Forbidden World (1982) – A Movie A Day 2021 #38
Forbidden World (1982) – A Movie A Day 2021 #38
Do you remember a few days ago when I wrote about Dead Space and said it’s a remake of a movie from 1982? Well, I said I would see that original movie pretty soon, and soon is now. Today’s movie of the day is Forbidden World, a sci-fi monster movie that borrows more than a little from Alien, yet feels original enough in its presentation and story that I won’t be talking about Alien for the rest of this journal entry (which is something I couldn’t avoid when writing about Dead Space). Forbidden World is a campy sci-fi b-monster-movie with lots of action, tension, blood, gore, and beautiful women. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I might have a new film to add to my list of favorite movies about groups of people isolated with a murderous monster (yes, that is a list I have in my head).
If you read my journal entry about Dead Space, then you already know the plot of Forbidden World. It’s pretty much the same movie, only Forbidden World is far, far better. The basic plot is that a hot-shot space pilot answers a distress call at an isolated research facility on an alien world. The pilot, Mike Colby, journeys to the facility with his android companion, and they discover that a group of scientists have created something that has grown out of control. The creature they made begins to attack and kill the people at the facility one by one as it gets bigger, grosser, and more dangerous.
So yeah, the basic plot points are the same between Forbidden World and Dead Space, but there’s so much more depth in Forbidden World. Characters’ motivations make tons more sense, the creature is explained way better, and the special effects, though still low-budget and cheesy, look great. I’m glad I saw Dead Space first, because without knowing anything about either movie, I was able to enjoy Dead Space fine for what it is. Comparisons to Forbidden World would have been impossible to avoid had I seen it first, and that would have caused me to enjoy Dead Space less.
One of my favorite aspects of Forbidden World, besides the copious amount of blood and gooey alien monster fluids, is the presentation of the movie. For one, I just love the 70s/80s look and feel. It’s something that can be difficult to describe, but I know it when I see it. The costumes, the sets, the lighting, it all has that classic sci-fi feel of the era. But more than that, the way the movie is edited can be quite unique at times.
Starting very early in the movie, there are moments when we’ll see flashes of other scenes, often when music is playing. It feels almost like a dream sequence of sorts, but it’s not. They could be flashbacks or flashforwards depending on the scene, and when put together they give the whole movie a very fun vibe. I’m probably not explaining it well, but I suppose I’m just trying to say that the unique editing helped to evoke certain tones while I was watching. I liked it a lot, and it got me interested in the movie right away.
Forbidden World is definitely something that I’ll revisit at some point. I often get cravings for just this type of monster movie, and I’m very happy that I found another to add to my go-to list.