Without Warning

Greydon Clark's "Without Warning" has finally made it to the Shout!/Scream lineup, which will at last give historians a chance to see what an early alien/hunter story looked like oh so long ago. (This isn't "Predator" (1987), make no mistake; Jim and John Thomas wrote that one as a military style film in which an alien invader comes on the scene, whereas "Without Warning" is very much about character, as poorly developed as some of these characters may be in fact.) So don't go into this film expecting the violence and intensity of the 1987 Schwarzenegger blockbuster; in fact, tracing the "author" of this initial idea of the outer space trophy collector of humans may be difficult, since it probably originated in a pulp magazine from days long since gone (sadly). I certainly can't think of a film that predates this one that may have used this concept (?). However, Clark's film really doesn't do much with the concept: the camera moves slowly if methodically, looking around for interesting things to happen to these rather lethargic characterizations; the music score (which is quite good overall) doesn't really conduct the emotions of viewers in a truly directed fashion; the alien (while menacing, featuring the tall Kevin Peter Hall) is not on screen very long, and while he may represent a threat, he is more of a nuisance-type rather than the gruesome, overwhelming threat that most hostile alien creations are (think "Predator"). Do I find the film boring? Well, no...but that's because I am a film historian and I enjoy watching these older titles, seeing what exactly was going on in the history of genre pictures and B-movies (and especially horror films). I think a lot of the film is fun, despite the fact that there is not that much happening on screen, yet this is a far more subtle approach than today's idiotically hyper-violent action pictures--today, "sci-fi" translates as "action picture" (this film may not be considered "watchable" by present day horror and sf film enthusiasts, but that's their loss if so). "Without Warning" is rated R, which certainly shocked me, despite the fact that it is a terrific exploitation film concept (there is no nudity or sexuality, very little swearing (if any), and violence is certainly kept to a minimum and mostly off screen--all of this I was very much pleased with, since I love these thriller stories on film but really wonder why other filmmakers can't get creative and stop showing us so much nastiness, gruesome violence, inappropriate sex scenes, along with so much unnecessary strong language--"Without Warning" is probably a film that your conservative grandfather can watch with you, despite the rating on the packaging). Still, for all of its good qualities, it is a film that can't seem to get itself going, routinely wasting the performances of Landau, Meeker, Brand, and especially Palance (who is the film's hero). Nonetheless, it is fun to have so many screen legends on hand here. The real problem with the film is the script itself (I defer you to Greydon's audio commentary and (the Blu Ray's best feature) interview with producer Daniel Grodnik in order to understand what it was exactly that happened with this script, which apparently began on spec, then got rewritten by another, and then eventually was re-written by Clark himself...oh sheesh!). Anyway, if you are a collector, this is an essential purchase.As for this new Blu Ray package itself, yes, again Shout!/Scream has given me reason to award a 5-star plus review to what is probably a three and a half star film at best (if not the least reason, "Without Warning" shows how a good thriller idea can be delivered on screen without so much constant objectionable content and, especially, without much graphic violence--but audiences did have different attention spans back then). The extras are very good overall here. The Nelson/Nutter interview is actually quite disposable, but it may be of interest to you if you are fans of either of them. The Dean Cundey interview is great for us historians, but it's not quite essential. Co-producer Grodnik's interview segment is the best feature, as he explains how he got into the business, and how he ended up broke after finishing the film. This is fascinating viewing for film enthusiasts. Trailers, and still gallery, are both interesting features as well. The film does prove that an aesthetic of filmmaking based upon little money and strong concepts can actually work, despite the fact that the low-budget exploitation market isn't quite what it used to be, but at least this is a reminder of those glory days long since gone.Director Greydon Clark offers an audio commentary that is a little sporadic in its quality, but his voice is pleasant enough to hear; he offers an interesting plug at the end of the track for his book "On the Cheap: My Life in Low-Budget Filmmaking", which is written in screenplay form, and is an essential book purchase for B-movie lovers. While not quite the archivist as one like Kubrick (for example), Clark remembers quite a bit, but his commentary is, again, a bit too hit and miss for those of us who want more information. Still, a nice package overall. A-

It was so great to see this movie again. When I was a kid back in the early / mid 1980's, one of the local UHF stations had this movie in their rotation. For me, it is still as enjoyable now as it was then. It is a "B" movie, but in the grand spectrum of "B" movies "Without Warning" is definitely one of the best of them. It's an example of how good a low budget movie can be with some good decision making and a bit of luck. This wasn't Greydon Clarks first rodeo and because of working together on previous projects, he was able to enlist indie cameraman extraordinaire; Dean Cundy (who, between 1978 and 1982 probably blasted through 879 billion feet of film, working also with John Carpenter and Roger Corman at that time). Expert cameraman who also does lighting? Check! 35mm filmstock? Check! A supporting cast of big(ger)-name former stars? Check! Innovative, original, and well executed special effects? Check! You can really tell that a lot of love and hard work went into making this movie. Had the budget been bigger and the crew had more time to shoot, this movie wouldn't have fallen into the shadows of the forgotten forest of "B" Sci-Fi horror. For my money, the restoration is top notch. There are lot of nighttime scenes, and they look great, not too dark or full of pixilated mud. The colors are vibrant, nothing is washed out, the whole copy is just extremely clean. This movie didn't look a fraction as good when watching it on broadcast TV in the 80's. The pro's definitely outweigh the con's, and it's just good, old-fashioned fun!

Here's the film that people have said that resembles PREDATOR so much (it doesn't) that this was the reason it was never available on home video until now. The truth is that the only thing this film and PREDATOR have in common is that the aliens in both films were played by the late Kevin Peter Hall. This is a hokey, but enjoyable, sci-fi/horror flick, directed by Greydon Clark (SATAN'S CHEERLEADERS) about an alien landing on Earth and sending his flying miniature aliens (signs of NOT OF THIS EARTH and other 50's horror films) to attach themselves to human bodies. There is a great cast (including one of the first appearances of David Caruso) and some bloody moments that make this film a fun little bloody early-80's alien invasion flick. Nothing exceptional, just fun.

「スパイ大作戦」で知られるマーティン・ランドー、「悪魔の沼」のネヴィル・ブランド、「シェーン」のジャック・パランスが出演したSFホラーの珍品。キャンプにやってきた若者たちが、ヒトデのような形の生物に襲われます。それは、謎の宇宙人ニンジャリアンが操る、恐ろしい吸血生物。人間に取り付いて、生き血を吸い尽くして殺します。ニンジャリアンは、昔のUFO特番に出てきそうな顔の宇宙人に、チープな宇宙服を着せた姿です。例の吸血生物を、手裏剣みたく投げつけて人を殺すので、「忍者+エイリアン=ニンジャリアン」という、この邦題が付いたとのこと。典型的なB級ですが、狩りを楽しむニンジャリアンと、人間との攻防戦は見応えがあります。この海外版Blu-rayはShout!Factoryから発売の、Blu-rayとDVDのセットです。Blu-rayは国内版のハードで再生できますが、DVDはリージョン1なので、リージョンフリーのプレーヤーでないと再生できません。特典はグレイドン・クラーク監督の音声解説、新規撮影のインタビュー集、オリジナル劇場予告編、スティール・ギャラリーです。

I remember this back in 1983 released as The Warning by video company guild home video prior to the 1984 stamp down on so called video nasties.I'm not sure if this film was listed as a video nasty at that time but it wasn't reissued on video until the early 1990s and then came out to buy apparently uncut on the now defunct vipco label.Since vipcos demise in 2007 this film has not been available to rent/buy in the UK because no uk distributor has bought the rights which is a shame as it's a good film.This version I have is a import dvd & is uncut so happy daysI recommend this movie as it's a good-un☺ .

Simply a great piece of 80's cheeze. Never before seen on DVD or Blu ray, Scream Factory puts out a hell of an effort to revive this B-movie classic. Nice bonus content, excellent picture and sound and an all around good value. Comes with reversible cover art.

Excellent

This obviously served as some inspiration for Predator and it even features the predator himself!! Lots of great actors feature and even the lesser known ones give a good performance.