Featuring the same characters in a different natural catastrophe seems like a stretch, but Norwegian disaster film The Quake (2018) gives it a try. The scenario is necessarily contrived, but this sequel to The Wave makes a respectable go of it.
In The Wave, the Eikjord family survived a devastating tsunami in the fjord town of Geiranger, with the father — geologist Kristian (Kristoffer Joner) — coming out of it a hero for having raised the alarm in time to save thousands of lives. This hasn’t done him much good, as it turns out; three years later, wracked by PTSD and survivor’s guilt, he remains behind in Geiranger while his wife Idun (Ane Dahl Torp), son Sondre (Jonas Hoff Oftebro), and daughter Julia (Edith Haagenrud-Sande) have moved on to a new life in Oslo. Kristian may be a shell of his former self, but when his Oslo-based colleague Konrad (Per Frisch) dies in a roadway tunnel collapse, his geology brain kicks into high gear. Konrad was researching earthquake activity in Norway’s capital, and his death draws Kristian to the city to take up the thread — with the assistance of Konrad’s grieving daughter Marit (Kathrine Thorborg Johansen). This reunites him with his family just in time for disaster to strike yet again, setting off another fight for survival.
Given the logistical hoops it has to leap through to maneuver the players into the danger zone, The Quake is reasonably convincing — and interesting in that it takes time to consider the after-effects of surviving such a traumatic event. The returning leads are quite good once again, with newcomer Johansen effectively joining in on the heroism. The early stages build sluggishly, but ultimately the film ramps into a thrilling stretch of action sequences that are aided by impressive special effects and set design. I’d rate it slightly lower than both The Wave and this production company’s other disaster release, The Burning Sea, but it’s still a polished, well executed entry in the genre.
