Creative Debt: Forbidden World (1982)
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This face and others just like it are on consistent display thanks to actor Fox Harris
Subject 20 is also very familiar with rapid growth. The subject in question is an experimental being whipped up by a team of scientists working on a remote desert planet. The scientists make no mention of subjects one through nineteen, and so we are led to believe that number twenty is really quite something. And indeed, it is an impressive specimen, having developed from a slightly altered batch of ordinary cells into a conscious and intelligent entity. In addition to its constant mutations and dramatic growth rate, this impressive little scoundrel also manages to wipe out an entire laboratory worth of animal test subjects in a rather messy display of interspecies dominance.
This latter development is what prompts the arrival of intergalactic man of action Mike Colby (Jesse Vint). Mike is a bit of a master when it comes to sorting out difficult situations and his keen professional instinct tells him that the best course is to exterminate the organism straight away. The scientists, however, won’t hear of such a drastic option, citing Subject 20’s value as an object of study. And this homespun organism does provide some thrilling fodder for academic scrutiny, especially when it manages to reduce much of the crew to a pulsating, unicellular mass of protein. While a shuddering pile of homogenous flesh may not seem appetizing to most, it is apparently fairly toothsome for manmade mutants. Yet in spite of this exciting scientific development, Mr. Colby eventually manages to make a compelling case for eliminating Subject 20, particularly as the number of uneaten crewmates dwindles.
Cribbing from H.R. Giger is the final stage of mutation
Forbidden World is an engagingly gruesome spectacle from preeminent producer Roger Corman. Since its initial release, Forbidden World has often been described as an exploitative effort at reproducing the success of Alien (1979). At the risk of sounding impudent, I find this widely-held perspective to be somewhat simplistic in its approach to a nuanced cinematic endeavor. Most importantly, this interpretation ignores the fact that Forbidden World also borrows heavily from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Blob (1958), Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), Forbidden Planet (1956), Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), the Star Wars series and a host of other films. It even owes a creative debt to Galaxy of Terror (1981), Roger Corman’s other alleged Alien imitation from only a year prior. At a lean 77 minutes, the filmmakers manage to pack in a truly striking amount of outside inspiration. To be so reductive about their studious embrace of other influences would be gross negligence indeed.
Forbidden World runs 77 minutes and is rated R.
