![]() He gave Allan Holzman, who had edited a few pictures for him and wanted to direct, a matter of days to conceive a prologue to be shot on the set that weekend, with the rest to be written and filmed months later. ![]() In true Corman fashion, he decided on a whim during the production of Galaxy of Terror that he wanted to utilize a space ship interior before the set was taken down. But Forbidden World (also known as Mutant and as Subject 20) - which celebrates its 40th anniversary this week - is the more interesting case study. Galaxy of Terror is more blatantly derivative of Alien, but its cast features horror icons Robert Englund and Sid Haig and the crew includes a young James Cameron and Bill Paxton. Never one to miss an opportunity to make a quick buck, the trailblazing producer oversaw Galaxy of Terror for release in 1981 and followed it up with yet another Alien knock-off, Forbidden World, in 1982.īoth Corman productions have their charms. Not surprisingly, Roger Corman wasn’t far behind. The Italians were first to strike, rushing the boldly titled Alien 2: On Earth into theaters less than a year after Alien‘s release, and Luigi Cozzi’s Contamination followed shortly after. Its first sequel wouldn’t come for another seven years, but the interim was filled with a variety of imitators hoping for a piece of the intergalactic pie. Overall, Forbidden World is a sleazy rip-off of a better film, but that makes it more enjoyable.ĭisclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.Despite being met with mixed reviews upon its release in 1979, the massive box office success made it clear that audiences loved Ridley Scott’s Alien. While it’s the least well-known of Corman’s space movies, it’s still a fun watch for genre enthusiasts. ![]() At 77 minutes long, the movie goes by quickly, though there’s some padding to get it to feature-length. They manage to create some gruesome set pieces, such as the creature’s death and the crew being half dissolved. In addition to Buechler, effects artist Mark Shostrom ( The Beastmaster, Evil Dead 2, From Beyond) contributed to the film. The creature’s design is relatively basic, but it works in its simplicity, essentially looking like a giant slug with teeth. Admittedly, it can be slightly overbearing at times, but it’s weird enough to stick with you after the movie. Susan Justin’s score helps this movie stand out, adding an off-kilter, punk rock vibe to the proceedings. Linden Chiles comes off a bit wooden, but he makes for a good foil for Vint. Cal Timbergen, who ends up helping defeat the monster. Character actor Fox Harris hams it up as the eccentric Dr. June Chadwick and Dawn Dunlap are knock-outs who bare it all on more than one occasion. Jesse Vint is decent as the smooth leading man, bedding both women and creating a love triangle. While the direction is relatively basic, Holzman keeps the pacing tight and shows plenty of potential for a first-time director. Granted, this is partly due to Corman not being happy with the more comedic moments and having those trimmed out. The tone is all over the place, where sometimes it feels intentionally funny and other times unintentionally amusing. With the body count rising, who will be able to survive this forbidden world?Ĭompared to Corman’s other space movies around this time, Forbidden World is one of the oddest. As more people get picked off, Colby learns more about the experiment and its method of consuming people. One day, lab technician Jimmy Swift (Michael Bowen) gets killed by the beast, and it sabotages their communication equipment. However, Hauser tells him not to terminate the creature and remains secretive about what happened, much to everyone’s dismay. The creature wrapped itself in a cocoon after killing some of the research team, so Colby wants to kill it. Colby meets the survivors, including research head Gordon Hauser (Linden Chiles) and his assistant Barbara Glaser (June Chadwick). Their mission is to investigate a research facility in Xarbia, where an experimental lifeform got loose and attacked the staff. While drifting through space, Officer Mike Colby (Jesse Vint) learns of a new assignment from his robot SAM-104 (Don Olivera).
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