Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York

Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Robert Lee
Produced by	Jaye Gazeley Michael Jacobs Harvey Kahn Robert Lee Fernando Szew
Written by	Sarah Watson
Starring	Costas Mandylor Alexandra Paul Michael Ironside
Music by	Michael Richard Plowman
Cinematography	Adam Sliwinski
Editing by	Bethany Sutton
Studio	Front Street Productions Lava Lane Productions
Distributed by	Marvista Entertainment Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Release date(s)	February 25, 2006 (2006-02-25)
Running time	92 minutes (1 hour and 32 minutes)
Country	United States
Language	American English
Budget	$1,000,000 (estimated)

Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York is a 2006 American Disaster film directed by Robert Lee. It stars Costas Mandylor, Alexandra Paul and Michael Ironside. It was produced by Front Street Productions and Lava Lane Productions and was distributed by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment.

Plot

A volcano beneath New York City (actually south of Manhattan) seems unlikely... yet nothing else can explain the bizarre tremors and terrifying explosions wreaking havoc on the city. Tunnel digger Matt MacLachlan (Costas Mandylor) head of the team of "Sandhogs" (who are digging a new drainage system for the city) has witnessed lava seeping into the city's aqueduct system and knows the unimaginable truth. A group of tramps trying to keep warm in Central Park near a heat vent all die from carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide poisoning. A boat in the harbour is caught in a venting and explodes. The FBI Terror Task Force appears looking for the imagined terrorists who killed the tramps and blew up the boat.

Matt is taken off of the digging as some of his men were badly injured or killed and there is a need to investigate. Pipes which were supposed to carry water are filled with steaming acid thanks to the volcano. He meets Susan who he was married to for three years previously and who has been sent to interview him on what happened and convinces her that there is something seriously wrong in tunnel number three. Together they sneak down into the tunnels which have been sealed off and she sees enough to believe him.

Doctor Andrew Levering (played by Michael Ironside) has been conducting a geo-thermal energy experiment which has triggered the volcanic activity as his project drills below seven miles into the earth in a secret location hidden in a warehouse in downtown New York. Neil Kavanagh and others are financing this project but since there has been no results they are ready to stop the funding forcing Levering to take more chances to produce instant results.

Matt and Susan go to the Mayor but her boss Reed lets her down and Kavanagh who is there also manages to make the idea of a volcano look impossible so the Mayor dismisses them. Shortly afterwards a Home Owner opens the door to his house to be buried by a stream of molten lava. The whole block of houses go up in flames with 72 people missing, presumed dead and the Mayor begins to wonder while Agent Walters of the FBI's TTF is given leave to do whatever he has to do.

Using a hand-held thermal detector, Matt and Susan drive around the suspected area and find unnatural heat coming from a warehouse. They enter but Matt is recognised by Levering who has them bound as prisoners. In an effort to produce results, Levering goes too far and the workers start to desert as flames leap from the drill hole. He tries to seal it but is badly burned by the flames. Meanwhile, Matt and Susan manage to escape as the unleashed lava causes the warehouse to blow up. Levering's latest efforts are seen on the streets of New York as lava spouts out of manholes and buildings catch alight, killing thousands and causing untold damage.

The Mayor sees what is happening from his office and Kavanagh reluctantly admits his part. He decides on an evacuation of the city. But all is not lost as Matt has an idea which he puts to his work crew. An explosion in the right place will divert the lava along the city's aqueduct tunnels and into the nearby sea. The race is then on to do it in time, but Levering - who survived his burns and is now stalking the streets of the city with a gun - learns of their plans via a television broadcast that also announced over one thousand counts of murder to be handed down against him. The deranged doctor follows the team into the tunnels and faces Matt and Susan as they attempt to set the charges necessary to open the tunnels. Delusionally believing that his project is still viable, Levering shoots Matt, but one of his shots goes astray and destabilizes the wall, releasing steam that blinds him. Matt and Susan escape the tunnels just in time to avoid the lava flow, while Levering is killed in the eruption. Their plan works and the city is saved.

The film was filmed on location in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, New York.

Cast

• Costas Mandylor as Matt MacLachlan
• Michael Ironside as Andrew Levering
• Alexandra Paul as Dr Susan Foxley
• Michael Boisvert as Ace
• Eric Breker as RJ
• Ron Selmour as Frank
• Pascale Hutton as Karen
• Zak Santiago as Jose
• Robert Moloney as Jacob Reed
• Kaj-Erik Eriksen as Joey
• Matthew Bennett as Agent Walters
• Andrew Kavadas as Tommy
• Kenneth McNulty as Neil Kavanagh
• William MacDonald as Site Director
• Tom Heaton as Hal
• William Taylor as Mayor
• Claire Riley as Newscaster
• Louis Chirillo as Paulie
• Robert Morton as Home Owner

Release

While the film was originally released in North America in 2006, it has appeared in other countries in the following years. France, Germany, and Argentina has received the film a year later, followed by Hungary in 2008. In 2009, the film was released in Italy.

External Links

• Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York at the Internet Movie Database.
• Disaster Zone: Volcano in New York at Rotten Tomatoes.