Clonus Horror, The / Parts: Clonus Horror (1979)

Clonus Horror, The / Parts: Clonus Horror (1979)

“This is your chance for immortality! You don’t need to worry, because there is a duplicate of you!”

Synopsis:
A physically fit young man (Tim Donnelly) living on a compound with guards and a patronizing doctor (Dick Sargent) begins to question the Utopian “America” he will eventually be sent to, and soon learns he and others — including his new girlfriend (Paulette Breen) — are being bred as clones for wealthy patrons wanting spare organs.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Androids and Clones
  • Escape
  • Horror
  • Keenan Wynn Films
  • Science Fiction

Review:
This low-budget sci-fi thriller is probably best known both for its spoofing by MST3K in 1999, and for the copyright infringement lawsuit brought by its producer against Dreamworks for making The Island (2005) without acknowledging its similarity to this film. Unfortunately, despite a provocative premise, The Clonus Horror comes across as amateurish and poorly acted; even cameo roles by Keenan Wynn and Lorene Tuttle as concerned citizens who try to help Donnelly are laughably overdone.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • A provocative and creepy premise

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a one-time look if you’re curious.

Links:

One thought on “Clonus Horror, The / Parts: Clonus Horror (1979)

  1. A once-must *only* for the MST3K version; otherwise…well, there really isn’t an ‘otherwise’: this one seems as though it was ‘born’ specifically to be lampooned on MST3K. The MST3K gang does a great job with this one, start to finish. (I love all of the Peter Graves ‘Biography’ jokes…and there are a lot of them!)

    I think Wynn and Tuttle actually add a touch of dignity to the antics here, by showing that they’re good actors. Overall, it’s not that the film is so laughable, I think – it’s just that it’s so silly. Still, it’s all generally played with a certain amount of conviction by those involved.

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