Pat and I are just burning through the Boingo right now.  Hey, we loved that band.  Sue us.  Anyhoo, hard to believe I've gone this long without discussing the merits of Forbidden Zone.  God, I love that movie more than life itself.

Released in 1980, it was directed by Richard Elfman, the brother of Oingo Boingo frontman (and future film composer) Danny Elfman.  It's just one of the greatest cult films ever.  Now obviously when you attach the "cult" label to a film, certain things are implied.  It holds little if any star power.  It lacks technical merit.  It lacks any kind of budget.  The acting and screenwriting are amateurish at best, and infantile at worst.

Admittedly, most of that holds true for Forbidden Zone.  But you know what, none of that is what makes a good cult film a good cult film.  Good cult films have an energy, an attitude and a creativity to them.  They don't operate under any phony pretense.  They express a genuine love for the art, even if it isn't exactly high art.  They're driven by a tangible motivation to simply get the movie made, period.

And they often have awesome soundtracks.  This one is made up primarily of original Danny Elfman music, essentially performed by what would later become Oingo Boingo.  At the time they were still technically called the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, but make no mistake, this has the classic Boingo sound.  So, without further kazoo, here is the title cut from the Forbidden Zone soundtrack.

Seriously, see this film.  That is, if you're OK with the occasional F-word, some bare breasteses and a significant amount of gratuitous dry humping.

Hear "Forbidden Zone" during the film's opening sequence on YouTube.  Oh, it may not be SFW.  Plus, there's a guy in blackface in it.  Don't watch it if it'll just get you pissy and irritated.

Hear an alternate version.

Hear a live version on the band's semi-official MySpace page.