Commander Mike Colby (Jesse Vint) is sent to an isolated scientific research station on the planet Xarbia. There he is told by Dr. Gordon Hauser (Linden Chiles) that "subject 20," a "metamorphic mutation" -- a genetic fusion of Proto B cells and human being -- has destroyed all of the lab animals and still remains a threat. Naturally the creature breaks out of confinement and begins chomping on people. Consisting mostly of a huge maw and gigantic teeth, the creature resembles the monster in Parasite, and may well be the exact same mock-up. Forbidden World isn't a very good movie, but it's fun in a limited way, and the gooey make-up effects are well done. It also has a low-budget but effective production design borrowed from Galaxy of Terror. And then there's the acting ...
As the nominal hero, Jesse Vint is professional as is Linden Chiles -- along with Ray Oliver and Scott Paulin -- as other workers in the research facility. Fox Harris is generally awful as Cal, the Chief of Bacteriology, acting as if he thought he were in a parody of a monster movie on The Carol Burnett Show. Michael Bowen, who is adept enough as Jimmy, the first victim in the movie, went on to better things. As for the two women in the cast, who shall remain nameless, they are so insufficient that I've no doubt some audience members wondered if they were dragged in from adult films! They don't seem even remotely like scientists, but they do get to have tedious sex scenes with Jesse Vint and his -- or the commander's -- scarred body. This is yet another clone of Alien.
Verdict: Worth one look in a weak moment and no more. **1/2.
Another Corman epic I have never heard of! Now i will recognize the title if I run across it!
ReplyDelete-Chris
Fun, but don't go out of your way to see it, LOL!
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