Without Warning (1980)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Greydon Clark

Writers:

Lyn Freeman (written by) &
Daniel Grodnik (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 November 1980 (France)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

The Alien Terror Is Here On Earth.

Plot:

An alien creature stalks human prey. |

Plot Keywords:

Prey | Alien | Creature | Camping | Swinging Light

Cast

Tarah Nutter	...	Sandy
Christopher S. Nelson	...	Greg
Jack Palance	...	Joe Taylor
Martin Landau	...	Fred 'Sarge' Dobbs
Sue Ane Langdon	...	Aggie
Neville Brand	...	Leo
Cameron Mitchell	...	The Father
Darby Hinton	...	The Son
David Caruso	...	Tom
Lynn Theel	...	Beth
Larry Storch	...	The Scoutmaster
Ralph Meeker	...	Dave
Mark Ness	...	Bill, the Pool Player
Burt Davis	...	Old Man at Bar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Peter Hall	...	The Alien (as Kevin Hall)
Jeffrey Sudzin	...	Ambulance Driver

Also Known As:

Alien Encounters (USA) (working title)
Alien Warning
It Came Without Warning
The Warning

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1989) | Finland:K-18 (1982) | Australia:R | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Company:

World Amusement Partnership Nr.108

Trivia:

The plot for the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi/action film Predator (1987) also features the same idea of an alien from outer space that hunts humans. The same actor who plays the alien in "Without Warning", Kevin Peter Hall, also plays the Predator.

Quotes:

Fred 'Sarge' Dobbs: No Chance... No Help... No Escape!

Movie Connections:

References The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Very underrated

This movie is known mainly for having a very similar premise to "Predator", and probably being its direct inspiration. It also sports a terrible reputation, which, I have to assume, comes from "Predator" fans that just can't stomach a movie without non-stop action and breathtaking special effects. And while I think "Predator" is one of the very best action movies of the 80s, "Without Warning" is way better than it's generally considered to be: a nice, very entertaining 80s B-Movie that's far superior to the average (the average being very low).

Apart from the premise, both movies are very different. While "Predator" is an action movie, "Without Warning" is a slasher film, with the variation of making the killer a hunter alien. As such, it follows the path of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th", and even directly copies moments from them, but it does that in a way that, while cheap and low-budget, creates a creepy atmosphere and keeps the viewer interested. I never grew bored while watching it. And its other strong point is the cast: the teenagers (which are the main characters, as usual in this type of movies, but fortunately this was before these things had to rely on cheesy one-liners directed to the killer in the danger moments), while not the next Laurence Oliviers, are adequate and manage to make us care for them, and the real stars are the supporting actors, several legends of low-budget film-making. It's nice to see Jack Palance playing a hero for a change, while the great Martin Landau, 14 years before getting a well-deserved Oscar for doing the Bela Lugosi, does the John Carradine here and is a whole lot of fun to watch as a white trash ex-military wacko. The rest (Mitchell, Brand, Meeker...) have only cameo roles, but it's fun to spot them.

Alas, while I think this is a good movie, it's far from a great one. The script is filled with ludicrous clichéd dialogue, just the same thing you find in countless of these pics, but anyway it's no worse than most and it's better than some (and, think about it, the "Predator" script was no Shakespeare either).

I think it's good on its own merits just like "Predator" is good on its own, but, anyway, even giving the edge to "Predator", this one is way, way, way, way better than "Predator 2". 7/10.