With self-aware horror parodies being all the rage
these days (SCREAM, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, SCARY MOVIE), this whole
genre can be traced back to Rolfe Kanefsky’s 1989 horror comedy, THERE’S
NOTHING OUT THERE. Amazingly, Kanefsky wrote and directed this film while
only 20 years old, and distinguished it from the hundreds of
direct-to-video cheapies of the day by combining horror and comedy
elements in a unique manner. Kanefsky didn’t make the mistake of making
this a redundant slasher film, and instead all the mayhem is the result
of a tentacled mini-monster that resembles a cross between Belial from
BASKETCASE and the creature from THE BOOGENS (except Kanefsky’s monster
is dumb and horny—patterned after a Troma monster perhaps?). THERE’S
NOTHING OUT THERE played cinemas briefly and got great exposure from VHS
and cable showings, thus creating a cult following. Image Entertainment,
ever on the prowl for offbeat entertainment, captures the glory of THERE’S
NOTHING OUT THERE with a superb DVD special edition of this film that
sparked a new genre.
After their High School closes for the summer,
seven teenagers head into the mountains for some sexy fun and
relaxation. They stay at the summer home of Nick (John Carhart III) whose
parents own the place. As the sex and partying begin, no one notices the
arrival of a slimy little monster. Nick'’s best friend Mike (Craig
Peck) has seen every horror film there is, and tries to explain to
everyone that something is amiss. Of course, no one takes him seriously,
until it’s too late. The monster is diminutive in stature, but is
still extremely deadly and vicious. It also has unexplained powers such
as the ability to possess people. The tentacled creature stalks it’s
human victims, while Mike tries his best to warn his friends. Finally,
only Mike and Nick’s disbelieving girlfriend Stacy (Bonnie Bowers)
are left alive. When the survivors realize their predicament, Mike
attempts to use his knowledge of horror movies to outwit the vicious
predator.
Rolfe Kanefsky’s successfully balances sardonic
humor with the tense horrific elements, which is not all that easy to
pull off (ever see STUDENT BODIES?). Kanefsky obviously patterned the
main character of Mike after himself. You have to know the ins-and outs
of horror films to be able to weave the clichés into an intelligent
script. Though the character of Mike is annoying at times, his
horror-savvy personality should strike a cord with horror fans
everywhere. Craig Peck does a great job bringing this character to life,
and he easily outshines the other generic actors in THERE’S NOTHING
OUT THERE. Kanefsky is also influenced by THE BREAKFAST CLUB as the teen
stereotypes abound. There’s the horny Jock type and his gorgeous
cheerleader girlfriend, metalheads and punks, and even nerds. On the
plus side, each female member of the cast gets to show a lot of skin,
even the central female character (who usually remain pure in horror
films) treads the thin line of pornography. This show of skin definitely
keeps things interesting between the teen bantering and the gore scenes.
I’ve heard people say the titular monster is the weak link of the
movie, but I disagree. It’s a cheesy creation for sure, but it matches
the sarcastic tone of the movie. Kanefsky’s monster is dangerous,
lecherous, and not too bright. I like how the script provides no
reasoning for the monster’s existence, and basically leaves it up to
the audience’s imagination to fill in the blanks. If the movie has one
weak spot, it’s the inexperience of the supporting players, but at
least they all resemble their stereotypes.
THERE’S NOTHING OUT THERE is presented in the
original theatrical ratio of 1.78.1, with 16x9 enhancement. This is a
very low-budget film, yet the transfer looks terrific. The image is
sharp, the colors subdued, and the blacks deep. Grain is present, but
its mostly attributed to the low grade film stock. The soundtrack is
Dolby Digital 2.0 which adds ambiance to the outdoor scenes, and
delivers the music with clarity and power. The dialog sounds rather
clipped in the mix, though. Like any teen movie, there has to be lots of
different types of music present to reflect the stereotypes. So we get
heavy metal, dance music, etc. in addition to Christopher Thomas’s
electronic score. From the Special Features menu, you can play the audio
commentary which is guaranteed to please fans of this movie. It is
narrated by Rolfe Kanefsky, his father Victor Kanefsky, some technical
crew and some of the stars of the movie. They all look back fondly,
crack jokes, and reminisce about the shooting. However, due to the large
number of participants, its difficult to keep track of who said what.
Commentaries are great when there is 2 or 3 people participating, but a
roomful of people is usually distracting (this is why most DVDs now come
with multiple commentaries so everyone gets to contribute equally).
There is also the original theatrical trailer with optional commentary
by Kanefsky. You can view the auditions from the various actors including
Bonnie Bowers, John Carhart, Jeff Dachis, and Claudia Flores. The disc
also includes the video storyboarding recorded by the director using his
hand held VHS camera. There is also a blooper reel called Behind the
Scenes: Rehearsals and Bloopers. Then there a three minute long
animation test footage which eventually became the opening credits
sequence. The extras are rounded out by a gallery of production stills
and an essay from Femme Fatales magazine. NOTE: The video quality
on most of these extras are shaky (they’re from VHS sources). Audio
Commentary by Rolfe Kanefsky is optionally available with all this video
footage.
THERE’S NOTHING OUT THERE is a emarkable first
effort from a young director. Given the shoestring budget the filmmakers
had to work with, Rolfe Kanefsky milked it for all it was worth, and the
result is a horror parody that is more entertaining than megabuck studio
productions. Every element of the film is impressive, even the opening
credit sequence. Kanefsky should sue Miramax for stealing his ideas for
their SCREAM series. Let’s not forget Image Entertainment for
producing quite a comprehensive special edition DVD. Not only is the
transfer very good, the special features give you a nuts & bolts
approach to the making of an independent low-budget feature. We
recommend this disc for inspiring independent filmmakers to study. THERE’S
NOTHING OUT THERE is a prime example of how this type of guerrilla
filmmaking can be effective and entertaining.
THERE'S
NOTHING OUT THERE is available from DVDEmpire.com
