There's Nothing Out There (1991)

There's Nothing Out There is a 1991 horror comedy science fiction film directed by Rolfe Kanefsky and starring Craig Peck, John Carhart III and Bonnie Bowers.

Plot
Three hot-to-trot couples and one goofy loner travel to an isolated country house for a weekend of debauchery, but soon realize they are not alone in the woods. One of them has seen this scenario before in dozens of horror movies, and he knows what it will take to defend themselves from an alien creature determined to eat the boys and mate with all the girls!

Cast

 * Craig Peck as Mike
 * John Carhart III as Nick
 * Bonnie Bowers as Stacy
 * Claudia Flores as Janet
 * Wendy Bednarz as Doreen
 * Mark Collver as Jim
 * Jeff Dachis as David
 * Lisa Grant as Sally Foster
 * Sissy Frye as Schoolteacher
 * Cyrus Voris as Lead Punk
 * Michael Berlly as Policeman #1
 * Tommy Barz as Policeman #3 / Face on Cutting Room Floor
 * Mark Calderone as Doctor

Production
Kanefsky directed this film when he was 20 years old. The film satirizes horror films, five years before Scream would be released. A review for DVD Verdict said that the difference between There's Nothing Out There and Scream is that the first film is a comedy, while the other film can stand alone as a horror film. Various horror films are referenced, including Psycho.

There's Nothing Out There was filmed with 16 mm film, with the editing done on a Steenbeck. The film was finished in 1990 and was first released in 1991. After the film's success at the Independent Film Project film festival, they attempted to have a film studio release it. The director said of the film studios, "We had some important screenings, but the studios didn't understand the film. It was a horror film and a comedy that talked about horror films". He also compared his film to Scream.

The audience at every showing, including critics, enjoyed the film. It had a showing in New York City and Los Angeles, but no profit was made. The film rights were sold to Image Entertainment in 1992, and the company released the film on VHS and laser disc. The film aired on HBO and Cinemax in 1993.

Reception
Tom Becker, of DVD Verdict, concluded his review with, "A cool, if slightly loquacious, release from Troma, There's Nothing Out There is a fun little film that's worth checking out".

A review in VideoHound's Cult Flicks & Trash Pics said, "In general, this no-budget parody of screen schlock is barely better than the dreck it imitates".

Home media
Image Entertainment released the film on VHS and laser disc in 1992. It was released on DVD in 2011 by Troma Entertainment.

Taglines

 * A horror film of comic proportions.

Trivia

 * Filmed in the summer of 1989.
 * Rolfe Kanefsky was only twenty when he directed this movie.
 * Rolfe Kanefsky wrote the script for this film while still a senior in high school.
 * All of the cast members worked on deferred salaries and were not members of SAG when they acted in this movie.
 * Shot in twenty-four days.
 * This film took three years to receive a theatrical release.
 * Rolfe Kanefsky wanted to do a sequel called "There's Still Nothing Out There."
 * Rolfe Kanefsky's short film "Just Listen" is the movie playing on television in the opening scene in the video rental outlet.
 * DIRECTOR CAMEO: [Rolfe Kanefsky] High school student walking on campus.
 * The opening scene in the video rental store and the sequence at the high school were both filmed on the first day of shooting.
 * Rolfe Kanefsky wrote the original script in only five days and was only eighteen-years-old when he wrote said screenplay.
 * The character of Janet was a nerd in the original script. The script was rewritten to make Janet a foreign exchange student after the Brazil-born Claudia Flores was cast in the role.
 * Three different houses were used as interiors for the house in the woods.
 * The cast rehearsed almost the entire film on video prior to the shooting of the picture.
 * Rolfe Kanefsky's parents put a mortgage on their house in order to raise money for the budget of this film.
 * 'Craig Peck and Mark Collver did all of their own stunts for their big fight scene.