Forbidden Zone

Plot synopsis:
The film begins on "Friday, April 17" at 4 pm in Venice, California. Huckleberry P. Jones, local pimp, narcotics peddler and slumlord, enters a vacant house that he owns. While stashing heroin in the basement, he stumbles upon a mysterious door and enters it, falling into the Sixth Dimension, from which he promptly escapes. After retrieving the heroin, he sells the house to the Hercules family. On their way to school, Frenchy Hercules and her brother Flash have a conversation with Squeezit Henderson, who tells them that, while being violently beaten by his mother, he had a vision of his transgender sister René, who had fallen into the Sixth Dimension through the door in the Hercules' basement.
Frenchy returns home to confide in her mother, and decides to take just a "little peek" behind the forbidden door in the basement. After arriving in the Sixth Dimension, she is captured by the perpetually topless Princess, who brings Frenchy to the rulers of the Sixth Dimension, the midget King Fausto and his queen, Doris. When the king falls for Frenchy, Doris orders their frog servant, Bust Rod, to lock her up. In order to make sure that Frenchy is not harmed, Fausto tells Bust Rod to take Frenchy to Cell 63, where the king keeps his favorite concubines (as well as René).
The next day at school, Flash tries to convince Squeezit to help him rescue René and Frenchy. When Squeezit refuses, Flash enlists the help of Gramps instead. In the Sixth Dimension, they speak to an old Jewish man who tells them how to help Frenchy escape, but they soon are captured by Bust Rod. Doris interrogates Flash and Gramps and then lowers them into a large septic tank. She then plots her revenge against Frenchy, relocating all the denizens of Cell 63 to a torture chamber. She leaves the Princess to oversee Frenchy's torture and execution, but when a fuse is blown, the torture is put on hold and the prisoners from Cell 63 are relocated to keep the King from finding them.
After escaping the septic tank, Flash and Gramps come across a woman who tells them that she was once happily married to the king, until Doris stole the throne by seducing her, "even though she's not my type". The ex-queen has been sitting in her cell for 1,000 years, and has been writing a screenplay in order to keep her sanity. Meanwhile, Pa Hercules is blasted through the stratosphere by an explosion caused by improperly extinguishing his cigarette in a vat of highly flammable tar during his work break at the La Brea Tar Pit Factory. After re-entry, Pa falls through the Hercules family basement and into the Sixth Dimension, where he is imprisoned.
Finding a phone, Flash calls Squeezit and again asks for his help. Finally, Squeezit agrees to go into the Sixth Dimension to help rescue Frenchy and René. There, he is captured by Satan, with whom he makes a deal to bring him the Princess in exchange for Satan's help freeing René and Frenchy. Squeezit accomplishes this task, but has failed to include himself in the deal to rescue his friends, and the devil has him decapitated. Queen Doris sends Bust Rod to keep an eye on the king, and to ensure he doesn't find out where she's hidden Frenchy.
Fausto catches Bust Rod and forces him to lead him to Frenchy and René, whom he orders to leave the Sixth Dimension to avoid the Queen's wrath. However, en route to safety, René is stricken with pseudo-menstrual cramps, and they are again captured by the frog. Squeezit's head, which has now sprouted chicken wings, finds the king and informs him of what has happened.
While preparing to kill Frenchy, Doris is confronted by the ex-queen, and the two engage in a cat-fight, with Doris eventually coming out as the victor. Just as she is about to kill Frenchy, Fausto stops her, explaining that Satan's Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo are holding the Princess hostage, and will kill her should anything befall Frenchy. Flash and Gramps arrive, and Flash is knocked down by Gramps. Ma Hercules enters and, seeing a seemingly dead Flash, shoots Doris. Fausto mourns Doris, then marries Frenchy.
The surviving characters look toward a great future as they plan to take over everyone and everything in the Galaxy.

Tags: absurd, cult, fantasy, psychedelic

Review:
I was very skeptical that the momentum and creativity could be sustained, and it never did reach that peak again (although the "Pico And Sepulveda," "Witche's Egg" and Alphabet numbers come close), but it couldn't have...I don't think it IS possible to sustain that level forever, it would drive the viewer away.The plot, involving a family discovering a door that leads to the 6th dimension where a queen and king (the unbelievably game Ms. Tyrrell who deserves an award of some kind for her brave and perfect-pitch performance, and the charming Herve, who she was apparently dating at the time?), is absolutely superfluous, merely an excuse for the music and visuals, and I'd have it no other way personally.
The film is creaky in places, of course...it shows it's no-budget roots frequently, the pace is so hectic as to be head-ache inducing in certain parts and most dismaying of all is the constant interruption of lewdness just for the sake of lewdness, as if the filmmaker's were all horny teens who wanted to get as much naughty sex and dirty humor in as possible (Hint: the probably were!) The acting is by-and-large, with the exception of the foul-mouthed, shrieking, Disney-queen-from-hell Ms. Tyrell, pretty amateurish, even though everyone throws themselves into the production full-force (the screen writer bravely spends the whole film running around in his underpants!) But what it lacks in maturity it makes up for in execution.
I kept sitting there shaking my head...these are real dancers, the choreography is wonderful, the animation and effects are stunning...and you can't ignore the score!I don't know how much tinkering has gone on with this re-master, but the things that Danny Elfman was doing with the film score, weaving it in and out with old 30's recordings and New Wave stylings, as well as his more familiar ska style of the 80's...it's just breathtaking.
Certainly Herve was recognizable, if hardly comforting, in the weird world of this film.I take a great deal of comfort in knowing that the man at the helm of this film, Danny Elfman's brother, admits that he was not inspired to make this movie by the use of any drugs.
Certainly I can imagine the experience of watching this film in an altered state of mind would be a "trip." However, hats off to people who find and appreciate the merry lunacy and joyfully insane magic that can be found in the every day world...if you care to look!
Truly unique in every way, it is sad to see that more films like this will probably never be made again in this era of big-budget drivel and rampaging political correctness.FORBIDDEN ZONE follows the adventures of the almost indescribably weird Hercules family who have recently moved into a house whose basement contains the doorway to the 6th dimension.
A tuxedoed frog-man, jockstrap wearing goons, animation that looks like it was done by an acidhead, a wonderful soundtrack that blends oddball rock and big band classics, the worst blackface makeup in film history, Squeezit "Chicken-boy" Henderson and his "sister" Renee, the funniest elementary school sequence in memory, Herve Villechaize as King Fausto, the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo and Danny Elfman as the devil himself...All this and more (!!!) in a ninety minute tour de force of unbridled imagination.
There's a sensibility that borrows heavily at times from those delightfully insane cartoons from the 1920s and 1930s (Un Iwerks' obscurer shorts come to mind), but only at times like bits in that classroom singing old songs.There's also characters in black-face (yes, black-face), obvious caricatures of black people and Jews, a little person (the actor from Man with the Golden Gun), a guy with a giant frog head and a suit, and Satan.
You really do have to see it to believe it, and understand how much of a mix of forms and styles work its way into it, of the obvious and joyfully exaggerated "characters" (just between that one Queen with the hair and the little guy it could be enough, but then what about the little guy's new French mistress?), of the sudden title-cards, of the animations from time to time with most prominent example a travel down an intestine.Not to mention the music, which is some of the purest genius in the picture (this and Blues Brothers, both good for a double feature not too oddly enough considering one specific song I need not mention here, are great wacky musicals of 1980).
Needless to say he composes his first time here, and it's a great training ground for the likes of other great scores in Tim Burton's pictures; his one appearance as Satan is a howler, though overall he matches up to what his brother has to offer as a filmmaker of verve and daring.How much you might respond positively to the daring of Forbidden Zone will depend on how seriously you take it.
No live-action movie has ever captured the anarchic feel of the rubbery Max Fleischer cartoons of the 1930s better than "Forbidden Zone." It's an LSD-fueled Betty Boop picture mixed with "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Inferno," all filtered through David Lynch's kaleidoscope (or run through R.
Much mayhem and cool swing music ensue, as Frenchy's brother and grandfather (playing the roles of Bimbo and Koko the Clown from the old Fleischer cartoons) try to rescue the unfortunate girl.This strange mix of animation and live action really has to be seen to be believed--all very low budget and very imaginative (a quality sorely lacking in movies lately).
Fans of Oingo Boingo won't want to miss this one (especially group leader Danny Elfman's Cab Calloway-like turn as Satan in the flick's best scene).
Danny Elfman and The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo perform the music and they even make a strange appearance in the movie.
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.
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.
There is a shapely princess who runs around topless, a living chandelier that eventually decays into just a skeleton, a devil (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.
That might sound weird since it's a bit on the racy side, but most of the sexuality is done in a very silly and, I think, innocent way, so it never made me feel awkward showing it to anyone.I think it's the best musical ever and the low budget production works perfectly into the surreal plot.
(One notable exception is Danny Elfman.) Hervé Villechaize is probably the best actor of the whole lot, which should give you some idea of the depth and quality of acting brought together in this bastard-piece.Whoever pitched this idea to the producers must have forgotten to budget for sets or costumes; what they got looks like they snuck into an empty filming stage on some weekend and used whatever they could find in the way of costumes and sets lying about.
No doubt the cardboard walls of Cell 63 are an intended part of the film's look and feel, but what do we make of the characters' entryway into the Forbidden Zone, which includes them pressing themselves against a wall with a giant mouth painted on it, for one second too long, before the scene cuts to a cartoon of them journeying down the esophagus?
Had to watch it again to make sure, yes, 10/10.It's like a Max Fleischer nightmare gone bizarre fantasy dark comedy musical science fiction horror meets The Rocky Horror Picture Show type of a film.
Years before Forbidden Zone, when they were still the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (a door Squeezit enters in his quest to free Frenchie, Rick's real -- at that time – wife), the Knights did street theater in Venice, with huge painted backdrops, costumes (an 8-foot dinosaur, a rocket strapped around Rick's waist, tie-dyed blouses for the girls), and instruments from around the world, like the ballophone, a xylophone with gourds under the slats.
Forget about a plot - after about an hour of camp music, wacky dialogue and over-the-top actors so bizarre that it's possible they actually live on the set you will feel reasonably prepared for whatever else this crazy f**king film will spray you with.
Once the action gets going, the movie takes off and becomes one of the rudest, funniest, least predictable films I've ever seen.The soundtrack is the best part of the movie (though the album is missing some really good stuff, like the playout version of the title song that they use over the closing credits).
Oogie Boogie's big number is almost a carbon copy of Danny Elfman's show-stopping turn as Satan.There are so many wonderful things about Forbidden Zone: the way the opening number "One of These Days" spirals out of control...
My first viewing stands next to a weekend-long John Waters marathon as cherished memory of being punked into the magical world of what gets termed as "cult."The sights, sounds and actions are too just impossible to put into words, wildly creative, yet the whole thing is actually put together pretty tight, considering the clearly low budget and that you imagine the Elfmans were just like bribing their pals to show up and do stuff.
You haven't lived until you have seen Richard Elfman's FORBIDDEN ZONE, a 1980 bizarre mix of ALICE IN WONDERLAND and Fleischer Brothers' cartoons, especially the early Betty Boop ones.
But I had never seen the film before a week ago.Of course, the Mystic Knights don't make their appearance until near the end, and most of the music isn't even original Elfman compositions.
Cult-type film with an amazing soundtrack by Danny Elfman and The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.
Yeah, you want to see it now, I know.Some people are going to be put off my this film because it is black and white, has weird music and animation, and the production cost was probably three dollars.
But for those who like cult movies or want to see the seed that is Danny Elfman, this is your dream come true.Richard Elfman (who went on to do a whole lot of nothing, apparently, besides becoming Scientologist spokeswoman Jenna Elfman's father-in-law) directs this odd blend of wacky nudity, singing, racially tasteless jokes and poorly simulated sex.
Danny Elfman, who would go on to front Oingo Boingo and be a big time composer made the music, and stars as a very memorable Satan.This film is very much in the same vein as "Rocky Horror Picture Show", though I actually prefer this film.
I first viewed the black and white version in 2011,and watched a second time 2016.It fun to watch with a friend but some movies are best when seen alone,late at night.
For anyone familiar with, or is a fan of, the Midnight Movie circuit that was most popular between the early 70's and mid-80's, will know doubt have seen Richard Elfman's warped black-and-white musical Forbidden Zone.
Taking the natural step from theatre to film, Elfman took the playful and smutty performances of his musical troupe Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (along with his brother Danny and co-writer Matthew Bright) and delivered a true head-f**k, and one that is filled with frog-headed butlers, machine-gun toting teachers, a scat-loving Satan, and an entrance into the sixth dimension that literally s***s you into its bizarre universe.Frenchy Hercules (Marie-Pascale Elfman) lives with her dysfunctional family in a house that happens to be hiding the entrance to the sixth dimension in it's basement.
The walls and sets look like they've been drawn by a child, but some sequences evoke the work of Monty Python.But I doubt Elfman and Bright had in mind to make a professional-looking film, and preferred to just have their original vision out there for the world to see.
I've had to limit the number of times I watch this just because I don't want the experience to stale.I'd recommend this musical to anyone with an off-kilter sense of humor who yearn to stretch the limits of what constitutes a "film".
Despite the gross out humour and low budget, Forbidden Zone is a treat for the eyes, you'll never see a movie quite like it visually.
Many of the songs are catchy, and the instrumentals written for them are very original, which can also be seen in Danny Elfman's later music.The negatives in the film, are how stupid it is throughout.
Forbidden Zone is a brilliant, unique film that's like a bawdy, live-action 1930s cartoon.
As an avid fan of Danny Elfman, both as a music composer and the lead singer of the now disbanded Oingo Boingo, this movie was a MUST SEE for me."Forbidden Zone" was recently re-released in 2004 to theaters and being played exclusively at the Landmark group of theaters.
(Side Note: Richard Elfman told us that he and his wife at the time, Marie Pascale Elfman, had to sell their home in order to have enough money to make this movie.) "Forbidden Zone" features an outlandish plot, amusingly perverse characters and movie sets that will remind you of something from your 6th grade school play.In the late 70's/early 80's, Richard Elfman and his brother Danny Elfman, had a theatrical performance group known as "The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo." They were mostly an underground group that traveled around to small venues, performing in their zany style.
The plot of this movie was kept simple so they could focus more on the showcasing of their "bizarre yet entertaining" theatrical performances."Forbidden Zone" was destined to be a cult classic from the start and it has certainly reached that status with those familiar with the "Mystic Knights" theatrical group and this wacky, almost auto-biographical film.If you're a devout fan of Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo, step back into time and see the "roots" of this eclectic band first hand through this wildly original movie !!!
don't let the animated sequences fool you into letting your kids watch it.What I like best about this film is the classroom scene with Marie-Pascale Elfman as an exchange student, Hervé as the King of the Sixth Dimension totally mangling many of his lines, the floating candelabra holder, and best of all, Richard's brother Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo fame as the Devil performing his own version of Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher",The soundtrack, is a wonderful mix of original old jazz and latin music, artfully enhanced by Danny Elfman.You can easily find the soundtrack both online and in record stores.
'Nuff said.If you liked this movie, check out Richard Elfman's other very original films, in order of my preference: "Modern Vampires" (with the late Rod Steiger!) and then "Shrunken Heads"..
Occupied by a giant frog, a horny midget king played by Herve Villechaize (Yes, that is Tattoo from 'Fantasy Island.'), Satan played by Danny Elfman, and countless other oddities direct from the imagination of the director, The Forbidden Zone could very well be the strangest world ever captured on film.So it's wierd; but what makes it good?
And of course there is the added bonus of a great musical score by Danny Elfman and the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.It would not be right to recommend this film without a disclaimer.
Meanwhile, the King becomes taken with Frenchy, and when the ex-queen is rescued from imprisoned exile, mayhem ensues.That's about all of the film's engaging and sordid tale I'll give away, but viewers will also encounter such sites as: a human, dangling chandelier; a bizarre and uproarious classroom shootout; resident freaks of the zone running around in Mickey Mouse ears; rampant and absurd, fully-clothed sex scenes; boxers belching along with the musical score (a Rhumba); and much more.With a combination of black & white animation and b&w film footage shot against cheesy painted sets -- not to mention the hysterical musical numbers -- the viewer becomes quickly pulled into what has the feel and spirit of a 1930s cartoon, one that has been injected with an overdose of just plain perversity, not to mention insanity and a quality of being unafraid to offend anyone.A highlight for this reviewer was the appearance by the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, led by Danny Elfman as a fantastic Satan, performing a twisted Minnie the Moocher-inspired song (Hi-de-hi-de-hi-di-hi!
But since the term "cult film" is rather subjective -- although a valiant attempt has been made @ this site to explain it -- I'd have to say "yes." Although biased by almost nostalgic feelings for the deranged flick, Forbidden Zone just seems to have it all.The bottom line is that great music, combined with surreal situations, a deeply mad storyline and splendidly grotesque characters, make this classic a must-see for anyone in possession of an active and intact sense of humor and the ability to appreciate the profoundly absurd.
I've always been a huge Oingo Boingo and Danny Elfman fan, Danny plays the devil in The Forbidden Zone by the way, and this movie suddenly brought to my attention that there are other Elmans doing crazy stuff too.
With the twisted vision of Richard Elfman and the fantastic music of his brother Danny, this film is a classic.
With money so tight, the film was shot in black and white, in a mixture of live action and animation.The resulting movie was Forbidden Zone.
Anyone who is a fan of new wave band Oingo Boingo's music HAS to watch this, as this is what they spent their time doing before Danny Elfman could be bothered to go and write "Only a Lad".
people often confuse a Swedish erotica movie called 'Forbidden Zone:Alien Encounters' with the 'Oingo Boingo' film.