Parts: The Clonus Horror

Parts: The Clonus Horror
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert S. Fiveson
Produced by	Robert S. Fiveson Myrl A. Schreibman
Written by	Bob Sullivan (story) Bob Sullivan and Ron Smith (screenplay) Myrl A. Schreibman and Robert S. Fiveson (adaptation)
Starring	Tim Donnelly Paulette Breen Dick Sargent Peter Graves Keenan Wynn Zale Kessler Frank Ashmore
Music by	Hod David Schudson
Cinematography	Max Beaufort
Edited by	Robert Gordon
Distributed by	Group 1 International Distribution Organization Ltd.
Release dates	August 1979 (1979-08) (U.S.)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$257,000 (estimated)

Parts: The Clonus Horror, also known as Clonus, is a 1979 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 a Myrl Schreibman production, executive produced by Walter Fiveson and produced by Myrl Schreibman and Robert Fiveson, directed by Robert Fiveson, and stars Dick Sargent 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 an isolated desert compound called Clonus, 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, but are promised to be "accepted" to move to "America" after they have completed some type of physical training. After a group of clones are chosen to go to "America", they are given a party and a farewell celebration with their fellow clones. The chosen clones are then taken to a lab where they are sedated and placed in an airtight plastic bag, and their bodies are frozen in order to preserve their organs for harvest. The story surrounds one clone (Tim Donnelly) who begins to question the circumstances of his existence and eventually escapes the colony. Pursued by compound guards, the clone enters a nearby city. He is found by a retired journalist (Keenan Wynn) who takes him to his sponsor, who happens to be the brother of Jeffrey Knight. Knight's brother, Richard (David Hooks), and his son (James Mantell), argue over what to do with the clone (who turns out to be the clone made for Richard himself). Richard's son returns the clone to the colony to reunite with his newly developed love interest (Paulette Breen), only to find a trap waiting for him; the clone is subsequently killed and frozen. Meanwhile, Knight, along with hired thugs of the Clonus project, arrive to interrogate Richard and his son, and both are murdered (along with the journalist who first discovered the clone) as part of Clonus' cover-up. Knight is seemingly killed in the ensuing struggle with his brother, but reappears the next day at a press conference, where he is stunned to find that the late journalist had managed to disseminate a secret tape to the news media, exposing the Clonus project.

Cast

• Peter Graves as Jeff Knight
• Tim Donnelly as Richard Knight Jr.
• Dick Sargent as Dr. Jameson
• Keenan Wynn as Jake Noble
• Paulette Breen as Lena
• David Hooks as Richard Knight
• Frank Ashmore as George Walker
• Lurene Tuttle as Anna Noble
• Eileen Dietz as Dana
• Zale Kessler as Dr. Nelson
• Rick DiAngelo as Guide #1
• Eugene Robert Glazer as Guide #2
• Keith Langsdale as Guide #3
• Larry Manning as Guide #4
• William Bufkin as Clone
• Tony Haig as Jack
• Boyd Holister as Senator
• Eddie Carroll as Doctor

Release

Home media

• The film has been released by Mondo Macabro under the title Clonus.
• The Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of the film has been released by Rhino Home Video as part of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Volume 12 DVD set, featuring an exclusive interview with director Robert Fiveson.

Reception

Influence

In June 1997, Parts: The Clonus Horror was featured as an episode of the movie-mocking television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Though hesitant about it for the first five minutes, director Robert Fiveson said that he felt "honored" that the film made it onto the show.^[2] The DVD release of the MST3K episode includes an interview with Fiveson, who discusses the production of Clonus and the Island lawsuit.

Controversy

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.^[3][4] On August 25, 2006, the court presiding over this case ruled that it could proceed to trial.^[5]

According to a 2007 interview with Clonus screenwriter Bob Sullivan, DreamWorks and Clonus Associates reached a settlement, the specific terms of which are sealed. According to Sullivan, the amount settled on was in the seven-figure range.^[6]

References

External links

• Parts: The Clonus Horror at the Internet Movie Database
• Parts: The Clonus Horror at AllMovie
• The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler at the Internet Movie Database
• “Clonus” Producers File Suit
• Court documents from “Clonus Associates v. Dreamworks, LLC et al.”