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Forbidden World (1982) Review

Forbidden World is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Allan Holzman and starring Jesse Vint, Fiona Lewis, and Dawn Dunlap. The film was written by Tim Curnen and Mark Rogers, and was produced by Roger Corman.

The film is set on a remote research station where a team of scientists are studying a strange alien creature. When the creature escapes, it starts to kill the scientists one by one. The only person who can stop it is the station’s security guard, who must find a way to destroy the creature before it kills everyone on the station.

I’ve never really liked Forbidden World to be honest with you. It’s cliched, poorly acted with a mutant monster that is just stupid looking. The space scenes are borrowed from other movies, most noticeably from Battle Beyond the Stars, which is something that irks me badly. The whole storyline is illogical and generally a bit of a mess.

So what does Forbidden World have going for it that’s any good? I’m struggling here to be honest with ya… Though the gore is genuinely quite good. We get to see colonists being effectively melted and the cosmetics/prosthetics are really quite impressive. There are a couple of moments where the tension and suspense can get to ya but sadly not very often.

I can’t work out how some people see this movie as a classic, i really can’t. Sure it has schlock appeal but hell, there’s a million other movies that do as well and they do things much better than Forbidden World. The monster is some stupid alien clone wannabe thing, with what looks like the legs of a spider. It looks just pitiful. I’m sure it looked pitiful in 1982 and it looks even more so today. Sidenote: the monster looks nothing like the critter in the title image up top, I imagine that’s just an image an artist made up for promotional use during production or whatever.

There is a lot of nudity in Forbidden World, it does make the movie a lot easier to watch it’s true and it’s no basis for complaint but meh, please give us some decent horror too. The actors seem to struggle with what is a lacklustre script. Their characters are just stereotypical throwaway types that are just plain boring to be honest.

So if your looking for a decent way to spend a couple of hours, then it’s safe to say that Forbidden World is not for you. The only people who will like Forbidden World are folks watching back for nostalgia reasons perhaps, for everybody else go watch Alien…. again.

Forbidden World is a fast-paced, action-packed science fiction film that is sure to please fans of the genre. The film’s creature design is excellent, and the creature itself is both frightening and impressive. The acting is solid, and the film’s overall atmosphere is tense and suspenseful. If you’re a fan of science fiction, or simply a fan of good movies, then Forbidden World is definitely worth checking out.

Synopsis

In the year 2191, the planet Xarbia is being used as a research facility by the Federation of Planets. However, the facility is under attack by a unknown force, and the only way to defend it is to use the experimental Forbidden World class ship, the USS Freedom. The ship is crewed by a mix of humans and aliens, and is equipped with the latest in technology. However, the ship is also infested with a deadly virus, and the crew must find a way to stop the virus before it kills them all.

Movie Details

Director: Allan Holzman
Writer: Tim Curnen, Jim Wynorski, R.J. Robertson
Actors: Jesse Vint, Dawn Dunlap, Michael Bowen, Linden Chiles
AKA: Mutant
Release Year: 1982