You won't be disappointed!

Sick Product of a Sick System

Excellent adaptation.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Director: ROBERT S. FIVESON. Screenplay: Myrl A. Schriebman, Robert S. Fiveson. Based on a screenplay by Ron Smith, Bob Sullivan. Story: Bob Sullivan. Photographed in Eastman Color by Max Beaufort. Film editor: Robert Gordon. Art director: Steve Nelson. Costumes: Dorinda Rice Wood. Music: Hod David Schudson. Producers: Myrl A. Schriebman, Robert S. Fiveson. Executive producer: Myrl A. Schriebman. A Group 1 production. Copyright 1979 by Group 1 Productions. Never theatrically released or broadcast in either the U.K. or Australia. 90 minutes. (Available on a Rhino DVD).Alternative title: PARTS: THE CLONUS HORROR. COMMENT: Extremely well-made sci-fi, a credit to all concerned, particularly Fiveson for his always skilfully confident and often imaginative direction and Schriebman for remarkably glossy production values which belie the film's astonishingly small $350,000 budget. Their script is not only intriguing and suspenseful, but it has the solid ring of reality – which makes the events even more disturbing. Most effective use is made of real locations, both natural and man- made, the latter including some wonderfully bizarre, and really spooky modern buildings.Acting from the largest parts to the smallest is uniformly exciting. The young stars are not over-awed by the presence of veterans like Graves and Wynn. If anything the youngsters like Donnelly and Breen seem more natural. Dick Sargent is properly menacing as the heavy.Technical credits are thoroughly professional. Great care has been taken both with the broadest canvas of the picture and the minutest details. In short, an "independent" gem. OTHER VIEWS: A thoughtful, well-constructed script with interesting characters brought vividly to life by an excellent combination of new and seasoned players. Fiveson's pacy direction keeps the excitement pounding. Photography and sets likewise make a strong impression. — JHR writing as George Addison.

I can't see any reference anywhere to 'Bug Jack Barron' - a seminal SF masterpiece by Norman Spinrad (easily his best book) that I expect is now pretty difficult to find [? I haven't seen much of Spinrad's work available recently as he seems to have gone out of favour - he never was very PC - possibly because of his cult pulp classic 'The Iron Dream' which has Hitler causing mayhem as the leader of a Hell's Angels chapter], but from which this plot appears to have been lifted.Anyone who likes the plot ideas (but doesn't rate the enactment in this adaptation) is strongly recommended to check out the book which has a whole lot more going for it, including a very early (published in 1972... the book is set in 1994) take on reality TV and the power of TV consumer campaigning. Pulp fiction isn't often a very good predictor of future realities, but there is an extraordinary amount of detail in this book that is scarily close to where the media is leading us...

"The Clonus Horror" quickly developed a cult and underdog reputation because there's an ongoing lawsuit between the makers of this low-budget Sci-Fi gem and Dreamworks/Michael Bay, who "stole" the concept for their massively budgeted film "The Island". Personally I haven't seen "The Island", too mainstream for my taste, but I can easily understand why Bay & C° had interest in the premise. It's close to brilliant, disturbing and – considering the year of release – impressively ahead of its time. Clonus is the name of secret and secluded location where young, handsome and sportive clones are carefully "nurtured" until their wealthy owners (mostly politicians and industrialists) need them for an organ transplant. Of course, the clones themselves don't know what they are and what purpose they'll eventually serve. They're led to believe that one day, when they train and study hard, they can go to America and live a life of luxury. One of the clones named Richard falls in love on the premises, skeptically begins to discover the truth about his existence and escapes into freedom. But, even though he encounters some friendly and understanding people in the outside world, Richard soon experiences that the he can't escape the fiendish Clonus conspiracy. This is another one of them films for which I can't possibly comprehend the negative reviews, hatred and low ratings. Did Michael Bay perhaps hire people to rate "The Clonus Horror" 1/10 on IMDb? Because I can't explain the miserable 3.30 rating otherwise. The tension and atmosphere are professionally built up, the make-up effects are admirably engrossing (especially considering the budget), there are few neat and efficiently shocking twists near the end and the acting performances are fairly solid, with even some remarkable cameos of veteran stars like Keenan Wynn and Peter Graves. Terrific and criminally underrated film, I hope it soon gets the recognition and praise it deserves.

It's a solid science fiction story that borrows heavily from pieces like Logan's Run, Brave New World, Soylent Green, and THX1138. Although the production value is rather low, the work is an honest creative effort. The movie is enjoyable, but you have to heavily rescale expectations. It is easy to put on the MST3K goggles because cultural (late 70s made-for-TV style) and special effects limitations make it feel worse than it really is. The acting isn't great, but still tops the Star Wars Prequels in that respect. Overall, as a science fiction fan, and given the poor rating on the IMDb, I found myself pleasantly surprised.