I'm not the biggest fan of horror comedy, but this one adequately takes the clichés of eighties horror and blends them into a fairly funny little flick. It's obvious that the people involved were horror fans themselves, as the film revolves around an all-too typical horror theme. The lead character is Mike; a horror movie buff, who travels up to a lake-side cabin to spend a weekend with six friends. Mike begins to spot signs of danger, but the others dismiss his theories. However, it turns out that he's not wrong and pretty soon the group fall foul of something living out there in the area surrounding the lake-house. The film doesn't really work as a horror film in its own right; obviously the director was more interested in generating laughter than scares. But the self-referential jokes are quite funny, and the film is good at picking out the various horror movie clichés and poking fun at them. Unfortunately, I saw this on a rather poor VHS copy, but apparently there's a better DVD out now. Overall, There is Nothing Out There didn't do as much for me as it evidently did for others, but it makes for a fun viewing and is recommended to fans of horror comedy.
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The_Void21 February 2007
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7 teens on Spring Break trek up to one of their Uncle's cabin in the woods just in time for some kind of alien being to land nearby looking to eat some people and find a mate. While this might sound kind of campy, the film manages to approach the project by surrounding all the situations with elements of fear and suspense. A few things to take in mind if you've never seen this film before: the alien is supposed to be scary and undoubtedly some teens will survive.
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BandSAboutMovies18 February 2019Made before Scream, There's Nothing Out There satirizes the same horror movie cliches but goes even further, presenting a story where some of the characters are aware that they're in a movie, even using a boom mic to swing away from the movie's amphibian monster.
Seven teens head up to a cabin on the lake for spring break - a typical horror movie scenario. One of them, Mike, has studied every horror movie that's ever been released on video. He knows the warning signs and calls them out to the others, but they dismiss him as a goof who has watched too many films.
In truth - something is out there. The teens all fall into the tropes of typical horror movies and are killed off one by one by an evil frog creature that can possess them and make them fire lasers from their eyes. There's gore, tons of nudity and faces that literally melt. Also - the main creature is as ridiculous as anything in horror and I'm including The Killer Shrews.
This movie was written and directed by Rolfe Kanefsky, the son of Victor, who edited Ganja & Hess and Bloodsucking Freaks, a movie that we rented nearly every day in our teen years, using it as a torture test for unsuspecting friends. -
After a boffo opening that will have you longing for those mom 'n' pop video stores of old, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE begins!
It's spring break, and a group of high school friends head out to a house in the deep woods. When the partying starts, these young people are unaware that something has decided to join them. Something not of this world! Bizarre events take place almost immediately.
The horror fanatic of the group expects grisly disaster at every turn. Luckily for us, he's right! Copious gore and nudity explode onto the screen!
This movie is for the low-budget horror enthusiast, as well as the self-aware parody lover. It's loaded with cheeeze-on-purpose and stereotypical characters. Is there superior acting? No. Deep, philosophical dialogue? Not a bit. More fun than a barrel full of quivering monkey guts? Yes!
The monster is sheer, rubbery perfection! The face melting sequence is incredible-ness itself! The beheading is brilliance on toast, with extra tomato! The final conflict will have you saving light bulbs and praying for a girlfriend like Stacy (Bonnie Bowers)!
This is one of a handful of Troma films that are truly worth watching. Watch it now! -
BA_Harrison17 March 2022In 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. -
athanasiosze15 September 2023Underrated. 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. -
Leofwine_draca24 March 2017THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE! is a fun and cheesy low rent slasher spoof with a deliberately retro 1980s feel. It's about a bunch of teenagers who head out into the woods for some fun, including pool partying and skinny dipping, only to find themselves assailed by a mildly cute little puppet monster that plans to kill them all.
This is obviously a copy of the Friday the 13th film series and its ilk but for a Troma film it isn't so bad. The acting is deliberately over the top and cheesy and the effects are poor, although there is one stand-out gore scene involving a guy having his face melted off which is surprisingly good. It's not the worst film ever and it's okay if you're in the right silly mood. -
sauravjoshi856 November 2021There's Nothing Out There is an erotic horror comedy film directed by Rolfe Kanefsky, the film stars Craig Peck, Wendy Bednarz, and Mark Collver.
Made on very limited budget can easily be termed as c-grade erotic horror film but after watching the film you might not be disappointed.
The plot of the film is simple and has nothing fresh in it, the screenplay of the film is average but will not disappoint you, acting is average to decent and climax of the film is predictable but good.
Overall the film is not a disappointing film and one can be entertaining in pieces. -
*A Spoiler or two*
'There's Nothing Out There' starts off ok aswell as Mike who seems to know all about horror movies which makes it slightly amusing but that was done better by Jamie Kennedy in Scream. It is all let down by the actual monster who is really the sorriest monster you will ever see in a horror movie. It looks like somebody with a very bad cold has sneezed on the floor and hasn't bothered to wipe it up. A small green fat blob which is a cross between Slimer from Ghostbusters, a critter from Critters and a piece of clay. It actually does rip a bit of the story from critters. I think the guys behind this should have stuck a maniac with an axe in this instead of a bad looking midget monster. It is occasionally funny and does poke fun at the horror genre but it is pretty bad. Worth watching for the cliches alone, not much else though. 4/10. -
Ok so the special effects are majorly hokey, but what made the film great was all the nods to all the horror movie aficionados out there, that still stand almost 30 years later. Especially the opening scene in the video store... with all the shots of now classic horror movie posters AND vhs tapes. Plus the character Mike made me laugh and smile the whole way through. And the end... well that was just priceless. All in all it was a fun watch that I can definitely see myself watching again and recommending to fellow horror fans and friends.
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Coventry7 November 2010Seven friends head out to the summer house of one of their parents, unaware – of course – that the area is currently being terrorized by a bright green amphibious monster. "There's Nothing Out There" is supposedly a horror comedy and a spoof, but personally I can't say I noticed myself laughing a lot. The script, courtesy of debuting director Rolfe Kanefsky, is never really witty and observant but merely dull and derivative. The primary parody element of the film exists of a token guy who points out every possible cliché and stereotype linked to the horror situation they are in. For example, when the group requests some skinny- dipping teenagers to leave their holiday territory, the guy says something like: "What are you doing? They're ideal random murder victims and while they're being killing, we have additional time to get the hell out". Get it? Apparently this works sufficiently enough for most people, as the film has quite a large fan base, but personally I found it quite annoying. Even more annoying than the jokes were the incredibly high amount of hectic POV camera shots and the seven infantile main characters. They bicker the entire time and actually behave like the worst friends ever. They collectively lock up the nerd in the basement for a whole night and it takes them more than a full day to realize another couple has gone missing. The monster looks cheesy and ridiculously fires green rays from his eyes, but its killing rate is infuriatingly low. I also never heard about frogs being sensitive for shaving cream? The only horror moment worth mentioning is the amusing melting sequence. Other than that, "There's Nothing Out There" is pretty stupid and very forgettable.
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ontheblvd8 October 2001This is a fun little spoof of the crappy 80's style horror flicks we grew up with... the twist (the same kinda hook that Scream used about five years later) is that the hero is a guy who's seen so many of said crappy horror flicks that he realizes that he might actually be IN a crappy horror flick, then uses it to his advantage.
The best news tho is that the new DVD edition of "There's Nothing.." not only has a MUCH better transfer than the earlier video release (and is letterboxed), but also a bunch of fun extras and commentary. The movie is a hoot, and the extras make it even more worthwhile.
Sometimes it's fun to kick back with a b-movie that knows it's a b-movie and has fun with that. Low budget and cheesy, but far more fun than most of the Hollywood horror flicks released in the past decade.
*** = movie ***** = DVD
Enjoy! -
sol-20 October 2017Planning to spend spring break at an isolated cabin in the woods, a group of teenagers suffer grim fates here when they fail to heed the advice of their movie buff friend who recognises the "warning signs" from the countless horror films he has seen. Although nowhere near as well-known, 'There's Nothing Out There' is a curious precursor to the 'Scream' franchise and 'The Cabin in the Woods' with its self-aware approach - and there many amusing moments as the horror buff exclaims "those kids were born to be murder victims" and as he makes side comments like "here's mistake number one". The single best line though has him pausing to think before stating "it's a distinct possibility" when asked if he believes that he is in a horror movie. The fun is not just limited to the dialogue though; there is a zany bit in which a teenager uses a visible boom mike (!) to jump across a room, plus the monster point-of-view shots are highly effective. Unlike 'Scream' though, 'There's Nothing Out There' is never particularly unsettling or scary. The monster always looks fake and hardly menacing and should have remained unseen on camera more often. The elaborate scheme concocted to defeat it is a tad silly too. The film concludes though with a hilarious final line and for a movie made on such a noticeably low budget, it is a notable effort.
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preppy-35 February 2018Silly no-budget horror film. Seven college students go a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend. There are three couples and one loner who's a horror movie addict. He soon realizes there's something in the woods with them and keeps warning everyone. They ignore him until it's too late. They're attacked by an alien that seeks to kill the men and mate with the women.
Made on a small budget with a cast of unknowns (who remained unknown). The basic idea is not bad and it has an OK script but the atrocious acting and lousy special effects make this a chore to watch. Also ALL the characters are annoying and you never really get a good look at the alien. Skip it. -
brandonsites198111 June 2002Before 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. -
gridoon202423 June 2019"There's Nothing Out There" is not the greatest horror comedy ever made, but it's a more than acceptable writing / directing debut for 21-year-old (!!) Rolfe Kanefsky: his passion for the genre comes across (he has continued to work steadily since 1990, which is no small accomplishment in itself, even if none of his films have exactly set the box office on fire). The film delivers the slime, the schlock, the breasts and the "meta" jokes ("It's like we're in a movie...") that those who choose to see it came for. Luckily, the hottest girl in the movie survives, and spends nearly the entire second half in an extremely fetching bikini, while the monster's POV camera shots are also pretty cool. It's all likably and knowingly silly. **1/2 out of 4.
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coleyemde18 August 2019This movie is worth watching for the one actor alone who swears there's something out there. He's freaking hilarious.
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JoeB13111 August 2020This movie tried to be meta, by the characters actually realizing they are in a horror movie, with one annoying character repeating all the Horror Movie's cliche. The characters in a cabin are slowly picked off by a monster that kills them or tries to force itself on them sexually. And... ugh.
There's one scene where a character gets away from the monster by grabbing onto the Boom Mike and swinging out of the room to a bad imitation to the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme. It's never mentioned again.
Poor acting, a single joke that is dragged out for sixty minutes, and a cheap looking monster. Lots of awkward nudity. -
Blazehgehg9 November 2023I really want to like this movie, but it feels a little too in love with itself.
The premise: the most generic horror movie ever made, but one guy knows it's a horror movie.
I get the feeling this is one of those "secret handshake" kind of movies, where people who were in-the-know would speak highly of it, but it never managed to break through to wider success like Scream did.
The problem is I don't think it ever transcends its source material. It's a great idea told through D-list writing and F-list actors. It's cheaply made and clearly has a quota to meet for showing skin. Some of that comes with the territory, but "There's Nothing Out There" never proves it is worth its own smug commentary.
It's so proud of how meta its being that there's even a scene where one of the actors willingly shoots the audience a look like, "can you believe this, folks?"
Sure -- you could argue it's supposed to be a parody. The unfortunate part there is that I can count the number of actual, honest-to-goodness jokes on one hand. Mostly, it's like watching a cheesy horror movie next to a loud mouth know-it-all that won't shut up, except now that guy has a starring role in the movie itself.
But I can't hate it. It's got moxie. It's trying something, even if it isn't always successful. -
lowlandermg2 November 2023A whiskey stream of consciousness review.
From the start you see it is a straight to video thing. Opening in a small town video rental (nostalgia win). After an interesting stalk and chase of what might be the films first victim, We move to the local high school to meet the films sexually ornery and not half-bad looking teenage protagonists. It's the last class of summer and they must be juniors, because the teacher assigns them homework over the summer. (Who does that?!) We then transition to friends heading for a vacation getaway in the woods. Evil Dead or Cabin in the Woods this is not. Mike, one of the characters states that he has seen every horror movies and believes that events the group of friends run into are classic tropes used from the films foreshadowing the ominous. As the film progresses, we learn that he is really only friends with Nick the cabin owner, and the rest of the group quickly tire of his prophetic nannying. The script is beyond corny and Mike's character coulda used some legitimate horror film references in his lines instead of the generic stupidities he utters - basically stating the obvious. He is annoying and hard to root for. In a weird way I wonder if Mike was a loose influence on the Stuart character from Scream... okay, probably not. But if Wes Craven saw this film... mad respect! The acting overall is sub level, but you've had worse if you've reached in the bin for this one. The creature is ridiculously bad, but for whatever reason, it didn't bother me. Especially when they decided to give it video toaster laser eyes! Only wished I cared about the characters a little more. One of the funnier post script scenes puts the cherry on the top. Best watched with a group of like minded no budget horror cruisers and a dram -or three of Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye. Cheers! -
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. -
pradeepsinghmcd26 October 2020Even don't feel like to think about such garbage.. .even a nursery going child can write ect something better.. . Don't waste your time even if paid to do so.
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Skeeter7008 December 1998One of 'Screams' fore-fathers in that it provides a character who has seen tons of horror movies and knows what to expect next! The plot is familiar - students who head out to the woods for a weekend of sex and alcohol are then terrorized by an alien. Yet, the writers definitely did this one up tongue in cheek style. Watch for the classic boom-mic scene. Skeeter gives it 9 for 10!
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willandcharlenebrown17 February 2021Geeze...... bad acting. Bad music. Bad cinematography. Bad kill scenes. There's nothing here to watch other than a few girls taking money from Hollywood for some naked prostitution.
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qbearkitty24 September 2023I'm a big fan of meta comedy horror. Movies like Popcorn, Unmasked pt 35, ect. I went into this with very high hopes. Mike, our protagonist, is autistic with a special interest in horror movies. This as a concept is fine. The problem comes from that he is written like a self insert. He is the ONLY one that notices that something is going on and his friend bully him for it. Feel bad for him. He also is written like an Ash Williams knockoff. He is a "nice guy" in a hypersexual movie AND he makes quips. Speaking of hypersexual, yes people have sex in this movie but I'm not talking about that. I'm taking about how the monster rapes woman. Unlike Evil Dead, it is not done well. First off their is no comments mentions of rape and the only lose of autonomy metaphor os the woman being possessed also like evil dead. They dont really lampshade it or nothing and it leaves me feeling yucky. Yucky not in the way rape (or implied rape i guess) shoud make me feel.
Also imo all the characters are either flat or obnoxious.