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1[[quoteright:214:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clonus.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:214:''[[Music/NeilDiamond Today!]]'']]
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4A low-budget American SciFiHorror film from 1979, also known as ''The Clonus Horror'' and ''Parts: The Clonus Horror''.
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6The futuristic story begins in the titular land of Clonus, a society of young, fit adults who seem endlessly happy. That is, until you see the armed guards that surround them. Everyone in Clonus dreams of being chosen to go to America, where the promise of an even happier, more fulfilling life awaits. The control group among these citizens are designated by tags on their ears, and when Richard (Tim Donnelly) and Lena (Paulette Breen) meet, they realize that their tags match. Despite the menacing looks they get from the guards, Richard and Lena become close and soon fall in love.
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8But Richard is starting to have doubts about this seemingly utopian world. He finds an Old Milwaukee beer can in a river, and when his questions about the strange object are dismissed offhand, Richard begins openly questioning whether the leaders of Clonus are telling them the truth about the outside world. Eventually he uncovers Clonus' dark secret, and his own sinister destiny. Creator/PeterGraves, Creator/DickSargent, and Creator/KeenanWynn round out the film's cast (and take up most of its budget).
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10In 2005 director and co-producer Robert S. Fiveson brought a copyright infringement suit against the makers of Creator/MichaelBay's ''Film/TheIsland2005''. The lawsuit cited 89 points of similarity between the two films, and the court ruled that Fiveson had made a prima facie case for infringement. Before the case could go to trial, Creator/DreamworksSKG settled with the plaintiffs for an undisclosed amount; it's been rumored that it was a seven-figure sum.
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12For the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' version, please go to the [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S08E11PartsTheClonusHorror episode recap page]].
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14----
15!!''Clonus'' has examples of:
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17* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Bit of a meta example but the back of the original VHS box ([[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Parts__The_Clonus_Horror_1979.aspx as recounted]] by Website/AgonyBooth) features an excessive example.
18* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The tendency toward a given type of birthmark can run in families, but specific birthmarks themselves are like fingerprints--that is to say, unique to the individual, even among identical twins (or clones).
19* BigBrotherIsWatching: Once Richard starts suspecting things aren't as they seem he fakes a seizure or heart attack (or ''something'') while alone in his room, to find out if they're watching him (and implicitly the other clones) around the clock. [[spoiler:They are.]]
20* CreatorCameo: Inadvertent. The guard Richard punches out when he escapes Clonus is the director Robert S. Fiveson himself. This wasn't planned, but they didn't have any other extras at the time. The knowledge that Richard knocked out the director almost makes this movie all worth it, though.
21* CantStopTheSignal: [[spoiler:Jake Noble is murdered, but gets a tape exposing the Clonus project to the media.]]
22* CharacterTics: Altered clones can be identified by their "slow eye movement" -- specifically, when they blink, they keep their eyes closed for a full second before reopening them. It's hard to spot unless you're told about it, but once you notice it, it's hard to miss.
23* CityInABottle: The Clonus facility, which looks more like a junior college (and indeed, the scenes set there were filmed in one).
24* ColdOpening: Consisting of frozen clones in body bags and Jeffrey Knight's president-elect speech.
25* CoolOldGuy[=/=]RetiredBadass: Jake Noble.
26* CorruptPolitician: Senator Jeffrey Knight, the presidential nominee of [[NoPartyGiven an unnamed political party]], who is deeply involved with the Clonus project and its backers. Interestingly, it's made clear that despite the fact Knight will likely be elected president, he's still only [[PuppetKing a small cog in a much bigger machine]].
27* DeadlyEuphemism: "[[HumanPopsicle Going to America.]]"
28* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Senator Knight had a clone made of his brother so Old Richard could enjoy a long life. He also tries to warn Old Richard against trying to expose Clonus for his own good. [[spoiler:When he and his goons arrive to kill Old Richard and his son, Jeffrey looks genuinely sad.]]
29* EyepatchOfPower: George Walker.
30* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Walker wears an eyepatch because he just got a transplant from his clone - Richard's wrestling buddy from the start of the movie.]]
31* FailedASpotCheck: A guard doesn't notice Richard hiding behind the glass-paned door he (the guard) just used.
32* GodwinsLaw: Old Richard compares Jeff and Clonus to the Nazis almost immediately after learning of his brother's involvement.
33* HollywoodDarkness: Let's just say making convincing day-for-night was not in the budget.
34* ItIsDehumanizing: Not applied consistently, but particularly after Richard's escape from the facility, he is referred to by those hunting him as "it".
35* INeverSaidItWasPoison: The original Richard knows something's up when he talks to his brother about Clonus -- and Jeff asks about a tape completely unprompted.
36* IntrepidReporter: Jake Noble, retired, still acts like one.
37* {{Lobotomy}}: Described cheerfully (by the Clonus PR department) as a standard way to keep an uncooperative clone in line. At the end of the film, we see a lobotomized Lena with a blank smile.
38* LotteryOfDoom: Just an excuse for the clones' sake; the real determining factor is which Clonus client needs a new eye this month.
39* MoodWhiplash: Jake and his wife are in the middle of one of their bickering sessions when they get blown to smithereens completely out of nowhere.
40* NoControlGroup: Averted. When Richard finds a tape explaining how the clones are made, it states that some of them are infected with bioengineered viruses in order to restrict their intellectual development while they're still embryos. However, in order to make sure the cloning process works, some are left unaltered as controls. Richard and Lena are part of this control group, which is why their ear tags match.
41* NoSexAllowed: The clones. Most likely this was to keep them from multiplying beyond their handlers' ability to contain (similar to [[Literature/TheBible the Israelites in Egypt]]). Then there's also the fact that pregnancy could lead to a female clone not being useful [[spoiler:as an organ donor]] while bearing a child and the children being of no use to the project at all.
42* OhCrap: [[spoiler:The villains have one at the end when a journalist reveals that they have a tape exposing Clonus]].
43* OneWomanWail: Plays over a scene depicting exactly what happens when the clones "go to America".
44* PeopleFarms: With an actual farm for the clones to work on.
45* PeopleJars: Clones are bagged for freshness.
46* ProductPlacement: Huffy Bikes, Adidas clothing, Dr. Pepper, and Old Milwaukee Beer. Almost certainly coincidental, since the filmmakers obviously weren't being paid by the companies in question.
47* ThePromisedLand: America
48* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Although Clonus is exposed, most people that helped Richard are dead and Lena had a lobotomy. Richard, well he's on ice.]]
49* RayOfHopeEnding: [[spoiler:Richard is killed and put on ice, Lena is lobotomized, and most of the people who helped Richard are murdered. The only upshot is that Clonus is publicly exposed.]]
50* ReleasedToElsewhere: To America
51** One interviewer asked why Robert S. Fiveson chose to have America be the "Elsewhere". The answer, exact words: [[TakeThat "This was post-'60s fuck you-ism."]]
52* ShirtlessScene: Since the clones spend most of their time exercising, many of the males run around topless.
53* SingleTear: The finale scene shows [[spoiler: the frozen corpse of Richard shedding one already frozen tear on his right cheek]].
54* SmokingHotSex: Richard and Lena's post-coital cuddle takes place in front of a campfire, the smoke of which seems to be emanating from Richard's nether regions.
55* SpoilerCover: The film's original poster gives away that [[spoiler:Clonus breeds clones for their organs.]]
56* StockSoundEffect: That alarm in the Clonus facility [[Franchise/StarTrek sounds familiar]].
57* TheIlluminati: You can just barely see the pyramid insignia on the eye-patched Boss's golden ring. If TheIlluminati are involved then it explains a lot about Clonus.
58* TooDumbToLive: Most of the clones, but this is by design. Some clones are just unaltered, like Richard.
59* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler: Jeffrey Knight is shown getting stabbed in the chest when he's in a struggle with his brother, but in the end, he is shown to be alive and well at a press conference. However, given the fact that in the final scene Richard's frozen corpse has an open wound on his chest, it is implied that Jeffery received a heart transfer from Richard]].
60* WeWillHavePerfectHealthInTheFuture: What Clonus appears to be at first, as all the fit and athletic characters run around.
61* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Everyone associated with Clonus considers clones to not count as people, so what they do to them is perfectly ethical; see also ItIsDehumanizing.

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