Four teenagers go for a hike in the mountains, and seem to be enjoying life to the absolute best. While things seem to be going swimmingly, strange jellyfish-like creatures are popping up around the area. They attack and attach themselves to their victims, all while penetrating their bodies with sharpened tentacles. The teens make the decision to drive away from the scene, and ultimately wind up in a truck stop that is populated by skeptics. Well, save for one: Fred "Sarge" Dobbs, a mentally unstable war veteran who is more convinced by the youths' story that anyone else within the vicinity. Soon, every single person involved will discover the truth about the smaller culprits, and that they may be nothing more than weapons for something, or someone far more powerful who views humanity as nothing but trophies.
If you have ever gotten to know me relatively well over the years, then you'll know how much I adore the adrenaline-filled science fiction/action/horror hybrid known as 1987's Predator. I have an unusual bond with John McTiernan's picture, and know a tad bit too much information on its background, legacy, and overall impact that it's had since cinemagoers first laid eyes on it thirty years ago. What took me by surprise, however, was the existence of a small budget SciFi/horror release titled Without Warning. As you can no doubt tell by the film's plot synopsis posted, there's an uncanny resemblance to the franchise that birthed the Yautja.
The similarities between the two end right there though, and for better or for worse, Without Warning is an entirely different beast. There doesn't seem to be the same "one by one you die" plot that is so frequently found in slasher standouts, but rather an incredibly slow burn with only temporary moments of what constitutes as volume. The second act of the motion picture feels as if it were lifted from another release entirely; focusing on the human characters' predicament and the uneasy feelings among the bar patrons. Martin Landau (North by Northwest, Ed Wood) is public enemy number one during these scenes, and while you can classify Without Warning as one of many projects that the actor most likely did out of boredom and paycheck necessity, his role of a paranoid veteran who is obsessed with otherworld lifeforms is one of the only highlights to be found. Jack Palance of City Slickers fame also pops up as a Quint-style character, but there are multiple times where he appears to be rather disinterested or just going through the motions. Nobody else really has distinguishing feature or quirks to separate them from any other horror/scifi movie out there on the market. And yes, that does include suit actor Kevin Peter Hall (the titular antagonist from Predator....yes, I know) as the silent, but absolutely silly Megamind-esque alien hunter.
I will cut Without Warning some slack though, especially since it was filmed for approximately $150,000. Imagination says that most of its budget was spent conceptualizing and creating the rather strange-looking, bloodsucking jellyfish. Their resemblance to a giant tick if it made love with one of the beings from Metroid does provide for some gooey, if not occasionally bloody sequences. But these bright moments are brought down by the flick's greatest flaw: the pacing is oftentimes excruciating. I don't need to sound like a broken record by stating my thoughts on slow burns, so I'll just say that for the first time in this year's marathon, I felt genuinely sleepy while watching a movie. The more sluggish, quieter moments in Without Warning were crafted so that we can spend more time with our leads, but it doesn't seem to fully work since most newcomers will be getting rather impatient with a lack of action.
When all is said and done, the most fascinating thing about Without Warning is being able to pick out which segments and characters serve as the blueprint for better pictures to come along many years later. It isn't a wholly bad movie, but it moves at too much of a crawl for me to ever warrant an immediate repeat viewing. Perhaps this is one of the few exceptions of an 80s horror relic that is in need of a remake. Most of its flaws could be easily improved should it end up in the right pair of hands. If one ever desires to add this pre-Predator piece to their own prize shelf, then you can pick up Shout! Factory's Blu-ray/DVD combo pack for a fairly cheap price.
Or better yet, just get a hold of Predator again. Yes, the advantage is unfair due to having a bigger budget at its disposal, but it'll make you a god damn sexual Tyrannosaurus.
Tomorrow, we' make a leap forward into the next decade, and take a trip to the wonderful world of one acclaimed Latino director!
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