Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie Review

Without much logic.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 6, 2014

When they appeared in the 1980 horror opus Without Warning, Jack Palance and Martin Landau were still more than a decade away from their respective Academy Award wins for Best Supporting Actor, testament perhaps to the fact that virtually every show business career is a series of peaks and valleys. While the basic setup of Without Warning is curiously reminiscent of an episode of the original Star Trek series called "Operation: Annihilate!", with little flying leech like objects (usually referred to as jellyfish) flying through the air and attaching themselves to their human victims, part of the fun (such as it is) of this lo-fi outing is its rather eclectic cast. Along with future Oscar recipients Landau and Palance, the film also features Kiss Me Deadly’s Ralph Meeker, F Troop’s Larry Storch (here leading quite another type of troop—Cub Scouts), and several other regular television and film character actors like Cameron Mitchell, Neville Brand, Sue Ane Langdon and even a young David Caruso. Even star Christopher S. Nelson has television in his bloodline; his father Ed Nelson was one of the more recognizable regulars on the old Peyton Place nighttime soap opera. Like any good low budget horror film, Without Warning pretty much cuts right to the chase in its opening sequence, though kudos should be accorded to the writers since the first victims are not in fact amorous teenagers. Instead a father and son hunting team falls prey to the weird, flying saucer like jellyfishes. Soon the Cub Scouts wander into the scene, and when the troop leader stumbles upon the remains of the hunters, he, too, becomes the latest victim. It’s not until several minutes into the film that the requisite teen lovers enter the fray, at which point Without Warning starts to trundle down a fairly rut worn path.

There are initially four young ‘un’s out to have some fun in the forest, but soon enough two of them (including the aforementioned David Caruso) take off for “fun” in private, and when they seemingly vanish into thin air, Sandy (Tarah Nutter) and Greg (Christopher S. Nelson) begin investigating, leading to the first traditional shock of the film (which will not be spoiled here). Suffice it to say, the viewer is presented with oozing evidence of what happens to people after the flying jellyfish attack. That of course alerts the kids that something evil is at hand (and/or neck), and that good old horror standby hysterical panic sets in.

And it’s here that Without Warning attempts to introduce a bit of innovation into this frankly tired premise. The local townsfolk have already been shown to be a bit on the eccentric side, but they also seem to have a bit more knowledge about what’s going on than they are willing to come right out and say. When Greg attempts to get help, he’s confronted by two seemingly unhinged characters. There’s Sarge (Martin Landau), a former vet who is obviously suffering from one very bad case of post traumatic stress disorder, and Joe Taylor (Jack Palance), a local hunting expert who is not going to let any mere alien jellyfish scare him. The film tends to ping pong between these two characters, and there’s actually some decent ambivalence about which (if either) of these weird men the kids should put their trust in.

Without Warning at the very least gives both Palance and Landau the chance to chew the scenery with the best of them. Landau has the more florid role here, and Sarge is a pop eyed maniac at several key junctures. Joe is at least relatively more reserved, but Palance invests him with that intense curmudgeonly quality that became his trademark in his later career. The odd thing about this all is that these two are by far the most interesting characters, so much so that many viewers may be emitting a profound “meh” with regard to whatever ultimately happens to the supposedly focal young folks.

The biggest issue with Without Warning, though, is its utter lack of logic. I was watching an old swashbuckler years ago with a film producer and during one of the climactic fight scenes, she quite cogently asked, “Why do they always run up?” (as in up a mast, from which they have no easy egress). Something akin to that question may occur to alert viewers at several key moments throughout the film. While it’s of course a horror staple for characters to do incredibly stupid things (which usually result in their deaths), here it’s taken to extremes, to the point that some may actually be rooting for the alien hunter who, it turns out, is responsible for those flying jellyfish leeches.

There’s a certain segment of horror fans that absolutely loves this kind of low budget, no frills enterprise, and many of them have been salivating over the first ever home video release of this largely forgotten film. This may be another case of rosy memories (for those who probably saw this when it was first released) not quite measuring up to the cold, clear (and cynical) light of “adult day”. Without Warning is kind of goofy fun, but it’s certainly no neglected masterpiece. It’s perfect drive-in fodder for those who at this stage prefer to have their movies drive to them in the comfort of their home theaters.

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Without Warning is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory (an imprint of Shout! Factory) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Producer-director Greydon Clark mentions on his commentary track that this film was shot for around $150,000, which even in 1980 was a mere pittance, and so expectations must be set accordingly. This high definition presentation is far from perfect, but it's actually more than adequate, and even quite good, quite a bit of the time. Aside from some initially pretty evident telecine wobble during the credits, the image is for the most part very stable. Grain structure is very natural looking, if a bit splotchy in some of the darker scenes. The opening 45 minutes or so of the film, which take place largely in daylight, offer good color reproduction and decent if not overwhelming fine detail. There's an odd blue tint to the opening sequence (which is also the optically printed credits sequence, which may or may not have anything to do with the odd color), but after that, things improve markedly. Due to the low light filming conditions for the second half of the film (Without Warning was lensed by the appropriately nicknamed "Prince of Darkness", Dean Cundey), there's virtually no discernable shadow detail, although some of the "shock" inserts of the jellyfish victims actually provide more fine detail than brightly lit shots earlier in the film. There are occasional light dustings of compression artifacts as well in these darker moments, but for fans of this cult item who have been waiting with bated breath for its high definition debut, my hunch is that won't be a deal killer.

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Without Warning features a perfectly adequate lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix that effectively presents dialogue (and screams) along with Dan Wyman's alternately effective and slightly annoying score. While narrow, the track boasts a rather full sounding midrange, and there is no damage of any kind to report.

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Greg and Sandy's Alien Adventures (1080p; 20:45) features fun interviews with Christopher S. Nelson and Tarah Nutter.


• Producers vs. Aliens with Daniel Grodnik (1080p; 11:25) is another great interview with the producer of the film.


• Hunter's Blood with Greg Cannom (1080p; 5:56) focuses on make-up effects.


• Independents Day with Dean Cundey (1080p; 15:06) features an interview with the legendary cinematographer.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:42)


• Still Gallery (1080p; 3:53)


• Audio Commentary with Producer and Director Greydon Clark. Clark is awfully reserved here, speaking slowly and fairly quietly, but he has a fantastic memory of the shoot and also gets into some of the nuts and bolts of the film's rather convoluted post-release history.

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Without Warning is yet another title rescued from (no offense to the film's fans) obscurity by Scream Factory, which along with a couple of other horror-centric imprints seems intent on bringing out virtually every cult property anyone has ever even mentioned in passing. A lot of these films have outsized reputations due to a rabid fan base which insists they're overlooked masterpieces. It's pretty hard to make that argument with this film, for it follows several tried and true genre conventions, and is further somewhat debilitated by its low budget. Surprisingly, while the alien makeup is pretty laughable, the other effects (on victims of the jellyfish) are very well executed and provide the requisite squirm factor that horror lovers will be desiring. It's also a lot of fun to see such a varied cast in such outré roles. Technical merits here are generally okay if not overwhelmingly strong, but the supplementary package is outstanding. For genre enthusiasts at least, Without Warning comes Recommended.