VideoXploiter The movie drags in places, but it's that same slow-pacing that often facilitates the sudden scares. Jack Palance and Martin Landau add some grizzled gravitas, while the younger actors play their roles serviceably - one such fresh-faced thespian being David Caruso. The filmmakers used their limited budget effectively, from the aliens method of dispatching it's victims, to said creatures reveal at the end. The end sequence itself is kick-ass, with Jack Palance stealing the show. I recommend this love-letter to 50s sci-fi horror movies.

TheLittleSongbird Was anticipating worse judging from the mixed to negative reviews seen for this film, while it didn't completely grab me it didn't make me mad either. Basically it is a mildly entertaining and harmless diversion, no more, no less.The performances of Jack Palance and Martin Landau have garnered mixed views, some viewers finding them a lot of fun and others feeling that they over-acted. This viewer is of the opinion that they were a lot of fun to watch and were by far the most involved actors in the cast. The overacting complaints are understandable in the case of Landau who admittedly is over-the-top and not all his scenes add to the film as effectively as they could have done, but because his character is meant to be deranged and that Landau succeeds very well at making Sarge gloriously unhinged the over-the-top-ness is forgivable. Palance is wonderfully cranky and brings a curmudgeonly charm to his eccentric role whenever he appears, and actually for late career Palance it's not that hammy, with the exception of the ALIEN line at the end.As for other virtues, Tarah Nutter does a credible job in the female lead role, of the younger cast she is the only one to have any material with any real meat to it, due to being on screen the longest of them, and to really convince. Kevin Peter Hall is a cool-looking and subtly terrifying alien, definitely making a good impression with his little (which was wisely limited, any more and it would have taken some of the mystery away) screen time. There are some fun and creepy moments, the climax is fun if also somewhat illogical and the flying discs do provide an unsettlingly creepy effect, on first viewing Greg's death was nightmare inducing and the scene with the boy scouts still has shock value. Greydon Clark wisely doesn't take things too seriously, while making sure that the fun and creepiness is a good mix and doesn't overshadow the other, while not entirely succeeding in making them run consistently throughout the film.Quality of the effects , the look of the film and script are mixed. The flying discs look good on their victims and have a real gory effect but look rather cheap journeying to them. Without Warning is slickly filmed with some atmosphere in the lighting, though the sets are limited, some exteriors are lit too darkly and a few of the shots in the middle third go on for too long inexplicably, seeming to only do that for padding purposes. With the script, Palance has all the best lines, there is a nice knowing tongue-in-cheek humour and Landau's dialogue at the end is delightfully kooky and while it lacks character motivation logic (and it's easy to mistake it for an all too easy way to get killed) it fits with Sarge's state of mind, but the dialogue elsewhere for almost all the younger cast is very awkward, with some clunky gaps, and confused stuff delivered stiffly.Of the younger cast, only Nutter convinces, everybody else has very little to do and come and go (some going quicker than when they were introduced) and they are all rather stiff. Ralph Meeker, Cameron Mitchell and Neville Brand are not bad in their roles but have nothing to do, and Larry Storch is rather irritating here. Character development is sketchy at best, only Palance and Landau have any development. Without Warning deserves credit for having an original premise, but more could have been done with it. It entertains certainly and is fun, suspenseful and creepy but those factors don't come consistently and too much of the story is padded out (to make up for that not a lot happens here and to sustain the somewhat too long running time), a little on the predictable side and there is a lack of logic in places (mainly in the behaviour of the characters). Pacing is also a real issue, with too many dull stretches, especially in the transition from the middle act to the last which is an almost endless drag, and would have benefited from less of the long shots and a couple of Landau's scenes (some like in the car going on for too long and not bringing an awful lot to the story, feeling more like padding than anything else) being trimmed down or excised, which would have made the film fifteen minutes shorter perhaps.In conclusion, mildly entertaining and a harmless diversion, that didn't leave me either completely riveted or angry, but it is a bit dull and more definitely could have been done with the premise. 5/10 Bethany Cox

bayardhiler While I can't say 1980's "Without Warning" was the best Sci-Fi/alien flick I've ever seen, I can say that it did exceed my expectations. The plot of the film is simple: Using bizarre looking but deadly living blood suckers as weapons, an alien creature from who knows where is ruthlessly stalking human prey alongside a rural lake for the sheer fun of it. After we witness a number of poor blokes being done in by the safari minded visitor, a group of teenagers decide it would be a great idea to go up to the lake and have some fun despite the warning they receive from slightly crazed, gas station owner and obvious hunting enthusiast Joe Taylor (Jack Palance with his usual fire and zeal). You can probably guess how things turn out from there! After their two friends are killed, the survivors of the group, Sandy (Tarah Nutter) and Greg (Christopher S. Nelson), run to the nearest town where through a series of events, they end up being caught up in Joe Taylor's quest to bring the creature down. But it's not just the creature they have to worry about, as Joe Taylor's paranoid friend Fred 'Sarge' Dobbs is also on hunt; the only problem is he thinks everyone is an alien! Will our heroes succeed or are they to be outsmarted by the professional hunting fiend from space? If the story sounds somewhat familiar to you, it should since Hollywood would use a very similar plot for the 1987 classic "Predator". But while the overall stories might sound familiar, they are by no means the same film. "Without Warning" uses a very different design for its creature from the stars, one that somewhat resembles the classic gray alien but still has its own uniqueness about it (Curiously ,though, the man who plays the creature here, Kevin Peter Hall, would also go on to play the monster in "Predator"). But the thing that really makes the creature stand out is its horrible blood suckers that it throws at unsuspecting people. Looking a bit silly while flying through the air, once they attach themselves to a person they instantly become one of the most cringe worthy things ever put to screen due just how realistic they look, even after all these years. I don't know who did the special effects for this film but who ever they were, they earned their keep. The film is also creepy at certain points due to the smart direction of director Greydon Clark. As for the actors, all do a very good job here, particularly Jack Palance as the slightly mentally off-balanced but still rational Taylor and Martin Landau as the completely off the wall Sarge. Christopher S. Nelson and Tarah Nutter also should be congratulated for holding their own as the young and confused teenage victims. Add in a very effective music score and you have a decent, fun B-movie from the days when Hollywood knew how to make them. To be sure the film is not Oscar-worthy but then again, if I wanted to see something that was I would simply watch "Gone With the Wind" instead. The movie is not available on DVD yet (It's set to be released for the first time on DVD in August of 2014) but it is on you tube. If you're a lover of B-movies like me and have some time to kill, "Without Warning" is sure to entertain you. Also starring Ralph Meeker, Cameron Mitchell, Larry Storch, and a very young David Caruso.

Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) I remember seeing the movie trailer one time when I was living in Long Island. Though I was way too young to see it. The movie may have been a limited premier in some places, it should have been nationwide later on. It has a great cast. Martin Landau ( Mission: Impossible, Space:1999), Jack Parlance, the biggest movie veteran ever. What more could you want? How about the 7'2" star Kevin Peter Hall who would later play BigFoot in "Harry and The Hendersons", and "Predator" ! In this movie, he plays this unnamed alien hunter who stalks the humans on Earth. His first kills are a father and son who are enjoying the outdoors and it would be the last for them as well. And the Scout leader was an unfortunate victim, leaving the Scouts running for their lives. How does this alien hunter kills so swiftly? By using these hideous discs that come alive when it hits the victim. So when the four friends went out to the lake to have fun, only two of them encounter the horror themselves. Later on, they meet a former Army Sergeant who still think he's in the war, feel there is an invasion. The store owner happens to be the most trusting is the one the two seems feel safe with. The whole ordeal with this movie is to survive the terror of being hunted by an alien hunter. A very good movie, just a bit overlooked, though.