As the tape comes to a stop the room falls silent. You sit a while, listening, listening for the sound of a footstep, for the sound of a door opening, for anything.
Several minutes pass, still nothing. Slowly you stand, turning, scanning the room…nothing.
Perhaps the creature on the tape has moved on, maybe it was a prank, stories like that can’t be real. It all sounds like the work of somebody’s over-active imagination. You’re guilty of it yourself, sitting here in this old house, imagining monsters laying in wait, monsters in some dark cellar, monsters climbing the creaking stairs…
Creak…
You run, bolting for the front door as you hear wood splinter behind you as the monster bursts out from the cellar staircase and into the hall. Throwing the front door aside you think you feel the creature swipe the air where your head was moments before, its razor sharp talons cutting the air instead of your scalp.
You know it has those talons, you just know. Just like you know that it’s huge, big enough to get jammed in the door frame, the momentum that carried it through the cellar door having ebbed away. You know that it won’t stay stuck there forever though, even now it’s probably searching for another way out, perhaps a French window.
Crash!
Your lungs burning, you know it’s gaining on you…so of course, it is. You think you can make it into the mist up ahead, so of course…you do.
The mist surrounds you, and all is white.
Another classic this time, but perhaps not one which everyone would think of as horror, especially if they haven’t actually seen it. I certainly feel it belongs in the genre. The 1950s was when many of the horror films that had been so prevalent in the 30s and 40s began to give way to Science Fiction, or really in many cases disguised themselves in a futuristic chrome carapace, but the horror was still there.
Our film this time expertly combines both Science Fiction, and Horror, it’s 1956’s Forbidden Planet.
I first saw this film many years ago, back in the early 90s when it was already close to 40 years old. Despite its age, and despite its PG, or is it U rating? The BBFC website sates U but the Blu-Ray is PG, perhaps it’s because of the extras? But then it would normally say? Arghh, OK so I got side tracked, my point will still be valid. DESPITE its age, and DESPITE being suitable for those of all ages, I found it quite frightening when I was 10 and it still has that power.
The story follows Commander Adams and the crew of the excitingly named starship C-57D as they travel to the planet Altair IV to determine the fate of an expedition which travelled there 20 years prior. There they meet Dr Morbius, his daughter Altaira and the real star of the show Robby the Robot. The crew soon find that things aren’t all they seem on this peaceful looking planet as an unknown horror stalks them.
I’ll leave it at that for the story, not a lot I know but if you’ve not seen it then I don’t want to spoil anything. If you have seen it, then you don’t need me to tell you what happens, and we can discuss specifics in the spoiler section.
What I will say about the plot is that it’s not a simple, predictable 50s monster movie by any means. There’s mystery to it and certainly more than meets the eye, not only that but there’s tension. I mentioned being scared by the film when I was younger and I think it’s the fear of the unknown which is prevalent here, it successfully has you on edge.
The Atmosphere in Forbidden Planet is phenomenal. The beautiful sets, special effects and the sound, oh the sound. If there’s one thing which can be put on a pedestal above everything else in this film it’s the sound. The haunting electronic tones give an alien, mystical feeling to the whole film. If ever a film transported the viewer away from their sofa to another place it’s this one. I’m listening to the soundtrack as I write this and it honestly gives me the chills.
The film does have it’s more light-hearted moments, mostly the interactions between Robby the Robot and the cook, but they’re fairly infrequent and don’t detract from the more serious tone of the rest of the film.
Talking of Robby the Robot, he really is a work of art. One of the most expensive film props ever made at the time, costing somewhere around $100,000, 7% of the film’s entire budget, and equivalent to over a million in today’s money. He’s an iconic character and probably the aspect of the film that’s most recognisable to modern audiences. Robby is the creation of Robert Kinoshita, who also created the robots from the Lost in Space TV Series in the 60s and the earlier film Tobor the Great.
It’s fascinating to me to see Leslie Nielsen in a film where he doesn’t already have grey hair. I think Airplane is the next oldest thing I’ve seen him in and he was already 54 then. Here he’s a youthful 30 (Maybe even 29 when it was being filmed) and not only that, this isn’t a comedy. Later on he certainly became typecast as the king of ridiculous comedies but here he plays the straight man and he’s good!
There is one aspect where the film hasn’t aged well and that’s Morbius’s daughter Altaria. There’s a lot of “Hey a broad!” type stuff from the all male crew and she mostly seems to be there as the naïve love interest of more than one crewmember. This is pretty standard 50s fare to be honest and probably what society and therefore the audience of the time would be expecting so I’m not going to be too harsh on it.
Not harsh at all in fact, this is a straight up 5 Star Sapphires out of 5. An exemplary sci-fi horror, one which still holds up today. Sure the social side of things has dated, it’s very 1950s, but it can hardly be marked down for being a product of its time. If you’re looking for an eerie, beautiful film with a more cerebral plot than your run of the mill 50s sci-fi horror then look no further!
**WARNING** SPOILERS BELOW **WARNING**
Welcome to the spoiler section. This is the part where I can bring up some specific parts of the film which I’d like to talk about more, whether they be good, or bad.
OK, so as there’s not a lot of bad, and even then it’s more of a case of this film being made in the 1950s, let’s start with that.
I mentioned before about the way Altaira is used in the film. Being more specific there’s a scene where one of the crew is explaining to her about kissing and demonstrating it, trying to explain it as something all high societies do etc… so it starts off bad, but then Commander Adams catches them at it, dismisses the crew member and the berates Altaira for dressing provocatively in front of his horny men. So yes that side of the film has aged badly.
Moving on to more positive things. The monster, or at least the manifestation of Dr Morbius’s subconscious that is the Monster from the ID. The effects for this creature are fantastic, from the footprints in the sand and bending metal steps of the ship, to the red crackling outline of the monster as the crew fruitlessly pour fire from their guns and energy batteries into it.
I said before about how this isn’t your one dimensional monster movie. The idea that the Monster that killed the other colonists and attacks Adams’ crew is a creation of Morbius’ mind and the very same thing which destroyed the Krell civilization really adds more intrigue and awe than one might expect from a science fiction film of this era.
The plot of Forbidden Planet is often compared with that of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, with Morbius playing the part of Prospero, Altaira as Miranda and Adams as Ferdinand. I won’t go greatly into detail, there’s a good article on it here, but if we ignore the futuristic setting then there are a great many similarities.
There’s honestly not a huge amount of specifics that I’d like to discuss. When it comes to films that I enjoy as a whole package like this it’s harder to pinpoint stand out moments. It’s an experience, an atmospheric piece which makes you forget the present for a while and live in the future.
I think it’s time for little drink, 60 gallons ought to do it…
Summerisle 