Review: Forbidden World (1982)
(aka Mutant, Subject 20)
Directed by: Allan Holzman
Starring: Jesse Vint, Dawn Dunlap, June Chadwick
Written by: Tim Curnen
Music by: Susan Justin
IMDb
Forbidden World is another in a huge glut of space-based horror movies intended to cash in on Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) — this one from B-movie royalty Roger Corman. The film concerns a military officer investigating a research lab at which scientists have created an always-evolving alien life form in their quest for a new food source. Predictably, the scientists lose control of their creation, which starts killing everyone to use as food. There’s not much here in terms of haughty things like plot, characterization, symbolism, or nuance, but, as one might reasonably anticipate from a Corman flick from the era, there is a plethora of titillation. Very little time is wasted before we get right to the gore and gratuitous nudity. There are many scenes of human and alien flesh in various stages of ooey-gooey, due to the monster’s propensity to metamorphose and to reduce its human victims to an easily digestible sludge. There are only two female cast members, but the movie finds a multitude of ways for them to shed their clothing. I’m making Forbidden World sound very sleazy, and I suppose it is, but there are also artistic touches that position it slightly above the fray: there are some eccentric and interesting editing choices, the movie actually looks really good overall, and Susan Justin’s warbling and whining synth score elevates the atmosphere significantly. The acting’s a little weak, but not particularly terrible, and of course the alien is a rubber-suited creation. But, there’s really not much more you could ask for from a movie like this: it provides scares, viscera, skin, a decent monster, and pacing that doesn’t let the audience snooze. The film has a lot in common with Galaxy of Terror, which was released by Corman the previous year, so if you like that nasty flick, there’s no reason you wouldn’t find a lot to enjoy here.
Rating: 7 out of 10