Also known as It Came Without Warning and The Warning, Greydon Clark’s Without Warning is a precursor to 20TH Century Fox’s Predator. You might say Without Warning was a huge inspiration to Predator! In fact, Kevin Peter Hall, the actor that played the alien in this movie, went on to play Predator!
The story is about an alien being with a blue bulbous head that resembles something you would see in an Outer Limits episode that hunts people for sport and collect them as trophies by tossing small parasite type creatures at his would-be victims which drain them of their blood. A small group of teenagers, headed by Greg (Christopher Nelson, Roller Boogie) and Sandy (Tarah Nelson, Chilly Scenes of Winter) decide to go camping with another couple at the grounds where the alien just so happens to be hiding out. The alien being has already killed a few people including Hunter, a man’s man father (Cameron Mitchell, Garden of Evil, Island of the Doomed, Blood and Black Lace) and a Cub-Scout Leader (Larry Storch, Sweet Sixteen, Journey Back to Oz) and now has even more people to hunt down. Greg and Sandy get chased throughout the campsite and run into game hunter Joe Taylor (Jack Palance, Sudden Fear, The Big Knife, Gor) and the local nut Fred Dobbs (Martin Landau, North by Northwest, Crimes and Misdemeanors) who still thinks he’s in the Vietnam War and loses his mind when they need his help the most.
I feel Without Warning is vastly underrated, with a great cast of name actors including screen legend Ralph Meeker (Kiss Me Deadly) in his final film, Neville Brand(Eaten Alive, DOA) and Sue Ann Langdon(The Evictors, The Great Imposter). Director Clark adds a lot of suspense to the film, with the creature not appearing until the latter part of the film, helping the film to be much more effective. The effects are decent overall with the cool alien and is flying pancakes with teeth. Dean Cundey handled the cinematography for the film, giving it that eerie feeling that the film needed. The name Fred Dobbs played by Landau is a nod to Humphrey Bogart’s role in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
Previously released by Scream Factory years ago and is now out of print, Kino Lorber has re-released Without Warning, giving it a brand new 2K master, a slipcover with spectacular art by Vince Evans to go with the same bonus materials. The 2K scan is a small, but noticeable uptick to the previous release with the colors and scenery being a bit more bold and deeper, richer textures. Flesh tones look accurate with the image showing even better black levels. Details are strong as was the case with the Scream Factory release. Everything that was positive about the previous release has basically been improved up a notch. No DNR appears to have been used.
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack is quite healthy with strong dialogue and creepy music by Dan Wyman coming in a tad more aggressive. Action noises, screams and other assorted sounds also are clear without any defects such as hissing or drop-offs. English subtitles are available for this release.
The extras are the same as the Scream Factory release, which includes the audio commentary by Producer/Director Greydon Clark, Greg & Sandy’s Alien Adventures: Interviews with Actors Tarah Nutter and Christopher S. Nelson, Independents Day: Interview with Cinematographer Dean Cundey, Producers vs. Aliens: Interview with Co-Writer/Co-Producer Daniel Grodnik, Hunter’s Blood: Interview with Special Make-Up Effects Creator Greg Cannom, Trailers from Hell with Mike Mendez, and the original theatrical trailer.
For those who missed out on the original Blu-ray release of Without Warning, here is another chance to own this creepy classic without having to spend a ton of money. For some collectors, it might be worth owning for the attractive slipcover and to see the movie with the 2K master. The extras also contribute to making this re-release a worthwhile pickup and is easily a highly recommended release!
Without Warning (1980)
Director- Greydon Clark
Cast- Jack Palance, Martin Landau
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date –6/3/2022