Killer Flood

Killer Flood: The Day the Dam Broke is a 2003 action disaster film.

Plot

A dam in a small town in midwest America (the town and region and never directly referenced) is filling up with water due to heavy rains. The disgraced architect of the dam building project comes back to town to reunite with his estranged family, however he is rejected, with his wife claiming that he came back purely to see the dam. The architect then visits the dam and reveals that the project manager cut corners in order to take money himself and framed the architect to hide his own corruption. The dam's resident engineer, Frank, the architect's son, Garth and the man himself set out to relieve the growing pressure on the dam wall, however the pressure release does not work, as corner [...] had led to this portion not being completed. Through flooding the warehouse district, Frank allows the townspeople enough time to escape, sacrificing himself in the process. Garth and his father than become trapped within the dam as the structure begins to buckle, but Garth's mother rescues them at the last minute and they make a dramatic escape from the wall of water as the dam collapses, taking refuge on top of 2 story car park. The final scene is one of reflection, on man's inherit lust for power. The film fades to black as Garth directs a question at the audience, asking them what they would have done had they'd been project manager.

Production

Doug Campbell had originally cast Todd Bosley, the star of Lloyd, to play the role of Garth, although due to prior commitments he could not accept the role.

Themes

Throughout the film, notation of superscript '2' appears in very forms, for example Garth's house number is ², the dam's name is Haven². It is speculated that the 'powers' represent the theme of man's power in the film, whether or not he can control nature or indeed if man's lust for power will lead to his downfall as it led to the fall of the dam.

Reception

Critical

The film was a relative critical success, garnering an overall 'fresh' rating of 67% at aggreagte reviewer rotten tomatoes.

Box office

Despite reviews, the film struggled to attract large audiences, only barely making up its £2 million budget at cinemas. However DVD sales since have managed to increase its total revenue to £4 million.