Entertainment
Raunchy 80s Space Movie Is An R-Rated, Sci-Fi Exploitation Worth Streaming
By Robert Scucci
| Published
The impact that 1979’s Alien had on cinema and pop culture at large is undeniable. There have been countless imitations since its release, with 1982’s Forbidden World being one of the earliest examples. Using the same Alien blueprint that films like The Last Days on Mars (2013), Ash (2025), and Underwater (2020) shamelessly cling to, Forbidden World is more true to form in its depiction of a hostile alien takeover, but it leans harder into gore, sex, and low-fi B-movie spectacle than most films that share its DNA.
Speaking of DNA, what sets Forbidden World apart from Alien is its characters’ willingness to poke and prod at the very alien lifeform threatening their survival, fully aware of how much trouble it could cause. Alien centers on a hostile organism that nobody aboard the USCSS Nostromo intended to encounter, while the crew in Forbidden World could have avoided catastrophe entirely if they had simply aborted their mission and terminated their test subjects in a controlled environment.
Like Alien, But More Violent And Sexy
Forbidden World opens with a familiar setup, taking place at a research station on the distant desert planet Xarbia. The film wastes no time establishing its gooey, bloody, gestating antagonist, Subject 20. We’re introduced to visiting military officer Mike Colby (Jesse Vint), who, alongside his trusty robot SAM-104 (Don Olivera), urges head researcher Gordon Hauser (Linden Chiles) to terminate the experiment after witnessing the dozens of slaughtered animal carcasses littering the “creature room,” clearly victims of Subject 20’s violent metamorphosis.
Accompanying Gordon in his study of Subject 20 are assistants Barbara Glaser and Tracy Baxter, who, for reasons the movie never bothers to justify, are almost always scantily clad in space uniforms that may as well be short sun dresses or bath robes. Rounding out the crew are lab technician Jimmy Swift (Michael Bowen), electrician Brian Beale (Raymond Oliver), security officer Earl Richards (Scott Paulin), and Doctor Cal Timbergen (Fox Harris).
When Jimmy carelessly opens Subject 20’s enclosure after being ordered to clean up the piles of animal bodies in its wake, he becomes the first victim of the creature’s violence, though he isn’t killed outright. Dr. Cal examines Jimmy’s barely alive body and discovers that Subject 20 has infected him with a mutated strain known as Proto B. The infection reduces human DNA to a uniform protein mass, effectively turning the body into a blank slate that Subject 20 can consume, only making it stronger.
As Forbidden World moves into its second and third acts, Subject 20 goes into full rampage mode, hunting down the rest of the crew and annihilating everything in its path as it grows exponentially stronger and inches closer to its final form.
Let’s Just Call It What It Is
For a movie that would not exist without Alien, Forbidden World still has a lot going for it, along with enough B-movie charm to stand on its own. The key distinction is that Alien follows a crew that unknowingly brings a hostile lifeform aboard their ship and pays the price. Every crew member in Forbidden World, on the other hand, understands the dangers they are facing and even receives orders from the military to terminate the research once Subject 20 proves dangerous.
This willful ignorance separates Forbidden World from the film that inspired it because the characters more or less know what they are getting into and choose not to exercise caution. When Subject 20 finally launches its slasher-style rampage, the violence is easier to stomach because everyone here had ample warning. Alien’s characters are sympathetic because they were deceived into transporting a Xenomorph. The crew in Forbidden World is essentially asking to be slaughtered inside their own research station because they know better and press on anyway.
Thanks to these tonal differences, Forbidden World works as a shameless copycat that still manages to carve out its own identity. Exploitative, sexually charged subplots notwithstanding, there are still some great creature shots, and the gore is surprisingly solid for an early 80s, low-budget riff on a much more successful intellectual property.
A slasher-style Alien copycat that commits fully to its sleaze and splatter, Forbidden World is a solid watch for these reasons and can be streamed for free on Tubi as of this writing.
Entertainment
Score up to 64% off at EcoFlow and snag free solar panels with your purchase.
SAVE 64%: Between May 6 and May 17, you can score up to 64% off at EcoFlow and snag free solar panels with your purchase.
Get up to 64% off plus a free solar panel with purchase
I live in an apartment, so I don’t exactly have a “whole home” to back up. But if there’s one thing I hate, it’s losing power. There goes the AC, the internet, the food in the fridge — it’s a total nightmare. If you actually own a house and have been putting off buying a backup power system because it’s pricey, I have some good news.
The DJI Power 1000 Mini portable power station just launched — U.S. availability is pending
Right now, EcoFlow is running a Mother’s Day Sale through May 17 with discounts as high as 64%. They’re also throwing in free hardware to sweeten the deal: All single orders between $600 and $3,000 come with a free 45W solar panel, and orders over $3,000 come with two free 160W solar panels. If you’re looking for something more portable, their RAPID Power Banks are also up to 53% off right now.
Just keep an eye on the countdown clock — it’s for the Flash Sale items that have even better, limited-time price cuts. If you miss the flash window, the standard Mother’s Day and Home Improvement deals (including a $700 installation discount for larger systems) are still valid through mid-May.
Mashable Deals
Here are a few of the best deals I’ve spotted so far:
Entertainment
Maddies Secret trailer reveals John Early as youve never seen him before
Comedian John Early makes his feature directorial debut with Maddie’s Secret, an offbeat homage to melodrama that he wrote and headlines as its eponymous heroine.
As an aspiring food influencer, Maddie Ralph (Early) is passionate about her cuisine. And at first glance, she’s got a picture-perfect life: a loving husband (Eric Rahill), a devoted best friend (Kate Berlant), and a job at a culinary content studio called Gourmaybe. But as the title suggests, there’s a side to Maddie she can’t stomach sharing with her loved ones. And this secret could kill her.
Out of the movie’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, I cheered Maddie’s Secret, writing in my review for Mashable, “The film is silly and strange, but even amid campy bits, sincere. So, you’ll laugh at its parody elements, but may well be genuinely moved by Early’s commitment to this strange and splendid film.”
I also said “John Early is a better ingénue than Sydney Sweeney,” comparing Maddie’s Secret to another earnest (but less entertaining) TIFF offering, Christy. And I stand by it.
Maddie’s Secret opens in theaters in New York on June 19, and in Los Angeles on June 26.
Entertainment
Pride is almost here! Check out the best dating apps for LGBTQ women.
We know Pride is all year round, but there is something special about the month of June. We’re not there quite yet, but if you want a main squeeze for all the parades and parties, you gotta start looking now. How about on a dating app?
As a lesbian, you probably know all about them. Lesbian Americans (along with bisexual and gay Americans) are far more likely to have ever used dating apps than straight Americans: 51 percent to 28 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.
There are a few reasons why LGBTQ people might turn to online dating more quickly than straight folks. For one, you might live in an area without a thriving LGBTQ community, and in-person dating may be hard. If you don’t know other lesbians to begin with, how can you meet more IRL to date? (Sometimes, lesbian spaces can also be co-opted by The Straights.) Unfortunately, in-person dating may also be less safe, depending on where you live.
Hookup apps for everyone
AdultFriendFinder
—
readers’ pick for casual connections
Tinder
—
top pick for finding hookups
Hinge
—
popular choice for regular meetups
Thankfully, we live in a time where we can find people like us with a few swipes. Lesbians are welcome on major dating apps, and there are also niche ones specifically for lesbians and other queer women and people. But which one to choose?
How to find the best dating apps for lesbians
Niche lesbian dating apps aren’t your only option for finding love.
Credit: Stacey Zhu / Mashable
In Mashable’s recommendations below, you’ll find both general dating apps and apps specifically for queer people. As the former appeals to the general population, you’ll find more users in these spaces. The caveat, however, is that when you swipe on other women, you might find those coupled with men who are looking for another woman to have a threesome with (aka unicorn hunters). No judgment here, but that’s probably not what you’re looking for. Then again, people of all types are on dating apps like Tinder and Hinge. You never know who you may come across.
Then there are apps specifically for the community, like HER and Lex. If you yearn for a smaller dating scene, head for these apps. While there’s no “Grindr for lesbians” — we go into why in the FAQ section — these apps are more so like stepping into your neighborhood lesbian bar than an app like Bumble.
You can also try multiple dating apps, as each one below has a free version. You can filter by the gender you identify with and are looking for, and sometimes, as with OkCupid, there are many options to choose from.
Diving into the dating pool isn’t easy, but the water’s fine. Check out our guide below for the full rundown of our recommendations and dating app reviews.
Score up to 64% off at EcoFlow and snag free solar panels with your purchase.
Maddies Secret trailer reveals John Early as youve never seen him before
