After having just finished watching this disc for what must be at least the 15th time, I wanted to post my thoughts on this disc. Yep, this is my choice for #1 Cult DVD of the year. And yet somehow it didn't cause as big a stir as I had hoped upon release. Perhaps because Blue Underground released a few discs the same day, I don't know, but this fantastic platter from Fantoma trounces every other exploitation and cult disc of the year, hands down. It's such a breath of fresh air and an unexpected surprise that I continue to discover something new in the film every time I watch it.

Upon popping this disc into my player, I was wholly unprepared for the mind-warping, addictive and downright insane film which would unravel before me. Richard Elfman's unique visual style creates a superb homage to Busby Berkeley musicals, 30s Hollywood melodramas and most of all the controversial Max & David Fleischer cartoons. The entire cast looks like they're having a blast, including the always excellent Susan Tyrrell, pre-fame Herve Villechaize, mega hammy Joe Spinnell and the insane-in-the-membrane Kipper Kids. It's tough to describe this film, so I won't even try; it will make first viewing it that much more exhilirating and fascinating!

Not only is the film a masterpiece, it looks simply stunning, the soundtrack is remastered which brings that awesome musical score to the forefront and the appreciative extras include a commentary (which reveals a sequel is in the works!), deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes documentary, an Oingo Boingo music video and even a lyrics booklet!! The entire disc is one to revisit time and time again, and if any Mobians don't have this gracing their DVD shelf yet, you should be ashamed of yourself! Get off your keister and buy this pronto!!

Pre-fame Hervé Villechaize? The film followed both THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN and FANTASY ISLAND (two telefilms and a season or so of the series).

Casey, I could not agree more with your assessment. While it would have been interesting to see this in color, I have to admit that black and white really worked with this.

About 15 minutes into the film it's affect took hold of me like a 1960's LSD-25 trip that I wished would never end. It was the music, yes the music in this delightfully delirous, nonsensical fantasy that had me asking, "Where have you been all my life baby", to this work of genius.

I'm not sure of the original release of this film. I'd never heard of it prior to about a month ago. The background and scenery lead me to believe it was filmed in a theater which further begs the question as to whether it played before a live audience.

And Susan Tyrrell is unbelievable. Worth the price all by herself. As for a sequel, they'll have to do it without Hervé Villechaize as he passed in 1993.

There is no description of this film that could or would do it justice. Buy it, rent it, borrow it, steal it. Sell the kids for scientific experiments, but by all means, watch it.

Actually, Damin, according to Richard Elfman, the film was shot before he made FANTASY ISLAND. The time table of the film is sort of confusing, because not only was Herve apparently not an established TV star, but Susan Tyrrell had recently been nominated for FAT CITY. Which would make production around the mid-70s....? That's the one thing that confused me, I am still unsure of when the film was actually shot.

Dave, I'm glad that someone else dug this trippy flick as much as I did! At only around 70 minutes, I was begging for more by end credits time. The IMDB lists Elfman's follow-up, but I'm not sure if he managed to entice Susan Tyrrell back....?

While not the fame vehicle Herve may have hoped for, GREASER'S PALACE definitely predates FORBIDDEN ZONE, and Robert Downey was a noteworthy talent having just done POUND and PUTNEY SWOPE. MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN is 1974 as is CRAZY JOE, and I hardly think that Elfman was shooting this film for six years. I think that Elfman is remembering things a little differently -it happens all the time.
Regardless of the midget contoyersy, I have always been of the opinion that FORBIDDEN ZONE is one of the singularly most overrated "cult" films of all time. Lavishing the word "masterpiece" on this tripe is really stretching it. It isn't even a masterpiece of the goofy madcap comedy genre that it would aspire to. I think that KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, GROOVE TUBE, and even MIDNIGHT MADNESS are all at least as good if not better, but I don't hear people hype these like the second coming of Bergman, and they shouldn't.
I think that if there are rules which constitute which films are and which films aren't "cult" films, one of those rules should be that the films can't try to be cult films. This is one of those films that tries so desperately to be a cult film that it fails. THE DARK BACKWARD is another example. The people who made the great cult movies were trying to make good films, and thier innocence of the way the films would be percieved added to the cult status attributed to thier work. The scientologists that produced this humdinger were hoping that the film would become a midnight movie from the get-go, and that to me is cheating. I don't like it, and I don't resect that mind set. I never cared for Oingo Boingo either -there, I've said it. Don't like New Wave, didn't like VALLEY GIRL, and I don't like FORBIDDEN ZONE.

Woah, Piotr, quite an interesting post. I don't agree with most of it, but your argument is a strong, well-written one!! :)

I personally don't think Elfman set out to make a cult movie. He admits he had no idea that the film took off as a midnite movie until in the last couple of years. His goal was to bring the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo stage show to film, and in doing so he creates a unique film universe which I haven't seen before or since.

One film which set out to be a cult film from the get-go was ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES!, which I used to like but it's grown old and it sort of jumps the gun by considering itself a "cult film" during production.

For the record, I don't like VALLEY GIRL, either, but I also don't like KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE (except for the Uschi Digart, Marilyn Joi and Tara Strohmeier sequences).

:: This is one of those films that tries so desperately to be a cult film that it fails. THE DARK BACKWARD is another example.

Piotr:

You've just summed up the exact opinion that Kevin (CLERKS, CHASING AMY, JERSEY GIRL) Smith and I had as we exited a midnight screening of THE DARK BACKWARD at the Angelika in NYC way back in 1990 or 1991- "Wow, that film really tried way too hard to be 'cool'".

Ironically, that was our first ever visit to the Angelika and the world of "underground" Independent film in NYC, and although we didn't like THE DARK BACKWARD much at all (even though the screening we attended was introduced by an obviously intoxicated Bill Paxton), we kept going, and eventually stumbled onto a midnight screening of SLACKER which inspired Kevin to make CLERKS, so I guess you can thank/blame the Angelika and its midnight shows for Kevin Smith's film career, depending on where you stand on the issue of his films, and THE DARK BACKWARD was our first ever endeavor into the world of NYC midnight indie film.

Vincent

FORBIDDEN ZONE will probably make my top 10 DVD releases of 2004 in the mobius poll, though with all the great box sets released last year, I almost feel like we should have two categories for DVD releases, one for Box Sets and one for Single Film releases.

I'm definitely going to have a hard time limiting myself to ten DVD releases.

I have always found that really bad movies have a much greater motivational factor than excellent ones. I'm glad (and can fully appreciate) that a dire film could become a source of inspiration for Kevin Smith. I can picture Orson Welles sitting through a slew of dime store musicals and B Westerns right before the straw broke the camels back, and he took the megaphone into his own hands. If you watch enough bad movies (DARK BACKWARD), you will come to the conclusion that yes, you too can make a movie -probably even a better one! If you supplement a diet of crapola with the occasional cheap-but-good film (SLACKER), then you will start to think that yes, you too can even afford to make a movie. I, too, will go see questionably meritous films at locations that encourage the cinematic experience as a matter of support, and I encourge all to do so. Whenever I get the chance, I'll go see silent films with musical accompanyment even if I'm not a big fan of the films shown in the hopes that I'll get the opportunity to see better material with the money generated. Don't be afraid to be vocal about calling the exhibitors on their bad taste, though. Let them know that you'd rather see a student film festival than a tribute to John Travolta (substitute preferred overhyped celeb here); But that you'd rather see a foreign film sampling, a collection of rare genre films, or Three Stooges and Our Gang reels over a TROMA retrospective. I know ...we can't have our cake and eat it, too.

Karl Malden once said you could learn more about filmmaking through watching bad movies than good ones. I suppose because they could give you an idea of what not to do. Whereas if you watch CITIZEN KANE, well, no matter how many films you make, you ain't never gonna be Welles.

I always thought FORBIDDEN ZONE tried too hard to be "cult" and, subsequently, the short always left me agitated (I rented it a number of times back in the mid-80s on VHS). I never saw any real "brilliance" in it at all - just annoyance, particularly Herve Villechaize and the ever-annoying Susan Tyrell (who's best role was in SHOOT OUT from 1971). Same feeling I got from another faux cult film - THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION. And most films by Alex Cox (except maybe REPO MAN, which, however, suffers from faux cult syndrome)...

I think FORBIDDEN ZONE is neither as good or as bad as some here have variously made it out to be...it's got some absolutely brilliant spots (Susan Tyrell's song, Danny's spot-on Cab Calloway pastiche, the LaBrea Tar Pits number) as well as some rock-bottom lows (the way-overblown ethnic stereotypes, the potty humor). All in all, I think the good outweighs the bad...and I'll bet it plays MUCH better if you're stoned.

You'd probably win that bet...

Piotr-

How do you feel about John Waters?

It seems as though he would be the exception to your rule as he tried, at least early in his career, to make "bad" films, or "cult" films if you will. Waters saw the films of HG Lewis and Russ Meyer and attempted to ape their style. He was not unaware of the way his films would be percieved and he definitely did not set out to make "good" films, and, in my opinion, he made some great cult movies.

Just curious.

Excellent point. There's gotta be a fine line sometimes between deliberate and non-deliberate cult films. For instance, Peter Jackson's BRAIN DEAD: it's a cult classic, but was he intentionally trying to make a cult film? If he came out and said he was, would that change the perception of the film in fans' minds?

I think you hit the nail precisely on the head, Jeff. Why should a director's intentions affect how a film is perceived? I have more important things to worry about other than whether or not a movie was intentionally created for the express purpose of creating a cult classic. I prefer to enjoy a film at face value rather than get involved in any pseudo-intellectual exchanges as to a film's merits based on intent.

I prefer to consider content and entertainment only asking myself, "Was I entertained?"

In the case of "Forbidden Zone", my answer was and is a resounding, "Hell yeah!"