looking for something serious, thoughtful. -
pmeisner-873-57563517 October 2010If you are going to attempt to put out a science thriller, you should at least have some semblance of knowledge about science! The entire story of this movie, a toxic rainstorm... the premise is so flawed, and explained so badly that I kept hoping the main character (a supposed chemistry genius) to suddenly turn to the camera and say... "wait a minute", this just isn't possible!", then POOF, he wakes up from the bad dream and we start with the real plot.
I think that if you are going to put this type of movie out, either your writer or director should have at least passed grade 9 science...
I appreciate movies and shows where the science fiction is at least plausible... but to set it in modern day, with modern technology to expect me to buy that sulfuric acid could rain from the sky... well that is ridiculous. -
Trilby1613 June 2022This movie has a really high rating on Amazon Prime, like 4.8 stars! How is that possible? I thought I'd give it a try, but no, it's not for me. I didn't get as far as anything exciting. Unless you consider two gay guys who just met, looking at a weather together, exciting. Plastic actors playing plastic characters. Hard pass.
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dave_matthes30 August 2011This movie has it all - bad acting, bad story, bad science, improbable scenarios,....
I started watching this thinking it was the Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia Black Rain which is what the guide said it was. After a few howlers, we pulled the plug.
Release of sulfur dioxide into atmosphere from an industrial mishap can create sulfuric acid of such a concentration to eat through car axles???? and the on-purpose reason for the mishap was to generate business for a toxic clean up company???? the mastermind (and I use the term loosely) of the mishap was a robotic woman who headed up the clean up company driving around in a Ford Mustang which gives you an idea of the very low budget of this movie - a Geo Metro would have been more appropriate. -
I wanted that couple to die immediately. Somehow these morons want to get to know a hermit living in the woods. The guy James is a moron who is supposed to know about wild but sets up camp directly across the river from someone else.
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goldhawk-4049911 September 2022Well, it is an interesting movie but very unrealistic. People who want to save the world vs. The evil big corporation. Acting was pretty good for a low budget movie the most part but there are a few over the top moments. The storyline is interesting but reminds me of Captain Planet. The most unrealistic part is the level of damage and pace of it due to pollution. It does not have a political feel to it well at least not one that is going to sway anyone's opinion. I don't think anyone will find this movie remotely possible. Basically a cookie cutter movie and it is something you would expect to see on the sci-fi channel.
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newhalem26 June 2022Sulfuric acid rain so strong it instantly eats through tent nylon, auto paint and metal radio antenna but the foliage and wiper blades are intact? It is too incredulous that Stanford-educated students would be so disrespectful to others requests. I am confident sensitivity training is part of their curriculum.
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In brief: Some college campers happen upon a guy in the woods who turns out to be a brainiac wunderkind chemist who dropped out of society after getting burned by a former employer. Now, that employer is hatching a plot to wreak biological havoc on a city for profit.
Not a big budget thriller, but a nice little ride, nonetheless. The characters are interesting and each has an issue or a mystery that comes out and adds to the story. The story really moves, and while it may be fiction, the idea behind the "toxic storm" (if you're willing to go along for the ride) is not so far-fetched, and makes for a suspenseful movie. Worth a watch. -
Puffin8624 May 2018I liked the topic in times, in which natural pollution is a great issue. It is a way more realistic than the events in other disaster movies. The acting is really good, not over the top, but natural with a good chemistry between the actors.
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wandernn1-81-6832744 July 2022Had to turn this one off. It was so horrible. Terrible Acting. Terrible Script. So odd this shows up in 2022. Nobody watched it certainly in 2009. Some environmental disaster mixed in with some gay relationship stuff. I suppose perfect for woke 2022 but as a movie, this was really bad.
Plus they stole a title from an actually GOOD movie, Black Rain with Douglas and Garcia. No wonder they tried to change the title to something else to get people to watch.
1/10. -
albtcamus17 June 2022The acting subpar, the directing subpar, the screenwriting- horrendous!!!! Guy wants to live away from society but gives his full name to the college kids. That's just one stupid piece of writing. The storyline is decent as in almost any movie but has crap for everything else. No common sense writing here. Keep moving.
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coflorida12 July 2022Go on and blame it on the rain 'Cause the rain don't mind And the rain don't care You got to blame it on something that was fallin' fallin' (Blame it on the stars) that did shine at night Whatever you do don't put the blame on you Blame it on the rain (yeah yeah) You can blame it on the rain.
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hxtzkdm7 June 2022When you've seen A LOT of horror films, and need something light and fun, give this one a whirl. The acting isn't terrible, and the cast chemistry is pretty good. Who doesn't love environmental disasters?
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starman-wa10 November 2015Couldn't find this movie in IDMB under the title of Dark Skies but that is what is called on the DVD I have...
I found the characters in this movie interesting and mostly believable - there were some scenes that were very cringe-worthy but I thought that was mostly the directors fault rather than the actors - this occurred on several occasions where say two people were having a conversation and someone else was approaching well within their peripheral vision but neither notices...this was annoying as the acting was pretty good for a low budget movie.
Yes the science is not sound by any means, but if you take the scenario for what it is - a disaster in a localised area with a different plot to most disaster films I've seen, then it's quite an enjoyable film.
I found the movie flowed well and was well shot and as mentioned the acting was better than some a grade movies. -
liamlarmour14 June 2023I just watched this and didn't mind it all. Yeah it has its dialogue issues and a definite lack of scientific understanding, but as far as these type of films go, it didn't pretend to be more than it was. Just enough pseudoscience to get from A to B. The main actors were pretty decebt, and it took me a bit to connect Shawn Roberts to his character in Resident Evil films ('Albert Wesker').
Although I must confess, I think the channel I watched it on played a censored version because I didn't see some of the fleeting nudity or gay kiss content others have mentioned here. Which is a shame because very very few of these low budget sci-fi films even bother with LGBTQ characters, never mind two in the main character group. -
carnstabba-5567214 December 2019I'm glad I took no notice of most of the other reviews and gave it a chance. Very thought provoking plot and unfortunately quite plausible considering the world we live in. And nothing wrong with the acting in my opinion. I've seen more famous highly paid 'Stars' act worse and nt get criticised.
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nanettemeau23 July 2022Go ahead and watch. Nice scenery.
Rainy jungle like setting.
Funny parts of this.
The beginning had me laughing.
Science and goofiness.
Drink a glass of wine.
Enjoy. -
Has a B movie feel to it, but if you figure that out early, then Yes, sit back and have fun. My homophobia didn't get to out of whack. Typical bad-ass corporation messes everybody up with sulphur dioxide emissions. The kids fight for their lives. Bet you think twice about frolicking in the rain.