Mutant

Forbidden World isn't exactly a stellar film, but it sure is an entertaining one! This shameless Alien rip-off is packed to the brim with gore and nudity and never pretends to be more than just an hour and seventeen minutes of pure escapism.

For a low-budget movie, the research station set doesn't look bad at all. There might not be much more than a few corridors, some sleeping quarters, a sauna (yes, a sauna, guess why) and a laboratory, but it's quite an atmospheric place. Also, the practical effects are rather good, with bloody corpses that ooze slime from every pore and a shape-shifting monster (bearing more than a passing resemblance to Alien's Xenomorph) to admire. The catchy synth soundtrack is also worth mentioning.

If you're looking for a serious sci-fi horror movie, steer well clear of this film, but if you're in the mood for a bit of trashy fun, you could do a lot worse than Forbidden World!

Producer Roger Corman was kind of like the Italians in his propensity for doing low-budget knock-offs of Hollywood hits. But one kind of film neither he nor the Italians (I saw this back-to-back with the similar Italian movie "Escape from Galaxy 3") probably should have attempted were these sci-fi extravaganzas. This movie is less notorious than Corman's previous space film "Galaxy of Terror" (where a female character is raped by a huge, slimy space worm and Erin "Happy Days" Moran's head explodes), but it's about the same quality.

Corman probably should have, at least, stuck to ripping off EITHER "Star Wars" or "Alien", but instead he wastes most of his meager budget in a pointless and risible spaceship battle scene at the beginning before settling into a fairly creative "Alien"-type story where a space crew in a remote outpost are menaced by a horrible creature. But the twist is it's not an alien, but a spontaneously mutating monster they created in a misbegotten experiment to deal with a food shortage back on Earth.

Jesse Vint is kind of an odd leading man for one of these kind of movies as he's mostly famous for 70's "hicksploitation" films like "Macon County Line" and "Black Oak Conspiracy". My favorite performances though come about an hour in when June Chadwick (as a scientist) and Dawn Dunlap (as a lab technician) take a shower together for some reason. This is a scene that was definitely missing from "Alien" (at no point did Sigourney Weaver and Veronica Cartwright take a shower together). Dunlap is especially appealing in this movie, even when she's not taking a shower (or otherwise getting naked). She's wasn't much of an actress, but in her short career she managed to work with both Roger Corman and the French photographer/director/pervert David Hamilton (she appeared as the title character in his notorious nubile nudie movie "Laura" when she was all of about 17). She's a few years older here, and, oh man, is she cute!.. But where was I? Yeah, this is OK I guess. It's definitely not "Alien", but. . .

FORBIDDEN WORLD shows us what Ridley Scott's ALIEN could have been, if only it had included: #1- A robot named Sam! #2- STAR WARS-like space dogfights! #3- Blazing hot, female space scientists! In dangerously tight pants and high heels! #4- A wacky, chain-smoking mad scientist in a perpetually bloody lab coat! #5- A maniacally mutating metamorph, spreading goo and strawberry jam! #6- Idiot victims! #7- Blazing hot, female scientists who decide that their clothing is far too confining! Except for sunglasses! #8- Monster attacks intercut with love scenes! #9- Blazing hot, female scientists brushing each other's hair! In a super-mod shower! #10- Heaps of pulsating glop! #11- Meatball surgery! #12- Sizzling hot, female scientists in mini-bathrobes!

Yes, if only ALIEN had used cool gimmicks like this, then it would have been..., well, this movie!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: #1- Slimy, dripping practical effects! #2- Tracy Baxter's (Dawn Dunlap) incessant screaming! No, really! Once she gets going, she wails on and on like a tea kettle on the boil!...

The story concerns the efforts of Mike and his sidekick, SAM-104, an android(or robot, if you will) and their investigation of an experiment gone wrong on planet Xarbia. A group of scientists stationed on this planet are conducting experiments involving gene splicing in order to come up with a solution for a "galactic food crisis", that will supply the hungry masses(hey, it's a big galaxy out there!) Their solution? "Meet Subject 20..." Only Subject 20 is not in an inviting mood, as we are about to find out... What is the secret being kept from Mike by the scientists? What is Subject 20? How many times will Mike "get some"? (Couldn't resist!) To find out, see the film... If you are looking for cheese or horrible acting, see the latest films that take place in a galaxy far, far away. But if you are looking for a film where most of the actors seem to be having a great time with their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks(and Mike's planted in other places), not worrying about the pressures of a gazzillion dollar budget that still yields garbage, see this film. And yes, I do love this film. Enough to own multiple copies.... Did I mention that this film has two very sexy(June Chadwick and Dawn Dunlap) female scientists in it, hey, that ups the score right there! :)

Yet another cheap 'n cheesy early 80's "Alien" rip-off produced by Roger "King of the B's" Corman! This given alone is more than enough reason to proceed with caution and keep your expectations to a minimum. Then, during the opening credits sequence, your first impressions are most likely to seep to an even deeper level, as the first five minutes are a headache-inducing and utterly pointless compilation of confusing and hectic images that make no sense at all. But please do your best to struggle yourself through this crappy opening, because "Forbidden World" does eventually get interesting and worthwhile. Well, in all honesty … it's crap from start to finish! But hey, at least it's tremendously entertaining crap! We're in the darkest regions of outer space, somewhere in a distant future, but there's no menace of aliens this time. The cool-looking monster on the VHS cover is mankind's own little mistake-creation, spawned on a spaceship where the crew was actually trying to discover new types of food sources. Now they're up against a continuously growing monster that somehow understands English, yet dramatically misinterprets the meaning of the verb "co-exist". Lone space ranger Mike Colby (Jesse Vint) is called to the rescue, but he doesn't really contribute anything, except having sex with the female crew members on board. What a guy! Another scientist member of the expedition eventually comes up with an admittedly creative (but totally ludicrous) plan to destroy the monster. Naturally, I can't reveal anything about the denouement, but rest assured it's 100% original and hilarious. The cinematography is dreadfully dark and unclear, presumably to camouflage the ultra-cheap and tacky set pieces and make-up effects. The monster is very cool, though, and the killings are amusingly gross and bloody. The aforementioned "co-exist" scene truly priceless and any horror fan with a slight sense of humor will LOVE that moment. Alan Holzman didn't have any experience directing movies back in 1982, but he does a fairly adequate job and admirably prevents his cast from going over the top. Following good old Roger Corman traditions, there's some great sleaze and nudity to enjoy and also the dialogs are imbecilic but fun. Highly recommended in case you can tolerate B-movie cheapness.