As extreme weather events increase around the world, from massive flooding in Spain to intense freezing in Texas, disaster films feel less and less fictional. While we’re not quite at The Day After Tomorrow (but we’re getting there), our hot reality is certainly reflected in films like 2023’s On Fire, an overlooked thriller starring Fiona Dourif, Lance Henriksen, Asher Angel, and Peter Facinelli (who co-wrote and co-directed the film). With the devastating wildfires currently ravaging California, the film, which is now streaming for free, feels more prescient than ever.
On Fire depicts a California family struggling through hard times. Facinelli plays the father, a contractor whose business is falling apart. Dourif plays his very pregnant wife, Angel plays their son, and Henriksen is great as the depressed and nearly senile grandfather. When sparks from a nearby forest fire set their area ablaze, the family is forced to evacuate their somewhat isolated home on the California hillside. The raging blaze quickly prevents them from easy escape routes, leading to a desperate and thrilling attempt at survival.
The film was released just a month after the catastrophic Maui fires in Hawaii, which was on everyone’s mind when the cast and crew spoke to MovieWeb about On Fire. Just 16 months later, there’s now another so-called “once in a century” fire capturing the world’s attention, with many calling it the worst wildfire that California has ever seen. Peter Facinelli told MovieWeb at the time:
“It feels like it’s so close everywhere. You just read it in the news where more and more places are getting hit by fires. And it’s not just California anymore, it’s everywhere. So when we set out to make this film, it was in the news, and we knew it was in the news. And we thought, ‘OK, let’s make a film about this family that goes on this journey, in hopes that we can have a fun, suspenseful ride, but also have a lot of takeaways from it.'”
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“Us Against Nature, and Nature Is More Powerful Than Us”
“It’s a very, very present issue,” co-star Fiona Dourif told MovieWeb after On Fire was released. “Every summer in the last three years, there have been weeks that you kind of can’t go outside, or you’re not supposed to.” Nick Lyon, who co-wrote and co-directed the film with Facinelli, added:
“I know about seven people who’ve lost their homes to fires. The Malibu fire took a good friend of mine’s house, it took his dogs, it took everything from him. And doing the research, it’s a very similar story with everybody. So I didn’t particularly take one person’s story, but it’s inspired by a lot of different stories […] It’s basically us against nature, and nature is more powerful than us.”
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Facinelli continued to explain just how personal this story is to his heart. “I do have firefighters in my family, cousins that are firefighters. I grew up in New York, and I saw the devastation of 9/11. And I knew people who lost their dads. And to me, firemen are universal heroes.” Anyone looking at what’s happening in California right now undoubtedly agrees.
On Fire is streaming for free on multiple platforms, including Peacock, Fandango at Home, The Roku Channel, and on Tubi through the link below:
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Release Date
September 23, 2023
Runtime
80 Minutes
Writers
Ron Peer
, Nick Lyon
Studio(s)
Lone Star Storytellers
, Media Group
Distributor(s)
Cineverse
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