‘It preys on human fear. It feeds on human flesh.’
Without Warning is a 1980 sci-fi horror film about teenagers who go camping and encounter aliens using the area as a hunting ground.
Produced and directed by Greydon Clark (Uninvited; Wacko; Satan’s Cheerleaders). The movie stars Tarah Nutter, Christopher S. Nelson, Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Neville Brand and Ralph Meeker. Cameron Mitchell makes a cameo appearance.
Many observers have noted that thematically, this movie predates yet is similar to Predator which was made seven years later. Indeed, the same actor, Kevin Peter Hall, plays both aliens. It is also known as It Came… Without Warning, The Warning and Alien Shock, its German title.
Special effects designer Greg Cannom, who was later involved in major studio productions such as Jurassic Park, Hook and Titanic, created the memorable aliens. Cinematography was provided by Dean Cundey (The Thing; The Fog; Halloween).
Plot:
A father and son go into the mountains. Before they can begin hunting, which the son does not want to do anyway, they are killed by flying starfish-like creatures, which puncture their skin with needle-tipped tentacles.
Sometime later, four teenagers, Tom, Greg, Beth and Sandy, hike in the same area, ignoring the warnings of local truck stop owner Joe Taylor (Jack Palance).
A group of cub scouts is also in the area; their leader (Larry Storch) is killed by the alien creatures, while his troop run into an unidentified humanoid and flee…
“Without Warning is an interesting little horror picture not only because of thematic consistency but because it also adopts without question the slasher paradigm […] Some reviewers have complained about the special effects, but given that they’re 1980 vintage, the creatures in Without Warning remain pretty frightening.” John Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of the 1980s book
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“It starts off OK enough, with some little alien things (that look like the result of a mating between Alienfacehuggers and starfish) flying around and killing folks like Mitchell, but then it just falls apart after they find Caruso’s body (poor sod doesn’t even get a death scene). The alien frisbees all but completely disappear until the closing reel…” Horror Movie a Day book
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Cast and characters:
Tarah Nutter … Sandy
Christopher S. Nelson … Greg
Jack Palance … Joe Taylor – Alone in the Dark; Tourist Trap; Craze; Bram Stoker’s Dracula; Torture Garden; Man in the Attic; et al
Martin Landau … Fred ‘Sarge’ Dobbs – Ed Wood; Sleepy Hollow; The Being
Neville Brand … Leo – Evils of the Night; Eaten Alive; Killdozer
Ralph Meeker … Dave – The Food of the Gods; The Dead Don’t Die
Cameron Mitchell … Hunter – The Tomb; The Demon; The Toolbox Murders; Blood and Black Lace; et al
Darby Hinton … Randy
David Caruso … Tom – Session 9
Lynn Thell … Beth
Sue Ane Langdon … Aggie
Larry Storch … Cub Scout Leader
Kevin Peter Hall … The Alien – Predator; One Dark Night; Prophecy
Filming locations:
Paramount Ranch, Agoura, California
Malibu Creek State Park, Calabasas, California
Technical spec:
1 hour 37 minutes (restored)
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Trailer:
Free to watch online on YouTube:
