Rated: R | Running Time: 73 Minutes
From: MVD Entertainment
The Ultimate Edition available September 29, 2015
Want to see how the great Danny Elman got his musical movie start? Want to see Herve Villechaize as a King in a bizarre, musical world? Want to see a fat “Hitler?” How about a Servant Frog that’s just a dude with a frog head? How about a lot of boobs? Did I forget to mention “Chicken Boy?” If you are ready for some musical and movie weirdness, I believe you might be ready for “Forbidden Zone.”
“Forbidden Zone” is not for everyone. It’s a 1980 musical comedy built around performances of the Mystic Nights of the Oingo Boingo. It is bizarreness and kitschiness in all it’s movie and music glory, and yes, you might be offended. So be it, for me it was a lot of fun.
It seems there is a strange door in the basement of a house of the Hercules family, a strange door that leads to the Sixth Dimension, a kingdom ruled by King Fausto (Villechaize) and his Queen Doris (Susan Tyrrell). When Frenchy (Marie-Pascale Elfman) hears about the strange door, she is curious, and after a bizarre day at school (some of the “classroom scenes” are classic) she goes to take a peak at the door. Slipping, she falls through the door, and into the Sixth Dimension where the King takes a liking to her, much to the dismay of his Queen.
Alas, it’s up to Frenchy’s family to save her, so it’s off to the Sixth Dimension to rescue her. And more, bizarre hilarity ensues.
Sure, there is a lot more plot to the story, including how the evil Doris stole the throne, and a deal with the Devil (Danny Elfman), but most of the enjoyment of the movie comes from its capturing a performance art musical troupe on the screen, complete with cheesy scenery and bad make-up.
This movie is not for the normal folks. You have got to have a twisted mind, twisted sense of humor, and if there is a bit of you that likes something the “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” I believe you will thoroughly enjoy “Forbidden Zone.”
The original “Forbidden Zone” was in black and white and is by Richard Elfman. I saw the colorized version for the review but didn’t have a full-blown copy of the Ultimate Edition that includes the fun stuff like a booklet, behind the scenes, interviews, outtakes, and the like, so I can’t say if the extras are worth the physical purchase, but I will highly recommend, for you quirky folks, the digital download version to live the goofiness to it’s fullest! You stuffy folks will probably hate it, which is part of the reason I’m giving “Forbidden Zone” 4 1/2 stars out of 5, especially for doing what it set out to do, and doing it fantastically.
That’s it for this one! L8R!!