Forbidden Zone [WS]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Oingo Boingo fans and midnight movie mavens will love this bizarre black-and-white feature packed with music, madness, and members of the Elfman clan. The story revolves around the Hercules family, who live in a house that just happens to hide a secret entrance to the Sixth Dimension in the basement. When daughter Frenchy (Marie-Pascale Elfman) skips school one afternoon, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to the forbidden door, and winds up a prisoner in this alternate world. King Fausto (Herve Villechaize), the diminutive leader of the Sixth Dimension, is enamored with the beautiful young Frenchy and keeps her in the same cell as his favorite concubines, despite the disapproval of Queen Doris (Susan Tyrrell). Frenchy's brother, Flash (Phil Gordon), follows her into the Forbidden Zone with Gramps (Hyman Diamond) in tow, intending to save her, but they too are captured and must call school chum Squeezit (Toshiro Baloney, aka Matthew Bright) for help. Squeezit tries to assist, but ends up captured and decapitated by Satan (Danny Elfman), though this development doesn't keep his disembodied noggin from flying about and informing King Fausto that the Queen is planning to dispose of his beloved Frenchy. The appearance of the King's first wife and the kidnapping of his topless daughter further confuse matters, but everything is wrapped up neatly with an elaborate song and dance number at the conclusion. ~ Fred Beldin, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (Alternate Wide Screen)
• Subtitle: Eng
• Features:
  • cc
  • Introduction by Richard Elfman
  • Pop-Up Trivia Throughout the Movie
  • Japan Promo (Elfman Speaks Japanese)
  • Extended Scene
  • (The Passion of Squeezit)
  • Deleted scenes in Color
  • Theatrical Trailer in Color

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Herve Villechaize - King Fausto
       Susan Tyrrell - Queen Doris
       Marie - Pascale Elfman - Frenchy
       Viva - Ex-Queen
       Danny Elfman - Satan

• Director:

  Richard Elfman

• Producer:

  Carl Borack, Richard Elfman

• Screen Story:

  Richard Elfman

• Screenwriter:

  Richard Elfman, Martin W. Nicholson, M. Bright, Nick James, Nick L. Martinson

• Cinematographer:

  Gregory Sandor

• Composer (Music Score):

  Danny Elfman

• Editor:

  Martin W. Nicholson

• Production Designer:

  Marie-Pascale Elfman, Jane Huzienga

• Art Director:

  David M. Makler

• Co-producer:

  Nick James

• Associate Producer:

  Martin W. Nicholson

• Executive Producer:

  Gene Cunningham

• Set Designer:

  Ken Corrone

• First Assistant Director:

  Martin W. Nicholson

• Choreography:

  Carol Zeitz

• Technical Director:

  David D. Martin

REVIEW:

• Midnight movies can get pretty crazy but they rarely ever get as far out on a limb as Forbidden Zone does. Anyone expecting consistence of style or thought from this film will be left dumbstruck. Simply put, director/co-writer Richard Elfman and his band of collaborators just allow their imaginations to run wild, creating a fever-dream that mixes a visual design out of a Max Fleischer cartoon, Three Stooges-style slapstick humor and John Waters-esque depictions of fetishistic sex and violence. The actors are pretty much left to their own devices but everyone brings something interesting to the proceedings: Susan Tyrell devours the scenery with her high-energy turn as the tyrannical queen of the titular area, Herve Villechaize offsets her manic energy by playing his role as her amour-crazed king in a straight-faced style and co-writer Matthew Bright (using the pseudonym Toshiro Boloney) brings a combination of deadpan wit and sleazy glee to his dual role as a troubled brother and sister duo. The element that keeps this crazy-quilt of sensations together is the music, which combines everything from 1930's jazz to angular new wave. Said music is performed with gusto by Oingo Boingo and stylishly composed and arranged by future soundtrack kingpin Danny Elfman, who also performs a delightful tribute to Cab Calloway as the film's incarnation of the Devil. The end result might lack focus but it is genuinely unpredictable and offers some bizarre new sight or idea around every corner. In short, Forbidden Zone represents the midnight movie at its delirious, anarchistic peak. It's not for all tastes but, then again, it wouldn't be true cult fare if it was. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi