''Within the Rock'' is a 1996 American

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

science fiction horror film This is a list of science fiction horror films. 0-9 *'' 4D Man'' (1959) *'' 9'' (2009) *'' 9'' (2019) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O *''The Omega Man'' (1971) *'' Outland'' (1981) *''Outpost'': **'' Outpost'' (2008) ...

directed by Gary J. Tunnicliffe. It starred

Xander Berkeley Alexander Harper Berkeley (born December 16, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor. Since beginning his career in the early 1980s, he has appeared in over 200 film and television projects. His film roles include '' Terminator 2: Judgment Da ...

Brian Krause Brian Jeffrey Krause (born February 1, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Leo Wyatt on The WB television series ''Charmed'' (1998–2006) and for portraying the lead role of Charles Brady in the 1992 horror film '' Sleepwal ...

, and

Duane Whitaker Nathan Duane Whitaker Jr. (born June 23, 1959) is an American character actor. Early life Whitaker was born in Abilene, Texas, the oldest child of Nathan Duane Whitaker Sr. and Barbara Ella Hudson, a nurse. He has two younger sisters, both bo ...

. It featured a cameo from former U.S. Marine Corps captain and technical advisor

Dale Dye Dale Adam Dye Jr. (born October 8, 1944) is an American actor, technical advisor, radio personality and writer. A decorated Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, Dye is the founder and head of Warriors, Inc., a technical advisory company specializ ...

Plot

A group of space miners, supervised by Dr. Shaw, land on "Galileo's Child" (a large spherical asteroid about to hit the Earth), to pierce and undermine its structure in order to divert its trajectory. Thanks to a particular technology, astronauts can reproduce the Earth's atmosphere on the asteroid. During the excavation in the rock, the body of a humanoid alien, apparently fossilized, is found in a mortuary to the wall of which a platinum plate weighing is affixed. Ryan, the head of the drilling job, is thrilled with the payoff he and his men can make. Dr. Shaw, who rejects Ryan's sexual advances, is instead interested only in the scientific aspect of the discovery and in the success of the operation. The unexpected awakening of the alien, which begins to claim victims among the crew, generates panic among the survivors, who organize themselves to be able to eliminate it. The most powerful explosive weapons do not seem to injure it, but in the end, thanks to common fire extinguishers and the large boring drill, the mission is completed, and the Earth saved.

Cast

as Ryan *

as Luke Harrison *

as Potter *

Michael Zelniker Michael Zelniker is a Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his performance as Red Rodney in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award-winning film ''Bird'' (1988) and as Doug Alward in ''The Terry Fox Story'' (1983), for which he ...

as Archer *

Caroline Barclay Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

as Dr. Dana Shaw *

Bradford Tatum Bradford Steven Tatum (born March 29, 1965, in California) is an American actor and author, known for his role as Michael Hubbs in the cult favorite stoner film ''The Stoned Age'' (1994). He also played the bully, John Box in ''Powder'' (1995 ...

as Cody Harrison * Barbara Patrick as Samantha 'Nuke-'em' Rogers * Calvin Levels as Banton *

Earl Boen Earl Boen () is an American retired film, television and voice actor, best known as criminal psychologist Dr. Peter Silberman in ''The Terminator'' (1984), '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003) and ...

as Michael Isaacs * Brioni Farrell as Agent Berger *

as General Hurst

Release

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...

on August 17, 1999. It was later released by Mill Creek Entertainment on May 10, 2011 as a part of a triple-feature with ''

Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

'' (1998), and ''The Fear 2''.

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' awarded the film 2/5 stars, writing, "Although professionally done on every level, this entry in the endless string of ''

ALIEN Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'' (1979) knockoffs contains little to set itself apart."

References

External links

* * * 1996 films 1996 independent films 1990s American films 1990s science fiction horror films 1990s monster movies American horror television films American monster movies American science fiction horror films American science fiction television films Films directed by Gary J. Tunnicliffe Films set in 2019 1990s English-language films {{US-tv-film-stub