The characters may be largely expendable but they do have personality and, moreover, Holzman utilizes the cramped confines of the ship well to create a palpable tension, aided by a baroscopic electronic score courtesy of Susan Justin. There is simply no time for boredom to set in. His features are focused solely on entertainment and, at no point, are we afforded the opportunity to lose interest. ![]() There is no great science to proceedings but this is where Corman has so often hit pay-dirt. One criticism which could never be leveled at Forbidden World is that it outstays its welcome as attested by an anemic 77 minute running time which Holzman fills admirably. The sets are largely rehashed from Clark’s B-movie marvel, where the alien itself is designed by John Carl Buechler, with a knowing nod to the design of Scott’s monster.īuechler also proves himself capable of some impressive gags, especially given the fact that the budget is severely limited, and the kills are drip-fed with precisely the right frequency to keep things rattling alone nicely. Where Galaxy of Terror took a far more extravagant approach to the formula, the director applies a more claustrophobic angle aside from one sequence set on the planet surface. Sure, there’s a malignant extraterrestrial on the loose but these semen aren’t going to spend themselves and, besides, they’re simply asking for it for being so darned buxom.Īmidst all the sweaty coitus, the crew’s plight is steadily worsening as one-by-one the dwindling team is whittled down by the Xenomorph knock-off and it is here that Holzman keeps up grounded and calls to mind the insular trappings of the Nostromo. They have been nurturing an ominous alien life form, nicknamed Subject 20, and appear to have bitten off more than they can chew so Colby rides in like a knight with shining erection and swiftly commences bedding the female boffins as though backed up with gallons of intergalactic space-cum. Budgetary constraints aside, Forbidden World adopted the same methodology as Scott’s sci-fi centerpiece and did so on a mere fraction of the outlay.Īfter a typically campy opening space battle reminiscent of Star Wars, federal marshal Mike Colby (Jesse Vint) is summoned to a barren planet on the outskirts of the solar system to assist a group of scientists whose genetic experiment has gone tits up. ![]() Whilst perhaps he over-reacted slightly to this amusement, it shows just how seriously he took the project. ![]() While Galaxy of Terror is, in Keeper’s opinion, the crème de la crème of all the resulting “clones”, Holzman’s film sits alongside William Malone’s Titan Find just shy of the apex.Īround six minutes of footage was cut from the original pre-release on Corman’s request after test screenings revealed certain audience members laughing uncontrollably at certain more comedic scenes and the producer even took one heckler to task, smacking him upside his head and earning himself a soda bath in the process as the man took his foul revenge from the balcony later on. Allan Holzman’s brief was simple: cash in on the craze inaugurated by Ridley Scott’s Alien and what he achieved on a $1m budget was nothing short of amazing. Clark’s Galaxy of Terror and Barbara Peeters’ Humanoids From The Deep (which Corman executive produced, albeit uncredited). If ever a nod was richly deserved, then I would say he earned that one.įorbidden World aka Mutant arrived at a particularly thriving period during his career, around the time of Bruce D. ![]() With over 400 production credits under his belt, and barely a picture among them which didn’t turn a profit, he has been an ever-present ever since the mid-fifties with a career spanning seven individual decades, and in 2009 his hard work was recognized by the Academy when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for services rendered. Often dubbed The King of the Cult Film, his influence on modern cinema truly is second to none.
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