Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- surreal
- campy
- anarchic
- midnight movie
- cult film night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an inventive, highly stylized cult musical whose outrageousness is inseparable from its appeal, though its transgressive humor is divisive.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Sixth Dimension setting is presented through highly theatrical musical numbers, stylized costumes, and broad stage-like performance.
The plot and keywords foreground sexual violence, incest, blackface, school shooting imagery, and deliberately provocative shock humor.
The basement door reaches the Sixth Dimension through a gigantic intestine, making bodily surrealism a defining visual premise.
King Fausto and Queen Doris govern an otherworldly realm staged as a comic, theatrical domain of excess.
Films like Forbidden Zone, and why
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
surreal musical comedy, anarchic camp, and flamboyant theatricality
Pink Flamingos
cult musical filmmaking, grotesque humor, and deliberately abrasive spectacle
Eraserhead
absurdist fantasy, transgressive comedy, and eccentric underground sensibility
Movie Details
- Director
- Richard Elfman
- Release Date
- 1982-03-21
- Runtime
- 74 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (115)
Cast
- Hervé Villechaize
- Susan Tyrrell
- Matthew Bright
- Gene Cunningham
- Marie-Pascale Elfman
- Virginia Rose
- Phil Gordon
- Hyman Diamond
- Brian Routh
- Martin von Haselberg
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Night Flight Plus, Screambox Amazon Channel, FlixFling, Midnight Pulp, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Forbidden Zone about?
- A delirious rock musical plunges an eccentric family into a grotesque Sixth Dimension ruled by jealous monarchs and extravagant appetites.
- What is Forbidden Zone like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Forbidden Zone as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Forbidden Zone violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Forbidden Zone as moderate.
- What did critics think of Forbidden Zone?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an inventive, highly stylized cult musical whose outrageousness is inseparable from its appeal, though its transgressive humor is divisive.
- Which films are like Forbidden Zone?
- Films with a similar feel include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Pink Flamingos, and Eraserhead.
- How long is Forbidden Zone?
- Forbidden Zone runs 74 minutes.
- Where can I watch Forbidden Zone?
- In United States, Forbidden Zone streams on Night Flight Plus, Screambox Amazon Channel, FlixFling, Midnight Pulp, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel.
