There's Nothing Out There

Underrated. Much better than i expected. I've watched a lot of "cult" comedy/horror movies of this era and most of them are not scary neither funny. This one made me laugh at times. Characters are likeable, especially the one who constantly was warning them and everyone ignored. Definitely this movie influenced SCREAM franchise, because there are some "meta" scenes too. It's clever and there are some hot girls here too. What's not to like?

In conclusion, every fan of this genre should watch it. It is a shame this went unnoticed. Of course keep in mind this is a b movie, no big production and so on.

In low-budget horror spoof There's Nothing Out There, seven teenagers - couples Jim and Doreen (Mark Collver and Wendy Bednarz), Janet and David (Claudia Flores and Jeff Dachis), and Stacy and Nick (Bonnie Bowers and John Carhart III), plus 'gooseberry' Mike (Craig Peck) - spend spring break at a rural house in the woods, unaware that a vicious killer alien is lurking nearby.

If anyone should know how to survive a horror film scenario, it's a horror film fan - someone who recognises the warning signs, is familiar with the genre's tropes, and who understands what needs to be done in any given horror situation. That's the premise of There's Nothing Out There, scary movie aficionado Mike being the only one to realise the danger he and his friends are in and act accordingly. While his pals are wandering through the woods at night, skinny dipping in a pond, or having sex, he's preparing himself for a battle against the unknown. Hell, at one point he even suspects that he might be in a horror movie!

This meta approach makes the film more fun than if it were played straight - it's knowingly dumb and deliberately exploits all of the genre clichés, with characters doing the most asinine things guaranteed to place them in peril. In one crazy scene, writer/director Rolfe Kanefsky even has a character grab hold of the boom mic to swing to safety - it's that kind of film! The monster itself is a delightfully shonky, tentacled rubber creature that fires green laser beams from its eyes, there's a modicum of gore (with a wonderfully orchestrated decapitation scene), and all of the girls (and a couple of the guys) shed their clothes: Doreen takes a shower and strips for fireside sex, Janet has her clothes ripped off by the creature, and Stacy gets jiggy with Nick and spends the remainder of the movie running around in a bikini (and looks great doing so!).

It all amounts to a big dose of schlocky B-movie silliness, coated with goopy layer of green alien slime, which should appeal to anyone who can identify with Mike, for whom horror is not just a hobby, but a way of life.

I saw this movie one late night on cinemax, and had to own it. It took me over a year to find it for sale. That's how much I love it. The acting isn't that good, except for PECK, but don't let that stop you. Peck's character tells you the signs and rules of horror movies, way before SCREAM. Couple of classic scenes i.e. cat falling from ceiling, actor swinging on a boom mike, and the classic line "The only thing we know about it is it, like everyone else hates a mouth full of shaving cream!" As horror movie I give it -2 stars, as horror spoof +10.

Before we got the likes of Scary Movie, there was this. Smart, fast paced film with a good sense of humor and a game cast is about seven college students going to a remote cabin and falling prey to an alien that is looking to reproduce. This time around though, one of the kids knows that they are part of a horror movie and knows exactly what is going to happen. However, his friends don't pay attention naturally.

Rated R; Sexual Situations, Rape, Nudity, Violence, and Profanity.

This is an impressive amateur effort from the directing to the writing to the acting to the production. It feels like a good college theater troupe pooled their money to prove their chops because its so much sharper than the usual indie horror comedy. Its even historic in its premise as this is the first self-referential/meta slasher film. It will surprise you how much it predicts (or inspires) both "Scream" and "Cabin in the Woods".

TNOT is dated in some of its jokes and fashion but its a charming and high spirited film that has aged very well and deserves a lot of credit for being so ahead of its time and making the most of its small budget.