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55 reviews in total

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19 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Yep, The Island isn't that original., 16 January 2006

Author: AngryChair from Brentwood, USA

This low budget thriller is a pretty decent B movie with a great original premise.

The government has been running a clone farm for many years and now one of the clones has escaped into the outside world.

A clever premise, some solid direction, and a good cast help to make this film a pretty compelling sci-fi thriller. The Clonus Horror is an effectively chilling film that examines the theme of what it is to be human and just how the advance of science can ultimately turn to a violation of human life. The direction of Robert Fiveson is well-done, as he creates some nicely nightmarish sequences to give this film a creepy edge, as though the subject matter of the movie alone isn't unsettling enough. There's also some gruesome scenes as well. Kudos also go to a stirring, operatic music score.

The cast delivers good on their performances and features some great veteran actors like Dick Sargent, Peter Graves, and Keenan Wynn.

While The Clonus Horror may not have the big budget of The Island, it's as equally thought-provoking and disturbing. Worth seeking out, especially for film buffs.

*** out of ****

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14 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Actually, a fairly good movie., 11 August 2000
Author: Mike Sh. (michaelshannon123@comcast.net) from Lowell MA

"parts: the clonus horror" (the title uses only lower-case letters) stars Tim Donnelly as The Guy Who Played "Chet" in "Emergency", Dick Sargent as The Second Guy Who Played Darrin in "Bewitched", Paulette Breen as The Girl Who Kept Her Nose to the Grindstone, Kenan Wynn as The Grouchy Guy with the Really Really Big Scratchy Voice, and, of course, Peter "Biography" Graves.

With a cast like that, how can you fail?

Actually, although MST3K made this movie the butt of one of their funniest episodes (and make no mistake, their riffing on this movie was hilarious), I really can't say this film is that bad. The plot was interesting, with a fair number of twists and turns, and premise was fairly novel, and the acting was pretty good. (Could anyone look more completely bummed out than Emergency's Chet did throughout this movie?) The clones' vapid stupidity is consistent with the plotline, and Peter Graves projects just the right kind of blandness that you just know covers up a whole lot of evil underneath.

One thing bothers me, though; who was that really creepy looking guy with the eyepatch who appeared toward the end of the movie?

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11 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
If you're going to see "The Island" (2005) see this first., 5 August 2005

Author: darkstrangers from Philadelphia, PA

I saw this ages and ages ago, but found the concept very interesting. Yes, it is a low budget, and no, there are no big name stars, unless you count Peter Graves, Keenan Wynn, and Dick Sargent. I was reminded of this movie later when the former governor from Pennsylvania was able to secure a heart and liver donor very quickly. Conspiracy? Maybe.

Anyway, the action is rather slow, but the tension was there and concept had merit back then as well as now.

The hero, a young man living on an island, is being readied for his chance to go to America. As far as he knows, everyone lives like this. They are trained in keeping healthy, exercised all day, educated up to a certain point, etc. Then, one day, he finds an empty beer can in a stream. It has a word written on it that he does not recognize. "Milwaukee". He asks what it means and is told that it is just a nonsense word and told to forget about it. This is when he starts to get into trouble.

He starts noticing that things he is told by the supervisors and trainers don't add up and realizes that no one, not one of his friends or anyone else, has ever heard from anyone who was "lucky" enough to be transferred to America. They've always been told it is a wonderful place, everyone wants to go there. They suppose no one ever comes back to visit, or writes, because they're having too good a time in America.

He, of course, learns the awful truth, that he, and all of his companions on the island, are merely clones of wealthy and powerful people who run the world governments. They are being maintained on the island until the day they are needed to provide body parts to their originals.

Lots of running around and chasing ensues. And eventually the young man meets with his pre-ordained unhappy fate. ;-( sniff. So sad. And so insidiously scary. I believe this movie has now been remade into "The Island" with Ewan McGregor. I have not seen that one yet to compare. If you have, you might want to rent this one just to check it out.

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Lets get a better view...., 3 August 2005

Author: jhk86 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Let me start by saying that is not a bad movie at all. People claim its so poorly done with no special effects. There is no NEED for the effects!! The film is a thinking movie. Most people are so thirsty for action and violence they spit on the movies that are actually worth looking at. The movie is about people who are clones from there counterparts, and are raised as a baby to a healthy age of about 25 - 30 yrs. And when they reach that age, the people who the place of the facility Clonus, ( where all the people are ) tell the person they are going to America. America is what these people are brought up to hope for all their lives, they are all watched and do nothing but excercise to get their bodies fit and healthy. So when the time comes, they get put in a big bag, and put in a freezer for use if their HUMAN conterpart needs an organ transplant. This is, ( i think ) very believable. Go ahead and rent this, its buried treasure and deserves better credit.

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Interesting, 30 April 2000

Author: NateW from California, USA

The beginning of this movie had me doubting that it would be little more than a typical B sci-fi flick. But, as it progressed I began to get interested and I saw the whole thing through. The premise is interesting, original, and has the makings of making a classic. Alas, it instead ended up a mediocre movie, done in by the usual factors which turn a potentially good movie into a bad movie (bad acting, low budget etc.). I'm interested to see how this would turn out if it were remade with good actors and a big hollywood budget.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
one of my favorites, 24 June 1999
Author: aerobie from ny.ny

I have seen this movie a bunch of times. I like the idea of a movie about a colony of clones being used for spare parts. The cloning and what it was used for make this a good Science Fiction movie. The innocence of the clones in contrast to what they are being used for is tragic. The story of what one of the clones does when he finds out this terrible secret kept me interested until the conclusion. Some of the characters are silly and strange but it never really gets in the way of the story.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Pretty good low budget sci-fi movie!, 9 July 2006

Author: gsh999 from Subcrust Base 955 - Venus

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The movie deals with the topic of cloning humans for the purpose of harvesting organs for transplant. Rich and powerful people set up a laboratory where people are raised like cattle. They are merely a life support system for their vital organs. An interesting premise and easily believable. The clones are kept ignorant of their purpose in life and many are lobotomized if they become a problem.

I think the director did a really good job with a low budget. I think this movie was ridiculed because of the insipid dialogue of the clones. But the clones were supposed to sound stupid because most of them were LOBOTOMIZED! Overall, the movie was surreal. Not a lot of special effects but they are not needed. The real scary part about this movie is that it is entirely possible that this could happen.

There are some good actors in this one including Keenan Wynn, Peter Graves, and Dick Sargent.

TAKE A LOOK and don't believe the low ratings. It's not a great movie but both my girlfriend and I enjoyed it a lot. 7/10

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6 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
The intent was admirable; the execution was not., 3 April 2005

Author: Mary Kae from United States

Like most other people, I saw this movie on "Mystery Science Theater 3000." Although it received some well-deserved barbs, it's one of the better films to be featured on that show.

The premise is better than even your average Hollywood blockbuster these days; it poses some interesting moral dilemmas. Although the score is sometimes obtrusive, it also provides a few lovely moments when Richard is walking by the river. Watching the movie, you can see where a lot of plot developments probably looked very good on paper. Richard's discomfort in modern society is an interesting problem to ponder, and the ending probably would have been a nice '70s-style mindfuck if the preceding affairs hadn't been so goofy.

Unfortunately, the movie is visibly cheap, making the flaws all the more obvious. The "clone farm" is very obviously a college campus, and a beer can serves as a major plot point. Lena and Richard have zero chemistry -- we are supposed to believe this is a meeting of kindred minds, but there doesn't seem to be a brain cell between them. The "cranky old couple" schtick also gets real old, real fast. There are also some mistakes that can be blamed on bad directorial choices, such as the decision to hold a climactic conversation out of reach of any audio equipment whatsoever.

In all, a noble effort, but is nonetheless best viewed on MST3K.

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Hey this was actually really good, 24 October 2005

Author: the_Poppuns

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Curosity got me and I decided to check this out after hearing what a ripoff 'The Island' had been of this movie. And yeah it definitely was, but this was actually better. A lot better. I think most of the people who recognized the repeated plot had seen this as a Mystery Science Theater episode, but I don't get why. This movie wasn't remotely as bad as I thought it would have to be to end up on that show.

Comparing the two movies, this one made more sense. I guess there was some pretty cheesy acting but that was probably because of whatever budget they had at the time. So if you took the actors from 'The Island' and transplanted them into 'Parts: the Clonus Horror', you'd have a masterpiece. I do love Peter "hot legs" Graves in this though. :o) I thought the fact that they weren't raised in a clinical setting but a resort type place made much more sense and that they were actually made to be retarded instead of just plain dumb also explained how they could get away with what they were doing. The only problem was that the scientific stuff was handled the way it always was back in the day, green goop and fake machines that go "ping".

I think if you double feature this movie with 'Logan's Run', you get the entertaining movie watching experience you missed out on with that other movie.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Liked it better than "The Island"., 10 June 2011

Author: Boba_Fett1138 from Groningen, The Netherlands

This is one great little genre movie from the '70's, that features a great and original concept, though it might sound familiar to those who have seen Michael Bay's "The Island".

The movie is set at an enclosed camp were people's clones live and train themselves to be in perfect condition, while they are being oblivious to the fact that they are actually clones, who only exist in case the person they are a clone of need a new organ. Sounds familiar already? Well it should, since this movie almost entirely features the same premise as the 2005 movie "The Island". It even resulted in a law suit, which eventually got settled.

So you could say "The Clonus Horror" was a movie that was far ahead of its time. And its entire concept does play out well and originally. It's one of those typical '70's science-fiction movies that play on people's paranoia. It sets things up nicely and the movie is taking some good thriller approaches to its story as well.

Only thing that really works against the movie is its low budget. It makes the movie at times come across as being a bit clumsily, or even laughable. Also the acting isn't always of the highest order, though I liked some of its supporting cast.

It's low budget also doesn't make this the most spectacular genre film but there is plenty of other stuff to compensate for this. It's story alone is good enough to carry the entire movie through and makes this sort of a must-see as well for the lovers of '70's science-fiction.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

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