The 1st Dimension – Involves a Line
The 2nd Dimension – Involves a Flat Surface
The 3rd Dimension – Involves the Physical World
The 4th Dimesion – Involves Interaction with Film
The 5th Dimesion – Involves The Twilight Zone
The 6th Dimension – Involves … THE FORBIDDEN ZONE
This film was made for two reasons:
1) To capture the essence of The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (Later Named Oingo Boingo) on Film
2) To Retire Director Richard Elfman’s work from the Mystic Knights and to start a film Career (The Group later lead by his brother, Danny Elfman)
The Film is set in Black n’ White and takes place in a small house in Venice, CA owned by the Hercules Family (Previously owned by a Narcotics Peddler, Pimp, and slumlord named Huckleberry P. Jones after discovering the portal to the 6th Dimension in the basement.)
The film focuses on how the Hercules Family,One by One, discovers that in the Basement Lies the Portal to a place called The 6th Dimension and they each enter it.
The 6th Dimension itself is a kingdom which is ruled by King Fausto (Herve Villechaize) and Queen Doris (Susan Tyrrell) with their daughter, the topless Princess, and their Frog Man servant Bust Rod.
Each of the Characters has their own experience inside the 6th Dimension
Frenchy Hercules (Marie-Pascale Elfman) is the First of the family to enter the 6th Dimension. She could be considered the Protagonist since the film mainly focuses on everyone trying to find her and get her back home. She eventually get found by the princess and brought to the King & Queen.
The King falls in love with her, but the Queen, Noticing this, tries to have her tortured or killed throughout the film.
Flash Hercules (Phil Gordon) and Gramps both go into the 6th Dimension to try and rescue Frenchy but get captured by the Queen.
Pa Hercules get blasted though the Stratosphere and ends up in the 6th Dimension and gets captured, but he doesn’t really care.
Ma Hercules is the last to enter the 6th Dimension after realizing that no one else in the house but her.
Although the film is about the Hercules Family, They didn’t go into the 6th Dimension after Huckleberry did. The film also stars Squeezit and Rene (Matthew Bright) the Henderson Twins. Rene, Squeezit’s Transgender Twin, goes in first and becomes a slave to the King and Queen.
His/Her Brother, Squeezit (often called Chicken Boy) Notices his Sibling was Missing but doesn’t do anything about it. When Frenchy goes missing, Flash seeks the help of Squeezit but he refuses. Finally, when Flash calls him from the 6th Dimension to ask for help again, He decides to help them.
When he decides to go into the 6th Dimension, he’s caught and taken to Satan (Danny Elfman) where he bargains with him saying that he will help Rene and Frenchy if Squeezit can capture the Princess and bring her to him and then Squeezit loses his head.
The Film does have songs throughout it, most of them written by Danny Elfman and are sung by most of the cast. The one I would recommend out of them is “Squeezit the Moocher” which is just Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher” with different lyrics, but I enjoyed that one the most.
It also has a few animated sequences by Cartoonist John Muto.They look like they come out Monty Python’s Flying Circus and are mixed in with Live Action Sequences. They are very minimal and they can be seen when someone enters the 6th Dimension or during a song.
When the film was released, It was not liked and Richard Elfman was accused on Racism (The film contains a few characters using Blackface) and Anti-Semitism; but it later gain a cult following, got Midnight Screenings much like Rocky Horror Picture Show, and in 2009, was Colorized.
Final Thoughts: It was strange, but I enjoyed it. The film seemed like a mix of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Alice in Wonderland with the Set Designs and the Character’s Personalities. I didn’t really have any favorite characters except for Queen Doris and Maybe Satan. I recommend seeing it in Black n White since I think the Colorized version dates it.
About Author
