Why you should watch... Without Warning (1994)
A story inspired by the work of H.G. Wells & told for the audience of the 'Prime-Time Cable News Age', while being a real-time narrative that builds suspense with every beat and 'commercial break'...
Every so often there’s an attempt to tell a story that exists in an elevated part of the cultural zeitgeist — whether through the discreet nature of the story’s themes, or the literal plot and characters within — for a modern audience.
When Orson Wells produced the now famous dramatization and radio broadcast of H.G. Well’s 19th century novel “The War of the Worlds” in 1938, it stood as both a revitalization of a seminal science-fiction tale, as well as marking an evolution in the usage of the broadcast-medium for ‘immersive story-telling’.
While there have been many adaptations of the original story (from the Tom Cruise led action movie War of the Worlds (2005), to the 2019 Robert Carlyle and Rafe Spall led BBC Drama Mini-Series The War of the Worlds) there’s been few attempts to recreate the sense & urgency that Welles’ 1938 broadcast achieved.
It’s true that in 1983, NBC attempted this with the TV Movie ‘Special Bulletin’ — a story told through news anchors reporting on a fictional nuclear terrorist incident in Charleston, South Carolina — but none had attempted so successfully to capture the feeling and genre of Welles’ 1938 radio-drama, as Without Warning (1994).
“…I’ll be honest, at first I panicked […] and then when I watched more, I realized what was going on […] and it was brilliant…”
—Ben Falk, The Companion
(May 27, 2023)
While the ‘magic’ of this movie may be tempered by time and distance (and in no small part because the ‘surreal’ nature of seeing Sander Vanocur or Bree Walker playing themselves is lost on a generation as unfamiliar with them, as they are with the format and style of the ‘broadcast’ itself), it’s a testament to the film-makers and actors that despite the 30+ years in changes to media-consumption, habits, and styles… that it still feels relatable and real.
A huge part of what makes this movie work so well is the expertly crafted way that it leans into the ‘format’ its utilizing. For many style-specific genre movies, the ‘weight’ of the style that should mark their work can often lead to being either pigeonholed by it, or fall into a trap of pure ‘style over substance’.
The found-footage sub-genre of horror movies has had this problem more often than its seen the format used well… but Without Warning (1994) perfectly executes its story within the ‘confines’ of the real-time broadcast narrative that it seeks to employ.
From using the ‘commercial breaks’ to provide natural buffers and ‘padding-for-time’ moments, to leaning on the emotional weight of ‘real people sharing real stories’, the movie crafts and weaves its global narrative perfectly through what amounts to a half-dozen reporters trying to keep up with the surreal-nature unfolding before them.
“…we don’t pan out to see the whole globe being pelted by expensive CGI shots; we get frantic reporters on the ground trying to make sense of their limited viewpoint…”
—Justin/Syp, Mutant Reviewers
(November 7, 2024)
Wholly aware of itself & staying faithful to what came before, its original broadcast date of October 30, 1994 marked the same broadcast date as Welles’ famous radio-broadcast that had taken place fifty-six years prior…
In fact, like Welles’ work, the movie was not devoid of criticism. With Sander Vanocer portraying himself, numerous complaints were filed following the TV Movie’s broadcast, with many believing the events to be taking place. It was serious enough that CNN even had to issue an order that its reporters & anchors were not permitted to play themselves in a fictional movie (an order that only saw itself change, in the last decade or so).
At its heart, Without Warning (1994) successfully acts as a spiritual successor to not only one of the most well known, and well-loved science-fiction stories of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries… but also holds a special place in media history for being able to replicate the ‘cultural moment’ of Orson Welles’ radio drama, without losing itself to camp, contrivance, or a false-sense of reality.
You should watch Without Warning (1994) if you…
Are a lover of genre-movies’ effective use of their format and medium, in effectively aiding the narrative they’re telling
Have a soft-spot for classic stories being re-imagined or re-told for contemporary audiences, without losing what makes them ‘tick’
Feel drawn to stories that take ‘real people’ and thrown them into ‘surreal situations’, while allowing the character to remain grounded & relatable
Like to immerse yourself in media that feels ‘lost to time’, or otherwise deserves more recognition that it receives
Are a fan of the ‘how would people actually respond to…’ scenarios, that are often only portrayed by ‘heroes’ that are larger than life
Where to Watch
Sci-Fi/Mystery • 1994 • 100mins • NR/Not-Rated • English
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