| 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 |
| Editing by |
Allan Holzman,
Martin Nicholson |
| Release date(s) |
May, 1982 |
| Running time |
77 min |
| Country |
United States |
| Language |
English |
Forbidden World, originally titled Mutant, is a 1982 science fiction 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.
This film received an R rating from the MPAA, meaning it is restricted to viewers over the age of 17 unless accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Forbidden World 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, however, attained a certain cult status among fans of grungy, cheap, sleazy sci-fi. 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). 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 for no particular reason.
AKAs: Mutant, Subject 20
Plot Synopsis
A genetic research station is located on the desert world of Xarbia, and 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 it final mutation, the creature is eventually slain when it eats Cal's cancer-ridden liver, its body genetically self-destructing from within.
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