There’s Nothing Out There: 20th Anniversary Edition

Troma Entertainment

R0 DVD

On the surface this appears to be a cliché-laden film, but at 20 years old we must remember that this is the film that spawned many of those clichés. Even with its age, it is still pretty good. It has just the right mixture of horror, comedy and nubile young ladies. Watching the film is a bit like the kangaroo-in-the-headlights thing – you know what’s going to happen, but you just have to watch the splatter.

The plot is the same one we have seen in lots of subsequent films. A group of youngsters on their school break go to a lonely house in the woods, unaware that there is a conventional but hungry multi-tentacled flesh-eating monster from outer space roaming the area. The characters are fairly standard apart from Mike, who is a horror movie fan and can see what’s going to happen from his vast knowledge of the genre. When the bushes rustle most people would just blame the wind or a small animal. Mike sees an alien hiding behind the bush. Trouble is, he’s right.

The holiday starts off well enough, with the compulsory nude and topless swimming scenes. Mike’s obsession with monsters is starting to get on the others nerves. Even when Jim, the football jock, and his very blonde girlfriend Doreen disappear in the woods with the vacuous blonde, they think he’s playing a prank on them. Mike’s attacks of nerves and warnings of imminent doom just get him locked in the basement for the night.

Then the monster strikes. We learn useful facts like when attacked, throw a cat at the monster. You then have a monster and an evil cat. Sunglasses can protect you against monsters who shine lasers from their eyes into yours to take over your mind. Overseas exchange students don’t wear bras. You can confuse monsters with lightbulbs. And the most useful tip, if you can get a six-foot alien monster into a microwave you can nuke it until it explodes.

Normally a film like this would just be a hilarious takeoff, but this is the film that the others take off. It is actually a very good production for its age, well acted and tightly scripted. The girls are mostly suitably mammary-overendowed, the monster is suitably fake- looking, and there is enough blood and green slime to satisfy anyone.

The same can’t be said for Lloyd Kaufman’s introduction, but he does set the stage for the reissue of the film. There is an entire DVD of extras including screen test shots and a commentary by the film’s producer Rolfe Kanesky. We even get one of his short films included. There is everything here that a horror film buff could possibly want.

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