Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

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

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

qmtv Decent idea. Worst camera/cinematography, crappy acting/dialogue/characters, poor TV quality This must be the worst camera/cinematography. Shaky crappy camera zooms. The worst.The story is OK but very slow. Poor TV quality, with crappy acting and dialogue. Even with a low budge, they just needed to spend more time on the screenplay.Rating a D, or a 2 just for the idea.Decent idea. Worst camera/cinematography, crappy acting/dialogue/characters, poor TV quality This must be the worst camera/cinematography. Shaky crappy camera zooms. The worst.The story is OK but very slow. Poor TV quality, with crappy acting and dialogue. Even with a low budge, they just needed to spend more time on the screenplay.Rating a D, or a 2 just for the idea.

Hugh Roberts 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...

Coventry "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.

Woodyanders Clonus is an isolated, rigidly closed off, and closely monitored facility where young, fit, healthy clones of wealthy, powerful people are created and raised for the specific purpose of serving as donors for an illicit underground black market organ ring whose central function is to keep its rich, privileged clientèle forever robust and youthful through the immoral and inhumane use of said clones. The clones are made docile, complacent and cooperative via brainwashing (they're told that when they reach a certain age they'll leave the compound and find freedom in America, which is a particularly subversive bit of mind-twisting misinformation), strict supervision and lobotomies. Timothy Donnelly gives a fine, affecting performance as Richard, an unusually bright and perceptive clone who discovers what's going on, steals an incriminating videotape, and escapes from the compound so he can alert the outside world.A sterling example of how low-budget, independently produced films have the creative freedom to tackle a pertinent issue and incisively examine said issue's multi-layered ethical implications, "Parts: The Clonus Horror" makes for a splendidly chilling and provocative sci-fi/horror medical conspiracy thriller. Under Robert Fiveson's crisp, assured, clearly focused direction, which skillfully milks the rich subtext of Ron Smith and Bob Sullivan's insidious, sharply intelligent, uncomfortably prescient and penetrating script for maximum unease, this laudably audacious and decisive film dares to question the validity of certain cherished American institutions, mainly the medical community, the government and the upper class. The topical subject matter bracingly addresses such pressing themes as how cloning robs human beings of their basic worth and subsequently reduces them to pieces of meat (the clones are called such impersonal pronouns as "it," "them," and "thing"), conformity vs. individuality, technology intruding on one's privacy (everything the clones do gets recorded by hidden cameras), authoritarianism suppressing independence, how our caste system favors those with lots of money and clout, man's desire to conquer mortality, and even fate vs. free will. Given the recent controversy surrounding DNA breakthroughs and minute surveillance cameras popping up all over the place, these issues today now possess a more timely and unnerving resonance.Moreover, the acting is uniformly excellent, with especially bang-up turns by Dick Sargent as the cold, brilliant, unfeeling megalomaniacal smarmbag doctor behind the whole evil plot, Peter Graves as a crooked, unctuous ultra-conservative Republican presidential candidate who assists in the cover-up, Frank Ashmore as the mysterious millionaire who finances the sinister operation, Keenan Wynn as a kindly, helpful retired newspaper reporter, Lurene Tuttle as Wynn's feisty, excitable wife, and Paulette Breen as a fetching blonde clone Richard falls in love with. Further complimented by Max Beaufort's slick, fluid cinematography, and Hal David Schudson's spooky score (the Gregorian chant singing is quite creepy), "Parts: The Clonus Horror" certainly doesn't deserve its current "what the hell?" camp reputation. I personally consider it to be a very underrated little sleeper, a remarkably potent and confrontational affair that scores extra points for its sheer boldness and vehemently skeptical "nothing is what it seems" point of view.