Samantha Mathis, born in 1970, made her mark in the cult cinema landscape with her role in Forbidden Sun (1988). Set against the backdrop of the late 1980s, this film allowed Mathis to explore themes of desire and danger, showcasing her ability to navigate the complexities of character in a genre often defined by its excesses. Her early work in Forbidden Sun laid the groundwork for a diverse career, which would later include roles in mainstream films, but it is her contribution to the realm of cult and exploitation cinema that resonates with fans today.
Forbidden Sun
A couple of Texans manage a school in Crete, to train girls in Olympic gymnastics and learn some Ancient Greek History. Charles and Francine Lake are helped by an English teacher, a local gym coach and a janitor, all three single, and apparently sexually repressed. The twelve young women try to escape the rigorous discipline of the school, to mingle with the locals on the mainland where there is rock music by a visiting band. When one of the girls is sexually assaulted, the janitor Ulysses, a peeping tom, is suspected - and four girls vow revenge, in the form of a Cretan ritual named the Bulldance. The revenge goes wrong, and it is found that Ulysses was not the culprit. More people were hiding secrets in the small island. One of the girls, dejected in love, goes on to further violence - including on herself, going alone in an arena with a bull 1400+ lbs.
