Forbidden World

This article is about the 1982 film. For the Lost in Space episode, see List of Lost in Space episodes § Season 2: 1966–67.

Not to be confused with Forbidden Planet.

Forbidden World
Promotional poster
Directed by	Allan Holzman
Produced by	Roger Corman
Written by	Tim Curnen R.J. Robertson Jim Wynorski
Starring	Jesse Vint, Dawn Dunlap, June Chadwick, Linden Chiles, Fox Harris, Raymond Oliver, Scott Paulin
Music by	Susan Justin
Cinematography	Tim Suhrstedt
Edited by	Allan Holzman, Martin Nicholson
Distributed by	New World Pictures
Release dates	May 7, 1982
Running time	77 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	under $1 million
Box office	$4 million

Forbidden World, originally titled Mutant, is a 1982 American cult classic science fiction/horror film. The screenplay was written by Tim Curnen, from a screenstory by R.J. Robertson and Jim Wynorski. It was co-edited and directed by Allan Holzman, who had edited Battle Beyond the Stars two years earlier. The cast includes Jesse Vint, Dawn Dunlap, June Chadwick, Linden Chiles, Fox Harris, Raymond Oliver, Scott Paulin, Michael Bowen, and Don Olivera.

The film received three nominations for the 1983 Saturn Awards: Best Low Budget Film, Best Make-up and Best Special Effects. It was generally panned by critics as a cheap, exploitive imitation of the movie Alien, with sex, nudity, uneven editing, cheap special effects, and an audio track that some found unpleasant. It has attained a certain cult status among fans of grungy, cheap, sleazy science fiction. It is frequently paired with and compared to the previous year's Corman-produced Alien rip-off Galaxy of Terror, with which Forbidden World shares some of the same sets (designed by James Cameron). The movie also makes use of footage recycled from the 1980 movie Battle Beyond the Stars, which was also produced by Corman. It is notable for its gruesome violence, oddball electronica music score by Susan Justin (available in full as a DVD-ROM feature on the German release of the film), odd, choppy editing and a scene in which the two female leads take a shower together.

Forbidden World has also been released under the titles Mutant and Subject 20.

Plot

In the distant future, at a genetic research station located on the remote desert planet of Xarbia, a research team has created an experimental lifeform they have designated "Subject 20". This lifeform was built out of the synthetic DNA strain, "Proto B", and was intended to stave off a galaxy-wide food crisis. However, Subject 20 mutates rapidly and uncontrollably and has killed all of the laboratory subject animals before cocooning itself within an examination booth. After Subject 20 hatches from its cocoon, it begins killing the personnel at the station, starting with the lab tech charged with cleansing the subject lab of the dead animal test subjects.

Professional troubleshooter Mike Colby (Vint), accompanied by his robot assistant SAM-104 (Olivera), is called in to investigate the problem. After Colby settles in, his decision to terminate Subject 20 to prevent further deaths is met with research-minded secrecy and resistance. The staff of the station includes the head of research, Gordon Hauser (Chiles), his assistant Barbara Glaser (Chadwick), lab assistant Tracy Baxter (Dunlap), the station head of security and Cal Timbergen (Harris), the chief of bacteriology.

As Subject 20 continues to unleash a storm of gory fatalities that decimates most of the station crew, the lid on the deception is finally withdrawn: Subject 20's genetic design incorporates human DNA. Furthermore, its method of killing is most horrifying: this beast injects its prey with the Proto B DNA strain which then proceeds to remove all genetic differences within specific cells. The result is a terrifying death as the victim's living body slowly erodes into gelatinous pile of pure protein which subject 20 then uses for food. After its final mutation, where the creature evolves into a huge insect-like being with a large mouth full of sharp teeth, the creature is eventually slain when it eats Cal's cancer-ridden liver, its body genetically self-destructing from within. Mike and Tracy are the only survivors.

Reception

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 60% based on reviews from 5 critics, 3 positive, 2 negative.

Home media

On July 20, 2010, Shout! Factory released Forbidden World on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The DVD is a 2-disc set. This set also includes the original Allan Holzman cut that was rejected by Roger Corman due to having humor, while Corman wanted the film to be done as a straight sci-fi/horror film. This is the first time this cut is available anywhere.

External links

• Forbidden World at IMDb
• Forbidden World at AllMovie
• Forbidden World at Rotten Tomatoes