Review of Forbidden Zone

Introduction

Described by Film Threat as: `The Citizen Kane of Underground Films`, this is a film which almost defies explanation, given the storyline which is bizarre in the extreme. A house in Venice Beach has an entrance to the Sixth Dimension (through a huge animated intestine) in the basement. The Sixth Dimension is governed by a sex-mad midget king (Hervé Villechaize), his domineering wife, the topless princess, a frog butler and a human chandelier! Frenchy (Marie-Pascale Elfman) succumbs to curiosity and enters the `Forbidden Zone` where she is taken prisoner at the behest of the jealous queen; her 12 year old brother and grandfather embark on a rescue mission, that does not go as smoothly as planned. The film was almost entirely financed by director Richard Elfman and his then wife Marie-Pascale Elfman and the cast was largely comprised of friends, family and members of `The Mystical Knights of the Oingo Boingo` stage act.

Video

For a low-budget film made in 1980, this has a stunningly clear transfer which emphasises the contrast and clarity that black and white photography produces.

Audio

The DVD gives you a choice of 2.0 Dolby Stereo or 5.1 Dolby Surround soundtracks; given the film was made on a shoestring budget, the 5.1 is largely redundant and is less clear than the 2.0 stereo mix, which has no audible flaws and is more than adequate for clear dialogue and to showcase Danny Elfman`s excellent debut score and songs.

Features

`A Look into Forbidden Zone` is hosted by Richard Elfman who interviews his brother Danny, his then wife Marie-Pascale, co-writer Matthew Wright, animator John Muto and actress Susan Tyrell. The informal interviews are quite revealing and show how close the team were and still are.

There is the `Official Cinematic Trailer` which must have taken some thought as Forbidden Zone isn`t exactly the easiest film to promote.

There are six outtakes, which are not like the usual `gag reel` and they feel very much like deleted scenes, of which there are five in a separate section on the disc.

`The Hercules Family Clips` must have been part of the promotional material as they are clips from the film accompanied by part of Danny Elfman`s score.

The `Private Life` music video by Oingo Boingo adds to the sense of surreality and obscurity already prevalent and shows where the imagination to make the film came from.

Rounding off the extra features is the commentary by Richard Elfman and Matthew Wright, which is funny and illuminating as they talk about the process of making the film and the difficulties of funding it. It flows quite nicely although there is a break every time Gisele Lindley appears on screen as Matthew Wright bemoans not having had sex with her at the time and constantly makes mental notes to try and rectify it!

Conclusion

Forbidden Zone looks and sounds amateurish in the extreme, and is almost a case of ambition over achievement, yet the sheer surreality of the story, the excellent musical numbers (composed by Danny Elfman in his film debut) and the animation (part Robert Crumb part Terry Gilliam) creates a film which is near impossible to dislike and it`s easy to forgive the numerous deficiencies of the film.

If you like obscure films, want to see how Danny Elfman started out, or just like something out of the ordinary, then Forbidden Zone is definitely worth a watch - I enjoyed every minute of it.