Four teens—Beth, Tom, Sandy and Greg (Lynn Theel, David Caruso, Tarah Nutter and Christopher S. Nelson)—ignore creepy gas station owner Taylor (Jack Palance) when he warns them not to go up to the lake. They regret their decision when they find themselves stalked by a tall creature that flings deadly organic frisbees at them.
As much as I admire John McTiernan's 1987 Arnie classic Predator, I have to admit that the film bears more than a passing resemblance to 1980 sci-fi/horror Without Warning. Not only is the plot suspiciously similar—an alien arrives on Earth to hunt humans—but the performer playing the extraterrestrial hunter is the very same person who played the Predator: 6'9" Kevin Peter Hall.
Of course, Without Warning isn't the flawless, testosterone fuelled, action-fest that is Predator: for much of the time the plot goes nowhere, with the teen protagonists stumbling from one location to another pursued by both the dome-headed ET and a loopy, gun-toting ex-soldier, Fred 'Sarge' Dobbs (played to the hilt by Martin Landau); meanwhile, Taylor plans to kill the beast. There's some fun to be had from the wonky alien frisbees, which fly awkwardly through the air and sport burrowing tentacles and gnashing teeth, but a lot of the running time is spent with the characters doing just that: running.
The film ends in a manner that is, once again, eerily similar to Predator: Taylor prepares a booby trap and lures the alien by shouting 'come on!'. Coincidence? I think not.
6.5 out of 10 for the gloopy effects and Dean Cundey's great cinematography (unlike many a low budget horror, we can actually see what is going on in the dark), rounded down to 6 for killing off bikini babe Beth too quickly.
As much as I admire John McTiernan's 1987 Arnie classic Predator, I have to admit that the film bears more than a passing resemblance to 1980 sci-fi/horror Without Warning. Not only is the plot suspiciously similar—an alien arrives on Earth to hunt humans—but the performer playing the extraterrestrial hunter is the very same person who played the Predator: 6'9" Kevin Peter Hall.
Of course, Without Warning isn't the flawless, testosterone fuelled, action-fest that is Predator: for much of the time the plot goes nowhere, with the teen protagonists stumbling from one location to another pursued by both the dome-headed ET and a loopy, gun-toting ex-soldier, Fred 'Sarge' Dobbs (played to the hilt by Martin Landau); meanwhile, Taylor plans to kill the beast. There's some fun to be had from the wonky alien frisbees, which fly awkwardly through the air and sport burrowing tentacles and gnashing teeth, but a lot of the running time is spent with the characters doing just that: running.
The film ends in a manner that is, once again, eerily similar to Predator: Taylor prepares a booby trap and lures the alien by shouting 'come on!'. Coincidence? I think not.
6.5 out of 10 for the gloopy effects and Dean Cundey's great cinematography (unlike many a low budget horror, we can actually see what is going on in the dark), rounded down to 6 for killing off bikini babe Beth too quickly.