Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Warning Sign Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson July 10, 2019

In 1985 Twentieth Century-Fox had a small, modestly budgeted biohazard thriller titled Warning Sign that it didn't know what to do with so it dumped the film into theaters late summer of that year. Hal Barwood's sole directing feature not only didn't receive extensive wide play across the US but Fox was late in delivering advanced screenings for critics. When the studio finally did, the movie received mixed reviews. Particularly damaging to Barwood's future directing prospects was a sneering review by the Miami News's film critic Jon Marlowe, who led with this opening: "True story: One day this guy named Hal Barwood, who has nev­er made a movie before in his en­tire life, walks into a major film studio (20th Century-Fox), sits down with its head honchos and tells them he has this great idea for a film: “Let’s combine parts of ‘Silkwood’ with parts of ‘Dawn of the Dead.’’’ Now the people Hal has just ex­plained this ludicrous idea to are being paid big bucks to screen wackos such as Hal so their studio doesn’t invest a lot of time and money in bona-fide disasters. In­stead of throwing Hal out the 34th- floor window head first (in hopes of de-scrambling his brain cells), they all sit there, nod in amazement, think it’s a marvelous idea, give Hal the green light and all the cash he wants to direct and co-write one of this year’s worst movies: 'Warning Sign'." This scathing critique is truly a shame. Harwood and co-writer Matthew Robbins came up with a witty, intelligent, and sometimes funny script. Warning Sign is also well-directed by Harwood, who handled a tight filming schedule with workmanlike efficiency.

Warning Sign opens with a group of lab workers preparing what's purportedly genetically engineered corn that will be mixed with salt water. Dr. Nielsen (Richard Dysart) unknowingly lets a label get stuck on his white spacesuit only to get it affixed to another vial, which falls mutely to the floor. Later, Tom Schmidt (G.W. Bailey), the lab manager, wants to take a group photo after a hard day's work with his Polaroid but unwittingly steps on the beaker, breaking open a contagious baccilus. Joanie Morse (Kathleen Quinlan), the building's security guard, sees biohazard alerts on her monitor and brings down the emergency doors in different wings, essentially placing BioTek Agronomics in a lockdown. Cal Morse (Sam Waterston), Joanie's soon-to-be fiancé, is the rural town sheriff in Payson, Utah and is called in to check things out. Cal is snacking and leisurely studying for his bar exam. His dinner with Joanie will have to wait. Also showing up at BioTek is the U.S. Accident Containment Team headed by burly and authoritative Major Connolly (Yaphet Kotto). The USACT's official cover story to the small gathering of press reporters is that there's been an accident with a yeast experiment. But Connolly withholds that the Pentagon has been secretly sponsoring a lethal germ-warfare program that it hopes to use on the Soviets. But now the virus is loose and spreading fast inside BioTek. Joanie urges her husband to recruit an ex-employee back to BioTek for medical assistance. Dr. Dan Fairchild (Jeffrey De Munn) knows not only the side effects of this virus but also various antitoxins that could dispel it.

Trapped inside but on call.

Warning Sign moves at a breakneck pace, which is a credit to Oscar-nominated editor Robert Lawrence (Spartacus) for crosscutting so adroitly between the different lab rooms and outside BioTek where a non-military posse tries to overtake USACT and storm inside themselves. Sam Waterston, fresh off his acclaimed performance in Roland Joffé's great epic The Killing Fields (1984), shows both his vulnerability and working-class toughness. As Cal's possible future wife, Kathleen Quinlan is a very smart and strong heroine whose resourceful at the most critical moments. Broadway veteran Jeffrey De Munn is perfect as the brilliant scientist (whose also an ex-alcoholic). The one weak spot in the script is the relationship between Cal and Jeffrey is muddied at the start. Barwood and Robbins don't delve much into their backstory, either. Additionally, the black major is too easily stereotyped as a bad guy right out of a Blaxploitation film. Obviously, an acrimony exists between the local authorities and federal government but Yaphet Kotto's character is marked as the evil bureaucrat. In spite of these faults and a few plot holes, Warning Sign is a terrific biotech thriller ripe for rediscovery.

Warning Sign Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warning Sign makes its global premiere on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory (Shout!'s subsidiary) on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50. Appearing in its originally projected aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the film looks mostly solid with small problems. Original reviewers describe the main titles and other exterior shots of the Utah countryside as idyllic, lush, and glorious. These attributes come through fairly well on the transfer, although dirt interacts with the grain during the first scene right before the crop-dusting (Screenshot #20). Master cinematographer Dean Cundey captures the beauty outside BioTek (capture #20) and in a later shot as sunset descends. Terry Lawson of the Journal Herald (Dayton, OH) describes BioTek's interiors as a "a chemical research facility with its sanitized wealth of bright light and white smocks" and this is precisely the look Cundey sought. Barwood recollects on the recycled commentary track that Cundey wanted a silver/bluish light to reflect off Yotto (frame enlargement #6). Cundey also created a blue greenhouse light that has a bioluminescent glow on the zombies and around the corn plants (see #s 11-13). During the first half of Warning Sign, I detected several white speckles and light scratches. These diminished later on but there was more prominent print damage in form of very small artifacts in the final section. The grain structure is inconsistent and doesn't resolve itself the way it should. During a given scene, there's heavily textured grain in one shot but a more polished sheen to the image in another shot. My video score is 3.75. Scream has encoded the main feature at an average video bitrate of 34000 kbps.

Scream provides twelve scene selections for the 99-minute feature.

Warning Sign Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream Factory supplies the original DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (1682 kbps, 24-bit). The master sounds clean and clear to my ears. Dialogue reproduction isn't an issue. Delivery is crisp. The rotors on the USACT chopper emit the loudest and show the best range. As do gun shots. When f/x are employed, there's good directionality from side to side on the front speakers. I've been a big fan of composer Craig Safan's scores for a long time, especially his scores for The Last Starfighter (1984), Stand and Deliver (1988), and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988). I had never heard his music for Warning Sign before and it's a pleasant surprise. Safan took advantage of the acoustic possibilities that the Synclavier Synthesizer offered, producing a suspenseful and atmospheric all-electronic score. There's also a bass thump that announces the danger of the deadly virus. Safan also incorporates a lovely synth choir to underscore the emotive aspects in the story. The music stood out to me the most on this lossless stereo track.

Optional English SDH accompany the feature and can be accessed through the menu or your remote control.

Warning Sign Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Hal Barwood - Originally recorded in 2006 by Starz/Anchor Bay for its DVD, Barwood's voice is on the dry side but he intelligently analyzes the film's themes, his collaborations with the actors, devising light and color schemes with Dean Cundey, and the film's release. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Director/Co-Writer Hal Barwood (18:36, 1080i) - Barwood remembers the time when he had recently finished writing Dragonslayer and a subsequent project (which never got made), he and his pal Matthew Robbins co-wrote a script titled Warning Sign. In addition to the project origins (among other subtopics), Barwood also discusses working with Sam Waterston, casting director Susan Arnold, DP Dean Cundey, and composer Craig Safan. In retrospect, Barwood claims he was too hard on himself and the movie when he recorded the running commentary for Anchor Bay fourteen years earlier. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Producer Jim Bloom (42:18, 1080p) - a long and wide-ranging interview with the producer who defends the film and has high compliments for both cast and crew. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:27, 480i) - a full-frame trailer for Warning Sign that's in average condition. It's designed more as a teaser.

• Original TV Spot (0:32, 480i) - considering the analog source, this spot is in pretty decent shape and seems culled directly from Fox's vault rather than recorded from a network broadcast. Indeed, it's a PPV ad that you could order from one of the premium cable channels back in the day. The voice-over is in English.

• Still Gallery (2:28, 1080p) - twenty-six static images (mostly color with some in black and white) are presented in a slide slow comprising American and foreign poster sheets, international lobby cards, and photographs from Fox's press kit.

Warning Sign Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fox didn't really know which audience to pitch Warning Sign to but it should find many takers courtesy of this fine unofficial special edition from Scream Factory. Its scenes reminded me of Carpenter's The Thing (1982) which is no accident considering both are lensed by Dean Cundey. I also found it more entertaining than Silkwood (1983) and it's too bad that it couldn't have gotten the same exposure as Mike Nichols's award-winning drama. One wonders what kind of career Hal Barwood would have had but he delivered yeoman's work here. Scream Factory gives us a solid and imperfect transfer along with a very good stereo sound track presentation. The new interviews with Bloom and Barwood are both candid and informative. A STRONG RECOMMENDATION.