10 Worst Disaster Movies Of All Time
9. Dante's Peak
Directed by Roger Donaldson, Dante's Peak is about a volcano about to erupt with a small town directly in the danger zone. It features a focus on scientific accuracy, which is commendable, but sadly everything else fails to elevate the film.
Dante's Peak does have some fantastic effects work, that is for sure. It uses a mixture of practical and CGI to great effect. Much of the film's volcano was a miniature that was inserted into various background shots seamlessly. It all looks great.
This is where the praise ends, however, as the rest of Dante's Peak is painful.
The script is endlessly illogical. Characters make so many stupid decisions that it makes you wonder if screenwriter Leslie Bohem was playing some kind of elaborate prank on the studio, attempting to see if the dumbest script could get funding.
On top of all this, the dialogue is atrocious. As one character points out the vicinity of the town to the volcano, another turns, almost to look directly at the camera, and utters "just like Pompeii". Just in case the audience wasn't aware of the most obvious comparison in the world.
Might as well have said "just like Mount St. Helens".