March 21, 1980
Forbidden Zone is an American absurdist musical fantasy comedy film produced and directed by independent filmmaker Richard Elfman, and co-written by Elfman and Matthew Bright. Shot in 1977 and 1978, the film premiered in 1980 and was distributed in 1982. Originally shot on black-and-white film, Forbidden Zone is based upon the stage performances of the Los Angeles theater troupe The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, of which Elfman, Bright and many of the cast and crew were a part, and revolves around an alternate universe accessed through a door in the house of the Hercules family.
The composing debut of Danny Elfman, it stars Hervé Villechaize, Susan Tyrrell and members of the Mystic Knights, with appearances by Warhol superstar Viva, Joe Spinell and The Kipper Kids. Villechaize kicked his cheque back into production and even painted sets on weekends. The only paid actor was Phil Gordon, who played Flash; all the other SAG actors put their money back into the show.
The film was made as an attempt to capture the essence of The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo's live performances in a cinematic sense, and also as a means for both director Elfman to retire from music to work on film projects, and to serve as a transition between the group's former cabaret style and a new wave-based style. Amid negative reactions to content in the film that had been perceived as being offensive, Forbidden Zone was screened as a midnight movie, where it was met with positive notices, and developed a large and eventually worldwide cult following. In 2004, the film was digitally restored and released on DVD, and in 2008, the film was colorized.
Said Elfman, "Doing anything original is taking a chance. Financially it bankrupted me and we lost our house. But I'm still glad I did it (although I'd change a few things if I had a time machine, of course)."
A prospective sequel, entitled Forbidden Zone 2: The Forbidden Galaxy, has long been in development by Elfman, who launched a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2014 to raise an initial sum. As of 2019, the sequel is still in the stages of development but regularly updated and discussed by Elfman. Elfman has also licensed Forbidden Zone as an intellectual property for manufacturers to produce collectibles based on the film's characters.
Storyline
On "Friday, April 17" at 4 p.m. in Venice, California, Huckleberry P. Jones (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 talk with Squeezit Henderson, who says that, while being beaten by his mother, he has 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 a "little peek" behind the basement's forbidden door. There, 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. 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 reveals how to help Frenchy escape, but they soon are captured by Bust Rod. Doris interrogates Flash and Gramps before lowering them into a 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. However, 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 tank, Flash and Gramps come across a woman who says that she was once happily married to the king, until Doris stole the throne by seducing her. The ex-queen has been sitting in her cell for 1,000 years, and has been writing a screenplay 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 flammable tar during his work break at the La Brea Tar Pit Factory. After re-entry, Pa falls through the basement and into the Sixth Dimension, where he is imprisoned.
Finding a phone, Flash calls Squeezit and again asks for his help. Squeezit agrees to help rescue Frenchy and René. In the Sixth Dimension, 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 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 does not find out where she has 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 reveals what has happened.
While preparing to kill Frenchy, Doris is confronted by the ex-queen, and the two engage in a cat-fight; 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 later plan to take over everyone and everything in the Galaxy.
Sound Effects Used
- Hollywoodedge, Cats Fighting Loud Sc PE917007/Cats Two Angry YowlsD PE022601 (Debut)
- Hollywoodedge, Crunchy Fist Impact PE247301/Kick Body Hit 4 Thud Cr PE101601 (Possible debut.)