Forbidden World
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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. It was filmed in color with mono sound and has a running time of 77 minutes. 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, which Forbidden World shares some of the same sets (designed by James Cameron). It is notable for its gruesome violence, oddball electornica 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
A genetic research station is located on the desert world of Xarbia, and a research team has created an experimental creature they have designated "Subject 20". This monster was built out of modified human cells and was intended to stave off a food crisis. After the creature hatches from its cocoon, however, it begins killing the personnel at the station.
The bounty hunter Mike Colby (Vint), accompanied by his robot assistance SAM-104 (Olivera), is called in to investigate the problem. The staff of the station includes the head of research, Gordon Hauser (Chiles), his assistant (and Colby's lust interest) Barbara Glaser (Chadwick), perpetually nude crewmate Tracy Baxter (Dunlap), and Cal Timbergen (Harris), the chief of bacteriology.
After Colby sleeps with Barbara (and nearly does so with Tracy in a steam room) and a number of gory fatalities that kill off most of the station crew, the creature is eventually slain when it eats Cal's cancer-ridden liver: a novel climax to the film.
