So let me get this straight, Roger Corman for reasons only he himself knows decided to remake the film "Forbidden World". Not only did he remake it, he apparently decided to take out most of the nudity, make it less gory and make it a bit more talkative. Why? I am sure everyone out there would like an answer to this, but I am guessing he wanted to make a more serious version or something. This one is basically a lot less fun version, you have Marc Singer and his robot pal going to a planet cause an experiment has gone array. So yes, like "Forbidden World" only with all the fun stripped from it. It was not all bad as there was one rather good jump moment I was not expecting and there was a couple of good gore effects, but overall "Forbidden World" has this one beat in nearly every possible way. I mean the effects were even better in that one, as was the music. In that one it was a really nifty 80's sounding set of tracks while this was very forgettable. Stupid twists and the ending was not as cool either. That and another thing that made this film kind of hard to watch was the fact it featured more creature in the air vent scenes. I have watched a lot of horror movies the past few weeks and this theme is getting old. The monster does not look as good, the robot looks dreadful (though it did not look great in the original) just not enough here. Even the girls were more attractive in the other film. Though this film features one of the most unheroic moments I have ever seen near the end that had me chuckling too. Still, if I did not get this on a double feature set of movies along with "The Terror Within" I would be a bit more ticked off.

Stop me if you've heard this one before: A murderous mutant monster runs amok on the research facility Phaebon. It's up to rough'n'tumble trouble shooter Commander Krieger (Marc Singer coasting on thespic automatic pilot) to stop the beast. Sound familiar? Yep, this particular picture is a hopelessly lame'n'tame rehash of "Forbidden World," which in turn was essentially a sleazed-up early 80's drive-in discount version of "Alien." Alas, "Dead Space" crucially lacks the scuzzy verve, slimy content, and sardonic wit that made "Forbidden World" such a trashy treat. Flatly (non)directed by Fred Gallo, with a trite and uninspired by-the-numbers script by Catherine Cyran, a crippling lack of suspense and energy, dim, murky cinematography by Mark Parry, drippy characters, cruddy (less than) special effects, precious little gratuitous female nudity, terrible dialogue ("This thing is tough and adaptable -- and growing at an incredible rate!"), poorly staged monster attack set pieces, a draggy pace, mild gore, a generic hum'n'shiver score by Daniel May, and a limp conclusion, this lead-footed clunker makes for a heavy chore to endure. The cast struggle gamely with the lackluster material: Laura Mae Tate as feisty genetics expert Marissa (who at least bares her nice breasts once), a pre-"Breaking Bad" Bryan Cranston as hard-nosed, terminally ill doctor Darden, Judith Chapman as chilly scientist Stote, Randy Reinholz as craven, wormy jerk Tim, ravishing redhead Lori Lively as perky computer specialist Jill, and Rodger Halston as Krieger's creaky, sharp-tongued robot partner Tinpan all do their proverbial best, but they are fighting a no-win uphill battle all the way. This deadly dull dud earns a point or two for its mercifully brief 72 minute running time, but overall it's still really bad and hence unworthy of your time.

Leave it to Roger Corman to ripoff one of his own ripoffs! This direct-to-video flick is actually a remake of the Corman produced ALIEN-riff FORBIDDEN WORLD (1982), going so far as to use footage from that which is actually footage from BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. You still with me? Marc Singer takes over for Jesse Vint as the space soldier who answers a distress call from a scientific community. Once he gets there with his robot sidekick, he finds out the scientists have been performing a series of genetic experiments that have unleashed a big ol' monster. This isn't nearly as good as the original but it does feature a fine alien and nice performance by Singer. He really can make anything just the slightest bit better with his everyman delivery. The only place where the remake trumps the original is in the insertion of nudity. WORLD had a really gratuitous bit with Vint and a female companion in a sauna type area. This is even more casual as the nudity is inserted in a dream sequence a character has during all the chaos. Finding a place for that in the film's short 72-minute running time is perhaps its biggest merit.

The filmmakers apparently had enough money to be able to afford decent makeup effects, but not enough for a creature that would move around and attack convincingly. We never get a chance to see the "monster" move from one place to another - whenever that happens (supposedly), the camera focuses on the "terrified" reactions of the humans that are nearby. And when a man is attacked by it, he simply seems to be holding an inanimate object against himself so that it won't fall to the ground. This is still not the worst "Alien" rip-off around (the two "Xtro" films are even worse, for example); it's actually sufficiently entertaining if you've got 68 (!!) minutes to spare. (*1/2)