Forbidden Zone
Studio: FantomaMPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Running Time: 73 minutes
DVD Release: August 31st 2004
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DVD Review
Words like "delirious" and "bizarre" simply don't suffice to describe Forbidden Zone, director Richard Elfman's 1980 musical fantasy that makes its DVD debut after two decades as a cult favorite. Conceived as an extension of the avant-garde theater troupe/music group the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (later just Oingo Boingo, which counted Elfman, his brother Danny, and co-scripter Matthew Bright--later the director of Freeway--among its members), Forbidden Zone tells the story of Frenchy (production designer Marie-Pascal Elfman, Richard's then-wife), who accidentally enters the phantasmagorical Sixth Dimension through a door in her basement. There, her waifish good looks catch the eye of King Fausto (Herve Villechaize), much to the consternation of Queen Doris (the indomitable Susan Tyrell). A frantic, funny, and occasionally profane blend of Fleischer Brothers cartoons, German Expressionism, Depression-era musicals, and '60s underground movies, Forbidden Zone is definitely not for all viewers, but cult aficionados will be delighted by the sheer energy and imagination of this long-unavailable classic. Supplemental features include commentary by Elfman and Bright, interviews with Danny Elfman, Pascal, and Tyrell; deleted scenes and outtakes; clips from an aborted early attempt, The Hercules Family. (with Danny tearing up "Minnie the Moocher"), and Richard's video for Oingo Boingo's "Private Life." --Paul Gaita
User Reviews
Over the Top, Bizarre, Outrageous ... Yet I Couldn't Look Away - Rating: 4/5
You've probably already noticed that I've given this film four-out-of-five-stars. But for a film like Richard Elfman's "Forbidden Zone," a ranking doesn't quite apply; this experimental black and white musical/comedy so blatantly offbeat and bizarre that any level of verification would be pointless and subtracting. Elfman's use of abstract, kooky, German Expressionist-type imagery made it obvious that this was something he wanted to have stand alone, free from traditional methods of filmmaking. If this was, in fact, his intention, then it worked. It certainly succeeded in being an original film. (I ask you: how often have you envisioned a cross-dimensional journey through a set of intestines? Or a dancing frog butler?)
But being original also made for a rather jarring experience. This movie isn't afraid to revel in its quirkiness, and if you're not prepared for it--or at the very least not open to it--then you'll only come away feeling confused, angry, disgusted, or any combination of the three. Conventional moviegoer mentalities need to be put aside if one hopes to be entertained. An affinity for Oingo Boingo doesn't hurt, either.
Just try to imagine this: the basement in the home of the Hercules Family has a secret door that leads to the Sixth Dimension. Frenchy, the daughter (Marie-Pascale Elfman), is warned never to go near it; this is because her classmate's brother (or possibly sister) has already gone through and disappeared! But as sure as the sky is blue, she gets a little too curious for her own good and takes a peek behind the door. A cartoonish descent (through the aforementioned intestines) into the Sixth Dimension follows, culminating in Frenchy's expulsion from ... well, let's just say the non-oral end of the digestive tract. Her arrival heightens the interest of King Fausto (Hervé Villechaize), who can't seem to keep his lustful eyes off of her despite his depraved ownership of topless concubines. Would it surprise you to learn that the two fall in love anyway?
Frenchy also manages to get the attention of Queen Doris (Susan Tyrrell), Fausto's authoritarian wife. Along with various moments of explicit sexuality, a cameo by composer Danny Elfman as Satan, and the attempt to rescue Frenchy in the midst of unabashed wackiness, the rest of the film deals with the Queen's rapid decent into jealousy and how she makes destroying Frenchy her top priority.
It may be an overly strange attempt at a plot, but it's a plot nonetheless. It's the final ingredient in this cinematic stew, and it's just quirky enough to satisfy even the most seasoned cult film fanatic.
This would no doubt be a horrendous film if it were analyzed through a conventional filter. But as I said earlier, conventional doesn't even come into play here; how can it when Elfman's interpretation of the "real" world is just as twisted as his vision for the Sixth Dimension? The two worlds might as well have been one and the same, considering some slight scenery changes were the only things indicating a difference. Thank God Elfman quickly reverted to a catchy musical number to distract me from this problem.
It's a quick-and-dirty film, and one would certainly expect it to be loaded with inconsistencies, goofs, and oddball attempts at cohesion. "Forbidden Zone" certainly delivers in this area, even if they weren't intentionally created. For one, why is Father Hercules thirty to forty years younger than his own son? Furthermore, why was Satan included when he didn't really add anything to the movie (other than singing a twisted version of Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher")? Why did it have to be so unnecessarily sexual? And what in God's name was the deal with Squeezit Henderson (also known as Chicken Boy)? I'm well aware of how irrelevant these questions are, but I really can't help asking them. I guess I'm too used to straightforward plotlines and traditional character studies to let such things go.
Still, I have to admit that I was entertained by this movie. Of course, that didn't prevent me from thinking, "What the hell did I just watch?" by the time the end credits started to roll. The fact that this made it into theaters alone is beyond me; the target audience is so limited that it would be a miracle if it managed to break even. Then again, financial success may not have been that elusive. One look at the cardboard sets and student-film-quality camera tricks gave me a rough budget estimate of, oh, three hundred dollars (with maybe an extra dollar added for the black marker; they needed something to draw doors and windows with). The production design amounts to nothing more than a cheaply produced high school play, a quality that was both fascinating and annoying. Was there really nothing else to work with, even on a shoestring budget?
I'm sure those of you reading this don't know how to take this review. Is "Forbidden Zone" a good film or a bad film? I don't think I can answer that, despite my four star rating. Maybe that's because this isn't exactly a movie; it's more of an experience, one that demands at least one viewing. Its willingness to be different was both refreshing and repulsive, which is probably why I was unable to turn away from it. If I may be allowed an overused simile, it was like watching a train wreck. But what a disturbingly glorious train wreck it was.
Extremely Original - Rating: 4/5
Danny Elfman's outlandish 1980 film "Forbidden Zone" has to be seen to be believed, and if you are not at least slightly demented you should probably pass on the seeing part. Imagine a cross between "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", with lots of animation in the style Monty Python's Flying Circus and the rubbery Max Fleischer cartoons of the 1930's (which probably inspired much of the original Monty Python stuff anyway). Also deserving mention is the fact that this relatively low budget black and white film is a musical.
There are a lot of characters and the story is somewhat hard to follow so here is what I hope is a helpful summary. The Hercules family (father, mother, son, daughter, and grandfather) live in a house with a door to the Sixth Dimension a/k/a The Forbidden Zone (think Wonderland). Their daughter Frenchy (think Alice) and son Flash (who looks like third stooge Joe Besser in a cub scout uniform) go to school one day. When a gunfight erupts in the classroom Frenchy runs home.
Tripping on a roller skate she tumbles through the door into a large intestine and ends up in the sixth dimension, which is ruled by a King and Queen of dice-used instead of playing cards. There are a lot of half-dressed wonderland type characters down there although only the Frog Footman looks the same. There is a shapely princess who runs around topless, a living chandelier that eventually decays into just a skeleton, a devil (played by Elfman) who is like Cab Calloway playing the Cheshire Cat, and a rival queen.
Frenchy's family and one of her classmates go into the Forbidden Zone to attempt a rescue. The film is a mix of live action and animation. The editor deserves a lot of credit because the whole thing is sequenced quite well and even has a strange unity. There are racist stereotypes (generally too silly to be offensive), lively swing music, and sets that look to have been painted and constructed by a third grade art class.
If this whole wacky concept sounds interesting you should check it out.
ABSOLUTE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME ! - Rating: 5/5
I consider this the Absolute Best Movie of All Time!! It makes Rocky Horror Picture Show a kiddie warm-up movie!! Get it anyway you can & see it!!
Danny Elfman as Satan Singing Cab Calloway: Crazy Cult Classic - Rating: 4/5
Five years after 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' (1975) brothers Danny and Richard Elfman made this cult film, partly in order to record on screen the performance of Oingo Boingo (then called Mystic Knights of the Oingo-Boingo). The results became 'Forbidden Zone' this crazy, but strangely attrative no-budget musical.
The film is about the king and the queen of the World of the Sixth Dimention, where insanity and craziness rule. Susan Tyrrell is the jealous Queen Doris with a beehive hair; Hervé Villechaize ('Nick Nack' in 'The Man with a Golden Gun' beside Christopher Lee) is the King Fausto. There is a butler with a frog's head. There is a French girl named Frenchy (played by Marie-Pascale Elfman, then married to Richard Elfman) who unwisely strays into the underworld. And Danny Elfman himself appears as The Satan, who sings a spoof song of Cab Calloway. In other words, no one makes a film like this today.
To me, the most impressive part is its songs (largely based on old 30s-type numbers) plus Oingo Boingo's own numbers, and the animation in the vein of Max Fleischer cartoons. If you find the rest of the film too ugly for your taste, you will admit that these parts are curiously attractive, like the score of Danny Elfman who is to be more famous with his works in 'Batman.'
Some parts of the film might no longer appeal to us as they did in the 80s. The intentionally stereotyped characters (black people in the classroom, for example) are not surprising today, but within the context of the political correctness in the 80s, we can easily imagine that they were surprsing, and shocking, to some then. Interestingly, Matthew Bright (then credited as Toshiro Baloni) contributed to the zany screenplay, and Bright himself is to make films with different taste like 'Freeway' of which music is by Danny Elfman again.
Shot in black and white, and made with painted cardboards as backdrops, 'Forbidden Zone' has been a favorite choice for cult film fans. Looking back from now, the film's uneven quality cannot be denied, but for some of the deliciously odd moments, 'Forbidden Zone' attracted, and will attract many cult film fans forever.
An amazing cult classic - Rating: 5/5
Forbidden Zone could be the most eye-openingly bizarre film ever made, surpassing even Eraserhead. The fact that it is cheaply made and often inept is most definitely an asset - in a world this surreal conventional filmmaking techniques would seem out of place. In any case, there is no question that anyone interested in underground movies needs to purchase this. Its dismissal by critics and its unpopularity have both been unfair hamperings on its reputation. In actuality, its artistic vision is as singular and imaginative as Eraserhead's, or any cult classic for that matter. Rarely has cardboard been the vehicle for such a visionary production design.
There is so much to take note of - but I would single out the 'Bim bam boom' musical number with the mumbling boxers, the inexplicable antics in the classroom, and Danny Elfman's totally suave appearance as Satan towards the end as truly classic moments in the world of cult movies. They manage to be disturbingly surreal and amusingly silly and cartoonish at the same time. I want to extend my recommendation beyond the intellectuals and outsiders; even more conventionally-minded people may be taken in by Forbidden Zone's utter loopiness and triumphant imagination.
