Starring: Jack Palance, Martin Landau, Cameron Mitchell, Kevin Peter Hall, Neville Brand, Sue Ane Langdon
Directors: Greydon Clark
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Run Time: 89 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
“Without Warning” is a lost horror film that has never received a home release for the last 30+ years. We are even talking VHS here. Thanks to Scream Factory, this film has been given the Blu-ray treatment and rescued from a dark shelf. This 1980 alien horror flick stars Academy Award winners Jack Palance and Martin Landau in early roles. This film is not the greatest entry to come out the 80’s. The aliens looks laughable but for the budget they had in the film, it is acceptable. Worth checking out if you’ve never seen. Leave it to Scream Factory to deliver the classics to their fans for sure!
Official Premise: A group of teenagers head out to the lake for a relaxing camping trip in the mountains. They ignore the warnings of the local truck stop owner and head to their destination. Things go terribly wrong when they run into an extraterrestrial who throws deadly discs that suck the blood of their victims. The group heads back to the truck stop for help from the eclectic group of residents: a crazy war veteran (Martin Landau, Ed Wood) and a determined hunter (Jack Palance, Batman).
Scream Factory (child label of Shout! Factory) delivers this film as a Blu-ray + DVD combo pack. The 1080p transfer in 1.85:1 aspect ratio is not perfect but fairly decent for a film that cost next to nothing in 1980 and has been forgotten about since then. Same goes for the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 surround track, which works well with the film has going. Not a huge fan of the score though.
The special features are solid though. There is a great interview with Christopher S. Nelson and Tarah Nutter called “Greg and Sandy’s Alien Adventures”. “Producers vs. Aliens” is another great interview with the producer of the film, Daniel Grodnik. “Hunter’s Blood with Greg Cannom” focuses on the (laughable) make-up effects. “Independents Day with Dean Cundey” is another interview with the cinematographer. There is an Audio Commentary track with Producer and Director Greydon Clark, which is decent but not amazing. Lastly there is a theatrical trailer and still gallery.
