“This month its time to re-appraise a great lost sci-fi thriller: Clonus aka Parts-The Clonus Horror. Remembered fondly for its MST3K parody, Clonus can now be viewed in a remastered and extras loaded package.” --www.mondomacabrodvd.com

All right, I’ll admit it: I missed Clonus on its MST3K run, but I think in this case, that’s a good thing. After all, it makes me about as fair and impartial a judge of this film as one might be apt to find. With that in mind, let’s examine Mondo Macabro’s new DVD of Parts: The Clonus Horror and determine whether or not this truly is a “great lost sci-fi thriller.”

Taking things logically, we begin with exhibit A, the film itself. Clonus (I’ll refer to it by the shorter packaging title rather than the Parts: The Clonus Horror variant on the print) concerns a secret compound nestled away in the California countryside. Very early on during our introduction to this location, there’s the feeling that something is amiss. The place is full of young men and women biking, running track, wrestling, etc.—in short, engaging in all sorts of rigorous physical activity—while under the close supervision of men wearing sweat suits and whistles. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, however, this is not some sort of high school gym class run amok, but rather all part of a vast conspiracy on behalf of the Clonus Corporation, which is in the business of, naturally, cloning humans.

In order to keep the peace among these clones, most are kept at below-average intelligence and indoctrinated with Orwellian pabulum about maintaining peak physical condition in the hopes that one day they will be judged worthy of going to “America,” which, we learn rather quickly, is not a very desirable fate.

When one day two clones of regular intelligence happen to meet, however, Clonus’ elaborate charade quickly begins to fall apart as the two start asking a few too many questions. As the powers-that-be begin to close in on our two heroes, one (Tim Donnelly) decides that he must somehow escape the compound and discover the truth about Clonus and America.

Sounds like a solid premise, no? All the “America” stuff is certainly ripe for satire or at least commentary, and, to its credit, the film does strive for this, even going to far as to throw politics into the mix. Still, Clonus as a whole never really gels. There are too many plot holes, too many little things that don’t add up, and not nearly enough interest generated to really make Clonus worth a viewing, which is kind of sad since it did seem to have potential.

The whole issue of the clones being motivated by an idealization of America is never used to make any of the numerous parallels or comments that could potentially be make, for instance. Similarly, the film’s use of politics never really achieves all its potential, either. A quick thought is given to how corporations align themselves with politicians, but in the end, so many more issues (e.g. political corruption, etc.) could have been addressed.

Still, even with this spoiled potential, Clonus could perhaps have been a workable thriller if it didn’t suffer from so many little problems that plague it as it goes along. Things like security camera views coming from places they probably could not come from, etc., might be acceptable, but things like why the Clonus corporation doesn’t just lobotomize every clone to avoid the types of problems that the “normal” ones end up causing is a question too big to leave unanswered. Without saying too much, the Clonus facility is a farm rather than a science experiment, so the very notion of having a “control group” of clones is a rather ridiculous one, which makes it pretty clear that this is nothing more than a rather obvious plot device.

Again, all of this is really kind of a shame, for Clonus probably was a good idea in the beginning and was simply botched in its delivery. The questions it does raise about the nature and value of human life are good ones, they just aren’t numerous enough or addressed with enough adequacy to make for a truly satisfying experience.

Considering all this, I have to, sadly, not really find myself in agreement with Mondo Macabro’s assessment of Clonus as a “great lost sci-fi thriller;” at best, it seems little more than a middle of the road Brave New World knock-off that, while not terrible, is, in the end, really not all that deserving of your time.

At least my moaning about wasted potential doesn’t apply to Mondo Macabro’s treatment of the film; like always, MM again shows on Clonus its commitment to putting out a quality product, no matter what film they’re giving their treatment.

Clonus, which has been re-mastered from its original negative, is presented here in its 1.66:1 aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement. For the most part, the film looks very good and belies its age and rushed, low-budget production.

As for extras, things start off with the rather goofy Clonus trailer, a Clonus still gallery that mixes ho-hum production photos with some interesting old video cover art, and the requisite Mondo Macabro trailer reel that bears a few new additions that look quite entertaining. (Unfortunately, the trailer reel on my sample disk cut off midway through the Dangerous Seductress section—though by that point all that’s missing is stuff from the old reel anyway. Still, this will hopefully be corrected before the final pressing...)

Moving on, an audio commentary for the film has been included with director Robert Fiveson and MM’s Pete Tombs serving as moderator. While the two are obviously a bit fonder of the film than I am, it’s nevertheless a generally interesting talk that is kept in line very well by Mr. Tombs, who poses thoughtful questions during patches of silence but always allows the director to have his full say.

Finally, the disk concludes with a featurette called “Parts of a Life,” which is a 36-minute interview with director Fiveson that, while well-put together, proved a little too off-topic for my taste. Too much of it is spent addressing Fiveson’s early years and other films; I really would have preferred a shorter featurette just on the movie itself since this one just really isn’t involving enough to be as long as it is.

So, is Clonus really a “great lost sci-fi thriller?” Sadly, no, though that’s not to say Mondo Macabro doesn’t treat it like it is. While the film itself may be a rather tepid sci-fi flick, the film’s presentation evidences all the typical respect and love that we fans have come to expect Mondo Macabro to lavish on every project they take on. Keep up the good work, guys! Even if they film’s middle-of-the-road, your disks are always top-notch.

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