This very underrated film happens to be one of my favorite thriller/horror films of the 80's. This film is so stylish that even the blood spatter that follows is done tastefully and not gory. A virus turns biologists into zombie-like humans, but they don't want to eat your brains and you don't turn into a zombie when bitten. They do, however, want to kill the living, hence the zombie referral, although it is by no means a zombie film. The cast is incredibly good and convincing, and the make-up effects are equally good. Interesting fact about director Hall Barwood is that this was his only film project as director. After this, he ventured into video games.

Monsanto... er, I mean BioTek... er, I mean the U.S. government created a biological weapon. Much like the movie Crazies, this bio-weapon causes the infected to become homicidal maniacs. The chemical breaches its containment through a series of accidental events. The good thing is that BioTek has a very effective containment plan in the event of a breach. The bad thing is there are local yokels outside trying to break in as well as infected inside trying to kill everyone in sight.

The movie started well. I liked the professionalism of the security guard, Joanie (Kathleen Quinlan). It is somewhat odd that such a serious task would be left to a mere security guard, but she did everything right. That is until she decided it was a good idea to drag around Dr. Sicky aka Dr. Schmidt (G.W. Bailey). She had ample evidence that he was sick, that should've been enough for her to keep her distance--even if she thought she was already infected. If that wasn't enough, she also saw the violent tendencies of the other infected so why drag around a guy who's going to kill you one way or another.

As I said, the movie started off well. Joanie enacted the protocol and the U.S. military showed up to keep the germ under wraps, both literally and figuratively. Then the movie devolved from there. Joanie became less intelligent and the military completely lost control. The fact that the military lost control didn't bother me as much as the idiots who overran the military. Are people in Utah that dumb?

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not bothered that they have a distrust or a dislike for the U.S. government. I'm bothered that they think it's appropriate to unseal a building that deals in chemicals! The name is BioTek and they deal in genetic engineering. Even if your family and friends are in there you think it's wise to let whatever is in there out?

Barring the Utans, or Utahans--or whatever you call people from Utah--barring their destructive behavior I thought the movie was pretty good. A toxic agent was loose and only Cal (Sam Waterson) and Dr. Fairchild (Jeffrey DeMunn) cared enough to try to do anything about it. Once they got into the sealed facility it was a race against time as they found themselves infected. It wasn't a great movie but it could've been a lot worse.

"Warning Sign" looks like another ordinary and routine 80's horror/Sci-Fi movie, but actually it's quite a lot better than that! The professionally written screenplay, realistic make-up effects and stellar performances from a great cast make this one of the most underrated "science-projects-gone-bad" films ever and it's a damn shame that I only found out about it now. The basic idea behind this movie, which involves the development of secret government bio-weapon that turns random people into aggressive maniacs, is rather disturbing and not even that unthinkable if you follow the movie carefully. Strategically located in rural Utah, there's a hi-tech institute of which the people think it improves national agriculture techniques. The institute's real purpose – biological warfare – only becomes clear when a serious accident occurs and the whole place is hermetically sealed. The employees that are trapped inside all slowly transform into zombie-like monsters, except for one (the local sheriff's wife),and her immunity becomes the only hope for rescue. This fast-paced Sci-Fi thriller offers plenty of genuine suspense and the make-up effects never go over the top, unlike in the majority of other 80's paranoid government conspiracy movies. The fear and despair of the people trapped inside the institute is very well captured and the atmosphere outside the building is even more intense. Sam Waterston, Kathleen Quinlan and Jeffrey DeMunn are all great in their leading roles and there are excellent supportive roles for Richard Dysart, Yaphet Kotto and G.W. Bailey. Although not a very experienced filmmaker, Hal Barwood's directing is surefooted and impressive. The climax should have been more exciting, though. Now the "happy ending" feels a bit too forced and implausible.