Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 21, 2022

Greydon Clark's "Without Warning" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include archival audio commentary by the director; archival program with actors Tarah Nutter and Christopher S. Nelson; archival program with co-writer/co-producer Daniel Grodnik; archival program with cinematographer Dean Cundey; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtiles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Alien hunter

Greydon Clark’s Without Warning could have been a better film if it was a ‘worse’ film. Let me explain what I mean. There is a large part of it that wants to be campy in that old-fashioned way that makes these types of genre films quite effective. In this part there are creepy noises, some spooky shadows, and a fair amount of weird talk, plus a mean alien creature dispatching blood-sucking ninja-style live stars that do some serious damage to the human body. Also, here Clark’s camera shoots a very weird Jack Palance and an equally weird Martin Landau pushing Without Warning into that ‘worse’ territory where it would have emerged a better film. However, for some very, very strange reason the old geezers are the only two actors with a crystal-clear understanding of where Without Warning belongs. In the remaining parts Without Warning reveals an obvious desire to be a very different type of genre film. It wants to be logical and believable, even preachy in that inevitably off-putting way that is incompatible with the ‘worse’ but cool genre films. From time to time, it behaves as if it does not want to offend a party whose exact expectations had to be met as well.

I can’t tell if Clark knew that he was making such a bipolar genre film. I listened to the archival audio commentary he recorded for Scream Factory that is included on this release, and while it is a very informative one, especially in terms of where and how various parts of Without Warning were shot, at the end I was unable to conclude if Clark intended for his film to be so uneven. Clark mentions that he had to work with a very small budget, most of which went to the two big stars, and that he is proud of his work, but this isn’t helpful information. His detailed description of the specific manner in which he wanted to establish Landau’s character and how this material was apparently removed from some earlier versions of Without Warning suggests that he was shooting a serious genre film, but the current version of the film, which is his Director’s Cut, most definitely isn’t that kind of a genre film. This means that Clark either mismanaged the original material he had to work with, or did not properly communicate his intentions for the film to Palance and Landau, because the summation of the large part where the two are very active is quite simply incompatible with the genre film he addresses in the audio commentary.

So, what it is this better ‘worse’ film Clark could have shot?

First, the minuscule budget Clark had to work with was not an obstacle. The unevenness of Without Warning is a byproduct of Clark’s reluctance to quickly push and then unleash it in the same territory where you would discover Shock Waves, another low-budget horror film. In this territory everything becomes fair game, so Palance and Landau’s weirdness could have been inspirational. Second, in this territory the alien hunter, as Clark describes it, could have been a lot more effective as well. This does not mean that Clark would have had to reveal it earlier and shoot more footage with it. It means that he could have shot wilder and more atmospheric footage, which is precisely what Without Warning lacks to be entertaining. Finally, even this flawed Director’s Cut of Without Warning could have turned out a much better film with a simple but very effective electronic score. In fact, considering that Clark was able to secure the services of Dean Cundey, who had just done Halloween with John Carpenter, whose cinematic style was defined by these types of electronic scores, it is a bit strange that Clark did not encourage Dan Wyman to be more adventurous. Since Wyman had contributed to Midnight Express and Halloween, he was unquestionably the right man for the job, too.

The cast also includes Tarah Nutter, Christopher Nelson, a very young David Caruso, Ralph Meeker, Neville Brand, and Cameron Mitchell.

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Without Warning arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a new 2K master. On my system most of the time the film looked quite good, in some areas even excellent, but once again I was able to spot plenty of black crush. So, in a lot of the darker indoor and nighttime footage it is pretty easy to see that various fine nuances struggle to properly reveal themselves. As a result, a lot of visuals tend to look quite a bit 'thicker' than they should. On the other hand, the surface of the visuals, where grain exposure needs to be convincing, usually looks very good or excellent. This is the main reason why delineation and especially depth remain quite good. Color balance is very pleasing, but I don't know how the new master was graded and whether it was supervised by anyone with proper knowledge of the film's stylistic identity. Why do I mention this? Because the previous release of the film from Scream Factory is sourced from an older master that emphasizes slightly different color values. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I don't have the previous release of Without Warning in my library, but I assume that the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that is on it and the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track from this release are identical. I thought the quality of the audio that was coming through my speakers was excellent. Obviously, it is very easy to tell that only a tiny fraction of the film's small budget went to the soundtrack, but many of these genre films were done this way. So, I think that the lossless audio accurately replicates the native qualities of the soundtrack. I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review.

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - director Greydon Clark recorded this audio commentary for Scream Factory in 2014. Mr. Clark discusses in great detail the conception of Without Warning, its style and ambience, the contributions of various cast members, his Director's Cut of the film (which is on this release) and some unauthorized edits on other versions of the film, and his current evaluation of the film.

• Greg & Sandy's Alien Adventure - in this archival program, actors Tarah Nutter and Christopher S. Nelson discuss their background and careers and recall what it was like to work with Greydon Clark on Without Warning. The program was produced for Scream Factory in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Independents Day - in this archival program, cinematographer Dean Cundey recalls his initial impression of Without Warning, the low-budget nature of the project and what it meant for his career, the challenge of working with a few iconic actors at night, and the film's personality. Also, there are some very interesting technical comments about the little tricks Mr. Cundey was able to do on this film. The program was produced for Scream Factory in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Producers vs. Aliens - in this archival program, co-writer/co-producer Daniel Grodnik recalls how he entered the film business and became involved with Without Warning. Also, there are some very illuminating comments about the rewriting of the original material by Bennett Tramer, who apparently created some serious problems for Mr. Grodnik after he refused to finish what he had started. The program was produced for Scream Factory in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Hunter's Blood - in this archival program, special make-up effects creator Greg Cannom some of the unique work -- like taking a face cast -- he did during the production of Without Warning. Also, there are some quite interesting comments about the alien hunter and his 'frisbees'. The program was produced for Scream Factory in 2014. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Trailers From Hell - presented here is an archival episode of Trailers From Hell with director Mike Mendez (Big Ass Spider!). In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Without a Warning. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art for Without a Warning.

Without Warning Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I like the type of film Jack Palance and Martin Landau were making, which is not the film Greydon Clark was shooting. The former is a 'bad', notably weird campy horror film that could have been a lot like Ken Wiederhorn's Shock Waves. In fact, with a seriously atmospheric electronic score even the Director's Cut of Without Warning that is on this release could have been a pretty effective film. To be honest, I did not dislike Without Warning, but while I was viewing it the other night my mind just kept identifying the seemingly endless obvious opportunities Clark missed to deliver a cult gem. Yes, really. With some smart tweaks Without Warning could have been a pretty special film, so instead of trying to link it to Shock Waves, right here I would have been telling you that it is the spiritual godfather of John McTiernan's Predator. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a good new 2K master. RECOMMENDED, but only to the fans.