Parts: The Clonus Horror
| Parts: The Clonus Horror | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Robert S. Fiveson |
| Written by | Bob Sullivan (story) Bob Sullivan and Ron Smith (screenplay) Myrl A. Schreibman and Robert S. Fiveson (adaptation) |
| Produced by | Robert S. Fiveson Myrl A. Schreibman |
| Starring | Tim Donnelly Paulette Breen Dick Sargent Peter Graves Keenan Wynn Paulette Breen Zale Kessler Frank Ashmore |
| Cinematography | Max Beaufort |
| Edited by | Robert Gordon |
| Music by | Hod David Schudson |
| Distributed by | Group 1 International Distribution Organization Ltd. |
Release date | August 1979 (USA) |
Running time | 90 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $257,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | Unknown |
The Clonus Horror (1979) (also known as Parts: The Clonus Horror or simply Clonus) is a science fiction horror film about an isolated community in a remote desert area, where clones are bred to serve as a source of replacement organs for the wealthy and powerful. It was produced by Walter Fiveson and Myrl Schreibman, directed by Robert Fiveson, and stars Dick Sargent (Darrin Stephens #2 from Bewitched) as the laboratory director and Peter Graves as a corrupt politician. The production cost of the movie was $257,000.[1]
Plot summary
The film takes place in a remote desert where clones are bred to be used as replacement parts for the elite, including a soon to be president elect Jeffrey Knight (Peter Graves). The clones are kept isolated from the real world by workers of the colony clonus, they are promised to be "accepted" to move to America once they have completed some type of physical training. Once a clone goes to "America" they are given a party and a farewell celebration, then taken to the area known as America. In reality what happens is much more horrid. The clones are actually taken to a lab where they are sedated and placed in an air tight plastic bag where their bodies are frozen in order to harvest their organs. The story surrounds one clone who escapes the colony and enters the city, he finds his sponsor and later returns to the colony to retrieve his girlfriend. He is betrayed by his sponsor, and eventually finds that his girlfriend has been lobotomized. While the clonus community is exposed in the end, the escaped clone sadly meets the same fate as the others who were sent to "America."
In June 1997, Parts: The Clonus Horror was featured as an episode of movie-mocking television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Despite the usual reaction to such a dubious honor, the creators of the film said that they felt "honored" when they saw that they had made it onto the show.
The Island suit
The big-budget 2005 DreamWorks production The Island, also about a colony that breeds clones to harvest organs for the elite, mirrors Clonus in a number of ways. The makers of Clonus filed suit, claiming copyright infringement.[2][3] On August 25, 2006, the court presiding over this case ruled that it could proceed to trial.[citation needed]
According to a 2007 interview with Clonus screenwriter Bob Sullivan, DreamWorks and Clonus Associates reached a seven-figure settlement on November 20, 2006, the specific terms of which are sealed.[4]
Similarities in both films
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- There is a secret community of clones who are being grown so that their organs can be harvested in order to extend the lives of people who are wealthy enough to afford it.
- When a clone needs to be harvested they get "randomly" chosen to go to the non-existent utopia that they have been told about: "America" in Clonus, "The Island" in The Island.
- The community of clones is closely monitored by video surveillance and uniformed guards, who closely observe the actions of the clones.
- The main character is an inquisitive clone living in the community who finds clues about the outside world, and eventually escapes the community.
- A woman which the community staff try to keep the main character from getting too close to and who becomes the love interest for the protagonist, urging the protagonist to return to the facility after escaping.
- The project director sends assassins after the character.
- The main character gets betrayed by a genetic parent/sponsor he seeks and contacts in the outside world.
- The President of the United States (candidate for President in Clonus) is known to have a clone.
- The cloning program is exposed at the end of the film.
The movie reviewing web site The Agony Booth has a longer list of similarities between Clonus and The Island here. The article asserts that even some shots seem copied in the newer film.
Notes
- ^ Galbraith, Stuart, IV (March 17, 2005). ""Clonus (Parts - The Clonus Horror)" (DVD review)". DVDTalk.com. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ UPI News Service (August 10, 2005). "Copyright lawsuit claims 'The Island' cloned 'Parts: The Clonus Horror'". Retrieved 2007-06-06.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ ""'Clonus' Producers File Suit"". Satellite News. mst3k.com. August 10, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Walker, Albert (May 17, 2007). ""An Interview with Bob Sullivan, Clonus screenwriter"". AgonyBooth.com. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)