I see the IMDb rating is a 3, and I think it's about right. The best part of this movie are some decent gore scenes, but the rest is pretty poor. I do like the premise, an old haunted prison, but not much is done with it. Not scary or suspenseful, and the actors don't impress. I don't know what the previous reviewers who all gave it a good review saw in this but it wasn't a good horror movie, even for a B-movie. I will say the special effects on some of the gore were well done. Stacey Keach was the only star you would know, and he seemed to sleepwalk through his role. The rest of the cast are all unknowns. It's too bad because the story could have been a good one, if a big Hollywood budget was available I could see this storyline having some potential. As it is I wouldn't waste a rental on this like I did on Netflix.
17 Reviews
Gory haunted prison.
michaelRokeefe20 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
A low budget horror flick from the Sci-Fi Channel. The special effects are much better than the story or acting. Dismembered bodies in pools of blood and ghosts that can only be seen when they want to be. An old rundown prison that once housed the most dangerous and ruthless criminals imagined grabs the interest of a film crew wanting to film a documentary. A group of jewelry thieves stumble upon the prison and decide to take refuge. So now there are two groups of people inside the prison and meet hellish ghosts of those who were tortured and died there.
Kevin VanHook directs his own story and does well with what he has to work with. Cinematography provides the right atmosphere to set up some very graphic scenes. Starring are: Jake Busey, Kyle Schmidt, Claire Coffee, Denny Arroyo, Stacey Keach, Danny Trejo, and Abra Chouinard.
Kevin VanHook directs his own story and does well with what he has to work with. Cinematography provides the right atmosphere to set up some very graphic scenes. Starring are: Jake Busey, Kyle Schmidt, Claire Coffee, Denny Arroyo, Stacey Keach, Danny Trejo, and Abra Chouinard.
Bad plot, bad acting, nothing but gore!
reeves20025 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I was hoping this movie would have been better.I was really disappointed.It started out really good with young filmmakers wanting to document a violent occurrence at a prison that was abandoned.They were interviewing an old prison guard who was dying.The scene was interesting and had a few good moments.And then jewel thieves broke into the prison and after a little while the movie started to go downhill.The rest of it was stupid and turning out to be more of a comedy.The special effects were lousy and laughable.The ghosts looked like images from a cartoon and the rest of the movie was nothing more than just a gore fest. The plot wasn't consistent and the reason's that were given for why it all happened was even more ridiculous.Something like, the prison got a taste of blood a long time ago and now after all that time it wants more blood. I can't believe the filmmakers actually consider this piece of crap a horror film.They actually attempted to make a scary movie.There is nothing scary about it.The only scary part is that people are renting this horrible DVD. It is a total B movie with bad acting and only one good scene which was in the beginning in the hospital room when the old man pulls the sheet off and you see what is revealed. I expected a lot more especially since Jake Busy was in it.I was hoping it would have been more like "session 9" or "identity",but it was a real joke instead.What a total waste of my time and money.
Lame movie
malamanda-7646928 July 2020
you will wish you were on death row after watching this
andrewjones88815 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Me and my wife sat down to watch this little bag of poop last night... Now i wished i had descaled the kettle instead!
Very poor script and direction make this almost unwatchable from the word go. After stacey keach's hospital bed scenes and flash backs its all down hill.
A group of cheesy hair cut kids (who can not act) are making a documentary on a old abandoned prison with a bloody past....wow original. At the same time a group of even more cheesy unrealistic armed robbers decide to hide out in the prison...are you still awake?
For some reason Jake Busey thought it would add something to the plot by having his hair like Worzel Gummidge! oh and also the fact he is totally annoying.
All the same old routines here,people wonder off get hacked up then the rest of the group find the body,they act shocked for 0.005 of a second then move on and forget all about it!
The way the characters are directed is a joke. Let me give you a prime example. After several people have been murdered one of the "tough" robbers decides she wants to go to the toilet, and instead of finding a quiet corner she asks one of the cheesy kids to walk her all the way down the evil corridor to the toilet block!What happens next is one of the most pointless scenes ever put on film. It involves her walking up and down choosing a toilet, then deciding she wants more than a pee,then she wants to wash and brush up and it ends with her having a shower after being covered in crap. The t.v almost went off after that!
Poor acting,poor script,awful directing make this film a life sentence with no parole.
Very poor script and direction make this almost unwatchable from the word go. After stacey keach's hospital bed scenes and flash backs its all down hill.
A group of cheesy hair cut kids (who can not act) are making a documentary on a old abandoned prison with a bloody past....wow original. At the same time a group of even more cheesy unrealistic armed robbers decide to hide out in the prison...are you still awake?
For some reason Jake Busey thought it would add something to the plot by having his hair like Worzel Gummidge! oh and also the fact he is totally annoying.
All the same old routines here,people wonder off get hacked up then the rest of the group find the body,they act shocked for 0.005 of a second then move on and forget all about it!
The way the characters are directed is a joke. Let me give you a prime example. After several people have been murdered one of the "tough" robbers decides she wants to go to the toilet, and instead of finding a quiet corner she asks one of the cheesy kids to walk her all the way down the evil corridor to the toilet block!What happens next is one of the most pointless scenes ever put on film. It involves her walking up and down choosing a toilet, then deciding she wants more than a pee,then she wants to wash and brush up and it ends with her having a shower after being covered in crap. The t.v almost went off after that!
Poor acting,poor script,awful directing make this film a life sentence with no parole.
lame (in fact,you may wish you were on death row while watching this-at least you would have something to look forward to)
disdressed1218 April 2007
I'm sorry,but this movie was not good at all.the gore was not realistic,and the death scenes elicited big yawns from me.i saw no point to this movie.it is like hundreds of others and adds nothing to the horror genre.i found the acting bad even by horror movie standards.i could not finish the whole movie,because it made my jaw too sore from yawning.i don't think too many people would consider this movie a good use of their time.most people would probably stop watching long before the end.i don't know how many ways i can say this,but this movie is just not good. just in case i haven't been clear,i didn't like it.I'll give "Death Row" 1/5
Why DEATH ROW deserves a "4" and NOT a "10" rating
charlytully18 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I noticed one person who commented here gave this flick a rating of 10-out-of-10, while others said 1/10. As a public service, I'll assume that EVERY movie starts out as a "10," and then in most cases loses points as it goes along. Here is where DEATH ROW lost out on more than half of its potential, plunging to a 4-of-10 (my rating and the IMDb user average):
The original Science Fiction TV Channel title--HAUNTED PRISON--is not only better but more apt than the DVD retitled "DEATH ROW." Minus 2.
The climactic prison fireworks special effects were even lamer than those in the ending of INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. If your CGI & special effects budgets are used up by the last scene of your movie, REWRITE--do not fill the departing viewer's memory with a final taste of crap! Minus 2.
Two electrocutions-in-the-electric-chair scenes are redundant. Ditto the strangulation-style killings of both Jasmine and Lisa. Minus 1.
A father-son angle is passable. The grandpa-father-son closing of DEATH ROW is a plain mishmash as presented here, with the grandpa's ghost younger than his two descendants, and apparently played by the same actor as the grandson in the scene. Minus 1.
The original Science Fiction TV Channel title--HAUNTED PRISON--is not only better but more apt than the DVD retitled "DEATH ROW." Minus 2.
The climactic prison fireworks special effects were even lamer than those in the ending of INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. If your CGI & special effects budgets are used up by the last scene of your movie, REWRITE--do not fill the departing viewer's memory with a final taste of crap! Minus 2.
Two electrocutions-in-the-electric-chair scenes are redundant. Ditto the strangulation-style killings of both Jasmine and Lisa. Minus 1.
A father-son angle is passable. The grandpa-father-son closing of DEATH ROW is a plain mishmash as presented here, with the grandpa's ghost younger than his two descendants, and apparently played by the same actor as the grandson in the scene. Minus 1.
Terrible!
SatanicMushrooms18 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I hired this out knowing full well it wasn't going to be an A-Grade horror flick. But even then, I'm still disgusted at this movie. A combination of terrible actors and equally terrible dialogue made this movie almost unbearable, and not because of the gore scenes, which is the only redeeming factor to this waste of 90 minutes. The premise of the film, a haunted prison, is not given an explanation as to how it obtained such a status until the last five minutes of the film, when shonky dialogue between Poor Actor 1 and Poor Actor 2 rams a quick summary of it down the viewer's throat.
The acting....disgusting. The actors showed zero emotion whatsoever. When the group of allegedly naive teenagers come across the corpse of one of their own, there is no emotion displayed. Even in the following scenes, they mention the names of the victims as if they were commenting on the weather. Pathetic acting. No emotion was showed at all. As for the ending, pffft, what ending?
*Spoiler* The surviving three somehow manage to escape the prison before it blows up and miraculously manage to flag down an unidentified boat, which begins to change course and head towards them. Fade to black. Worst. Ending. Ever. It's as if the creators wanted to give the viewers one final middle-finger by tossing together a shoddy ending and tagging it on using Windows Movie Maker.
All in all: Do not waste your time on this garbage. Even die-hard horror/gore fans will be disgusted by this disgraceful "film".
The acting....disgusting. The actors showed zero emotion whatsoever. When the group of allegedly naive teenagers come across the corpse of one of their own, there is no emotion displayed. Even in the following scenes, they mention the names of the victims as if they were commenting on the weather. Pathetic acting. No emotion was showed at all. As for the ending, pffft, what ending?
*Spoiler* The surviving three somehow manage to escape the prison before it blows up and miraculously manage to flag down an unidentified boat, which begins to change course and head towards them. Fade to black. Worst. Ending. Ever. It's as if the creators wanted to give the viewers one final middle-finger by tossing together a shoddy ending and tagging it on using Windows Movie Maker.
All in all: Do not waste your time on this garbage. Even die-hard horror/gore fans will be disgusted by this disgraceful "film".
One of Sc-fi's worst flicks to date
matrix35920 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This has got to be one of the worst horror films I have ever seen, and I have seen the original Evil Dead. The acting is horrible and the inconsistencies are rampant, and from start to finish the movie does not pull you in, it pushes you away. It is just not entertaining at all, I mean for instance the scene were Jasmine (played by the beautiful Jamie Elle Mann) was killed when a wooden ceiling fan chops her body in half is not even believable to a fifth grader. Whatever you do unless you like watching a complete waste of time, watch something else, pretty much anything else. I hope the sci-fi channel does not run this ever again.
Pretty good scares
Sawed-Off20 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I thought this one had some pretty good scares. I particularly liked the part with the girl and the ceiling fan. Gruesome stuff. The first guy getting squished through the jail bars was unique, too.
This movie doesn't just kill people by the numbers.
There's a lot of different kind of deaths.
Jake Busey came off crazy as a bedbug and I thought this was the best I've seen him since Frighteners. I don't see why he doesn't do more stuff! I loved him in Contact and Starship Troopers, too.
All in all, I thought this movie looked like it could have been in theaters. The low budget hampered the film sometimes, but not enough to bother me. I've seen worse out there.
There's a shot of Jamie Mann (ceiling fan girl) crawling down the hall as a ghost that's creepy as hell.
Overall, better than the usual SCI FI stuff you see. I was hoping to see more deleted scenes on the DVD, but the other extras are cool.
I went back and checked out the director's other stuff and while I can't say I love them all, there's a great feeling that he's trying to tell fun stories. There's a real Saturday night, old- school drive-in feel to some of them.
I think these film-makers are trying to get some of the same over-the-top feel that Tarantino and Rodriguez are going for with Grindhouse, just not going for the 70's exploitation stuff.
If you want to have a good time and some pretty cool scares, check out Death Row.
This movie doesn't just kill people by the numbers.
There's a lot of different kind of deaths.
Jake Busey came off crazy as a bedbug and I thought this was the best I've seen him since Frighteners. I don't see why he doesn't do more stuff! I loved him in Contact and Starship Troopers, too.
All in all, I thought this movie looked like it could have been in theaters. The low budget hampered the film sometimes, but not enough to bother me. I've seen worse out there.
There's a shot of Jamie Mann (ceiling fan girl) crawling down the hall as a ghost that's creepy as hell.
Overall, better than the usual SCI FI stuff you see. I was hoping to see more deleted scenes on the DVD, but the other extras are cool.
I went back and checked out the director's other stuff and while I can't say I love them all, there's a great feeling that he's trying to tell fun stories. There's a real Saturday night, old- school drive-in feel to some of them.
I think these film-makers are trying to get some of the same over-the-top feel that Tarantino and Rodriguez are going for with Grindhouse, just not going for the 70's exploitation stuff.
If you want to have a good time and some pretty cool scares, check out Death Row.
Totally Endurable for a Movie...
artemis_punk2 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
If I could, I'd rate this movie as 5.5 but since there's no halfway, I'll give it a benefit of the doubt and rate it 6.
Death Row is NOT a brilliant movie. In fact, it's a "horror" B-movie with a super low budget in Canada. It doesn't revolutionize anything and some - okay, most - of the deaths are really unrealistic but that's the whole fun of it! Honestly, it's not possible at all to push a body THROUGH a wire fence in any situation. But gore's always fun to watch in a movie.
The acting from most of the younger actors was horrendous. Seriously, it was really painful to watch Claire Coffee as Missy... Her performance was more wooden than the Amazon Forest but the entire script was pretty much laughable. Which was probably the point for most viewers.
If you liked the Final Destination franchise, it's pretty likely that you'll like this movie. Laughable plot, really bad special effects (that last scene with the implosion... UGH) and painful acting but the makeup was brilliant and some of the deaths were really really good.
Death Row is NOT a brilliant movie. In fact, it's a "horror" B-movie with a super low budget in Canada. It doesn't revolutionize anything and some - okay, most - of the deaths are really unrealistic but that's the whole fun of it! Honestly, it's not possible at all to push a body THROUGH a wire fence in any situation. But gore's always fun to watch in a movie.
The acting from most of the younger actors was horrendous. Seriously, it was really painful to watch Claire Coffee as Missy... Her performance was more wooden than the Amazon Forest but the entire script was pretty much laughable. Which was probably the point for most viewers.
If you liked the Final Destination franchise, it's pretty likely that you'll like this movie. Laughable plot, really bad special effects (that last scene with the implosion... UGH) and painful acting but the makeup was brilliant and some of the deaths were really really good.
A good Sci-Fi Original? Can it be?
gtc8327 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I've watched almost every Sci-Fi Original for the past several years, and I have to say this is probably the best one yet. It doesn't do any of the things that usually makes these movies suck: It doesn't have MTV-style editing, it has likable, sympathetic characters speaking believable, witty dialogue, it has effective theme music, the special effects are actually cool looking, and because of all those factors, I actually found it quite interesting - usually I'm groaning and rolling my eyes after about 15 minutes of one of these things.
We start with Stacy Keach, and old prison guard who is now in a convalescent home, being interviewed by some kids who want to do a documentary on the prison he used to work at. He relates the story of how some guards went nuts and caused a prison riot, resulting in a whole lot of bloodshed. It's quite interesting because as he tells the tale, he was just about the only innocent prison guard, but as we see the flashbacks, he was actually the ring leader. Not only does Stacy do a great job, but the flashback scenes are fairly brutal and the whole thing just has a nasty feel to it. As the opening credits start to roll, we get one hell of a spooky version of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" as the theme music. It's interestingly effective.
Now, on to the prison. A group of people have just robbed a jewelry store, and they're using the place as a hideout. These people are great, especially the ring leader. He starts out as somewhat of a normal guy, certainly not very nice but strangely charming in his total lack of empathy for his business partners. We've also got a hot babe (really, really hot), a wounded guy, and several other characters. All have believable, entertaining personalities. Shortly afterwards, our documentary kids show up, and then all the prison doors mysteriously close and lock. Hey, it's the "Haunted Prison". The kids are also pretty good characters, we don't get the annoyingly blatant clichés so common in these Sci-Fi Channel movies, nor do we get the cringe-inducing "what adults think kids act like" embarrassments; these folks could actually be real people. Okay, a couple of them are rather over-the-top in how horny they are, but it's kept short and fairly low-key.
As the movie goes on, the jewel thieves start looking for a way to get out, coming tantalizingly close several times, while the kids eventually join up with them. This is all handled in a rather complex and credible manner as well. The characters are just so believable and entertaining, and the situation handled in such a plausible way (for a haunted prison movie), that I was kept interested throughout. There's some great and original gore in this thing, as one guy is run through a license plate stamping machine, and one of the girls gets chopped up by a ceiling fan. The ghosts inhabiting the prison are done quite well, appearing as if there's some extreme heat shimmer coming off of them. And then there's the scene where the hot babe gets drenched in some sort of icky fluid from some broken pipes, and strips down to her undies to take a shower. I don't know about you, but that was one of the sexiest scenes I've seen in a long, long time.
The ending, well, it was a bit cheesy, but I'm happy to accept that considering how fun the rest of the movie was.
Overall, it's just astonishing what a gigantic difference a little bit of TALENT can make when it comes to film making. Congratulations to the film makers - you did what most of us though impossible - you made a good Sci-Fi Channel original movie! Unfortunately it's almost a certainty that next week it will be back to the usual loads of bargain basement CGI, characters you're wishing would die in the most horrible ways, and enough MTV-style fast-editing to make you feel like you're watching a strobe light instead of a movie. Oh well, at least now we know there IS hope.
We start with Stacy Keach, and old prison guard who is now in a convalescent home, being interviewed by some kids who want to do a documentary on the prison he used to work at. He relates the story of how some guards went nuts and caused a prison riot, resulting in a whole lot of bloodshed. It's quite interesting because as he tells the tale, he was just about the only innocent prison guard, but as we see the flashbacks, he was actually the ring leader. Not only does Stacy do a great job, but the flashback scenes are fairly brutal and the whole thing just has a nasty feel to it. As the opening credits start to roll, we get one hell of a spooky version of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" as the theme music. It's interestingly effective.
Now, on to the prison. A group of people have just robbed a jewelry store, and they're using the place as a hideout. These people are great, especially the ring leader. He starts out as somewhat of a normal guy, certainly not very nice but strangely charming in his total lack of empathy for his business partners. We've also got a hot babe (really, really hot), a wounded guy, and several other characters. All have believable, entertaining personalities. Shortly afterwards, our documentary kids show up, and then all the prison doors mysteriously close and lock. Hey, it's the "Haunted Prison". The kids are also pretty good characters, we don't get the annoyingly blatant clichés so common in these Sci-Fi Channel movies, nor do we get the cringe-inducing "what adults think kids act like" embarrassments; these folks could actually be real people. Okay, a couple of them are rather over-the-top in how horny they are, but it's kept short and fairly low-key.
As the movie goes on, the jewel thieves start looking for a way to get out, coming tantalizingly close several times, while the kids eventually join up with them. This is all handled in a rather complex and credible manner as well. The characters are just so believable and entertaining, and the situation handled in such a plausible way (for a haunted prison movie), that I was kept interested throughout. There's some great and original gore in this thing, as one guy is run through a license plate stamping machine, and one of the girls gets chopped up by a ceiling fan. The ghosts inhabiting the prison are done quite well, appearing as if there's some extreme heat shimmer coming off of them. And then there's the scene where the hot babe gets drenched in some sort of icky fluid from some broken pipes, and strips down to her undies to take a shower. I don't know about you, but that was one of the sexiest scenes I've seen in a long, long time.
The ending, well, it was a bit cheesy, but I'm happy to accept that considering how fun the rest of the movie was.
Overall, it's just astonishing what a gigantic difference a little bit of TALENT can make when it comes to film making. Congratulations to the film makers - you did what most of us though impossible - you made a good Sci-Fi Channel original movie! Unfortunately it's almost a certainty that next week it will be back to the usual loads of bargain basement CGI, characters you're wishing would die in the most horrible ways, and enough MTV-style fast-editing to make you feel like you're watching a strobe light instead of a movie. Oh well, at least now we know there IS hope.
Decent time-waster
BakuryuuTyranno2 January 2011
About the worst aspect of Death Row is its cast; not because of the acting but because with half the characters being criminals, ones shown to be without qualms about killing, there's not much reason to invest in these guys.
Sure, Steven Monroe made similar characters somewhat sympathetic in Sasquatch Mountain, but Monroe's movies usually put more effort into the characters than most horror movie crews do today...
Anyways, we see these people's deaths coming from miles away. Fortunately, the writers managed to think of interesting methods of offing people, and there is occasional humor thrown in, keeping the inevitable entertaining.
Most importantly, it is fun horror. While watching people get offed one by one, without any atmosphere or investment in the characters, keeping it entertaining is important.
Sure, Steven Monroe made similar characters somewhat sympathetic in Sasquatch Mountain, but Monroe's movies usually put more effort into the characters than most horror movie crews do today...
Anyways, we see these people's deaths coming from miles away. Fortunately, the writers managed to think of interesting methods of offing people, and there is occasional humor thrown in, keeping the inevitable entertaining.
Most importantly, it is fun horror. While watching people get offed one by one, without any atmosphere or investment in the characters, keeping it entertaining is important.
Death Row (Haunted Prison)
bgregory0986 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Well, I personally have been a fan of the movie for quite some time now. I see a lot of negativity towards this film, it's just a tad bit depressing but hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I first saw Death Row on Sci-Fi(SyFy)a few years ago, On the guide it was listed as ''HAUNTED PRISON'' (Therefor making it extremely hard to find to purchase on DVD because the DVD title is ''DEATH ROW'', haha.) Surely enough, I came to my senses and looked the film up on here(IMDb) and ordered it right away.
In a nutshell, Death Row (AKA Haunted Prison) is about two groups of people, one group just robbed a bank but came to the prison due to things not going as planned, so they went to hide out. While the second group was only trying to get some film on the prison for the documentary about the place they are filming. Both soon see that there is a lot wrong with the place... The rest is for you to see.
The movie ,in my opinion, was a very solid horror film ( especially for a STARZ production for Sci-Fi.) Jake Busey did a really good job with his roll, he made the whole movie and set the tone of the film. All of the other actors and actresses weren't really special to the film, but I give them all credit for making the film believable and working in 2 actual abandoned prisons for most of the film. One of the prisons had no electricity, so i could imagine the difficulties with that.
The gore in the film is actually pretty good and hard to believe it turned out so well with the budget that it was made with. I must say, when Anibal gets chopped up in the license plate machine, the effex and camera angles are very impressive. The scene where John chops off his legs in the gas chamber was pretty intense too. The scene where Ron gets pushed through the fence was definitely an idea I've never seen that before in a movie, I liked it. The make-up effex are over the top. Favorably, with the nun that can be seen several times throughout the movie.
Overall, I love this movie and i would recommend it to anyone who likes horror. It's very good to watch this movie with friends, especially with some drinks or pop-corn. Just have a good time and i hope you enjoy the movie as much as I do.
In a nutshell, Death Row (AKA Haunted Prison) is about two groups of people, one group just robbed a bank but came to the prison due to things not going as planned, so they went to hide out. While the second group was only trying to get some film on the prison for the documentary about the place they are filming. Both soon see that there is a lot wrong with the place... The rest is for you to see.
The movie ,in my opinion, was a very solid horror film ( especially for a STARZ production for Sci-Fi.) Jake Busey did a really good job with his roll, he made the whole movie and set the tone of the film. All of the other actors and actresses weren't really special to the film, but I give them all credit for making the film believable and working in 2 actual abandoned prisons for most of the film. One of the prisons had no electricity, so i could imagine the difficulties with that.
The gore in the film is actually pretty good and hard to believe it turned out so well with the budget that it was made with. I must say, when Anibal gets chopped up in the license plate machine, the effex and camera angles are very impressive. The scene where John chops off his legs in the gas chamber was pretty intense too. The scene where Ron gets pushed through the fence was definitely an idea I've never seen that before in a movie, I liked it. The make-up effex are over the top. Favorably, with the nun that can be seen several times throughout the movie.
Overall, I love this movie and i would recommend it to anyone who likes horror. It's very good to watch this movie with friends, especially with some drinks or pop-corn. Just have a good time and i hope you enjoy the movie as much as I do.
Better than anything Sci-Fi has put out before...
deuce282812 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I love horror films. The more gore the better. Sometimes I watch Sci Fi to see there lineup of horror films. They usually suck and are damn corny. Not so for "Haunted Prison". It was more than I expected Sci Fi to be capable of, and I hope it continues to put out good films.
"Haunted Prison" is about a gang of jewel thieves who hide out in an abandoned prison. Little do they know, the prison is haunted and it's ghost occupants are angry. As luck would have it, a group of college kids arrives, at practically the same time, to shoot a documentary about the prison. What takes place next is lots of screams, surprises, blood, gore, death, and all mixed in with some laughs and half naked women.
Jake Busey stars as the leader of the bad guys. What the rest of his crew is unaware of is that Jake can see the ghosts and that his grand dad was a former prison inmate. Jake made me laugh a few times with his takes. Sometimes I wish he was meaner than funny. Stacy Keach and Danny Trejo round up the star names. They were not the film enough, but what they did was very good. Seeing Stacy hatch away his two legs with an ax was great. I'm glad Sci Fi allowed it in the movie.
The rest of the cast was mostly unknown actors, but they all did a very good job. I can remember times where I cringed watching other films and the acting was so horrible. Not so for "Haunted Prison". Looking up the actors names on IMDb, I understand why they were good.
Some memorable scenes for me... Ron getting smashed up against the metal bars and turning into human spaghetti. Awesome!!! Anibal getting run through a license plate machine. Jake and Brian's reaction to it was great. I could have slapped Missy when her ring hit the metal bar and alerted Jake to their presence. An embarrassed Angel asking Jasmine if she was gonna take a dump. Hilarious! Hector getting pulled into the electric chair was well done. Lisa and especially Jasmine were hot. The shower scene was nice. Great body. Too bad nudity wasn't allowed. Maybe the DVD.
I look forward to more Sci Fi films like this.
"Haunted Prison" is about a gang of jewel thieves who hide out in an abandoned prison. Little do they know, the prison is haunted and it's ghost occupants are angry. As luck would have it, a group of college kids arrives, at practically the same time, to shoot a documentary about the prison. What takes place next is lots of screams, surprises, blood, gore, death, and all mixed in with some laughs and half naked women.
Jake Busey stars as the leader of the bad guys. What the rest of his crew is unaware of is that Jake can see the ghosts and that his grand dad was a former prison inmate. Jake made me laugh a few times with his takes. Sometimes I wish he was meaner than funny. Stacy Keach and Danny Trejo round up the star names. They were not the film enough, but what they did was very good. Seeing Stacy hatch away his two legs with an ax was great. I'm glad Sci Fi allowed it in the movie.
The rest of the cast was mostly unknown actors, but they all did a very good job. I can remember times where I cringed watching other films and the acting was so horrible. Not so for "Haunted Prison". Looking up the actors names on IMDb, I understand why they were good.
Some memorable scenes for me... Ron getting smashed up against the metal bars and turning into human spaghetti. Awesome!!! Anibal getting run through a license plate machine. Jake and Brian's reaction to it was great. I could have slapped Missy when her ring hit the metal bar and alerted Jake to their presence. An embarrassed Angel asking Jasmine if she was gonna take a dump. Hilarious! Hector getting pulled into the electric chair was well done. Lisa and especially Jasmine were hot. The shower scene was nice. Great body. Too bad nudity wasn't allowed. Maybe the DVD.
I look forward to more Sci Fi films like this.
Surprisingly not too bad at all.
poolandrews4 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Death Row starts as six on the run jewel thieves decide to seek refuge in an abandoned Texas prison called Isla de la Roca, one of their number Vincnet (James Leo Ryan) has been shot in the leg. The thieves manage to get the electricity running again but the prison automatically goes into maximum security lock-down trapping them all inside. Inside with them are also five teens making a documentary on the notorious prison & it's violent past, a past which is still present in the ghosts of the inmates that died there. Strange things begin to happen, people start to die horribly & the two mismatched groups decide they have to work together if they ever want to leave the prison alive...
Co-written & directed by Kevin VanHook this made-for-TV horror thriller isn't anywhere near as bad as I feared it would be despite yet again plenty of 'this is the worst film ever' type comments here on the IMDb, I really wish the IMDb would ban 'this is the worst film ever' threads on the message boards I really do. Anyway, the script by VanHook & Rick Glassman maybe takes itself a bit too seriously & the story is somewhat underdeveloped but it moves along at a decent enough pace, I was never bored with it & there's some satisfying gore in it. The whole explanation behind the haunted prison is weak, the script indicates the prison has great evil in it & that's all there is too it. I'm sorry but couldn't the makers have come up with a slightly more substantial reason behind the ghostly events than that? Then there are some inconsistencies with the ghosts, some have this blurry edge around them while others don't, some can speak while others can't, some can possess human beings while others can't & it would have been nice to have things a bit more consistent. Then there's the somewhat clichéd character's, they are alright by low budget horror flick standards but why do they keep splitting up? It's so annoying when it happens & why don't they spend more time on trying to find a way out of the prison? It seemed to me they spent most of the time walking around doing nothing in particular. One also feels obliged to point out that the ending isn't very good either. The actual story is sort of fun, there's enough gore to keep one entertained & at least it doesn't last too long so I'd say it's worth watching if your a fan of this sort of low budget horror flick although more demanding viewers will probably want to give it a wide berth.
Director VanHook does alright although I thought it was too over-lit at times which limited any sort of atmosphere that could have been achieved, the film looks too much like a film as it were. I wouldn't say there's many scares here either but there is some good gore including someone chopping his own legs off with an axe, someone is sliced in half by a spinning ceiling fan complete with guts splattering on the floor as well as assorted spinal column pieces & the like, someone is wrapped in possessed barb wire in a scene similar to one seen in another haunted prison flick Prison (1988), someone is cut up into little bits in some sort of machine with the cut up bits of their body falling off the end of a conveyor belt, there's plenty of blood, gory gunshot wounds & my personal favourite kill when someone is pushed through wire mesh fencing & there's shots of the mesh sinking & cutting into their flesh. For those interested there's gratuitous & pointless shower scene in the prison toilets but she keeps her underwear on so it's a bit of a none starter.
Technically the film is fine, it's well made & competent although it's not stylish. The special effects are pretty good with CGI computer effects kept to a minimum. The acting is OK, there a couple of familiar faces faces here including Jake Busey, Stacy Keach & Danny Trejo.
Death Row is an OK way to pass 90 odd minutes, it's nothing deep or meaningful & it won't change your life but I thought it was watchable enough for what it was. Better than I had expected although to be fair that wasn't going to be difficult.
Co-written & directed by Kevin VanHook this made-for-TV horror thriller isn't anywhere near as bad as I feared it would be despite yet again plenty of 'this is the worst film ever' type comments here on the IMDb, I really wish the IMDb would ban 'this is the worst film ever' threads on the message boards I really do. Anyway, the script by VanHook & Rick Glassman maybe takes itself a bit too seriously & the story is somewhat underdeveloped but it moves along at a decent enough pace, I was never bored with it & there's some satisfying gore in it. The whole explanation behind the haunted prison is weak, the script indicates the prison has great evil in it & that's all there is too it. I'm sorry but couldn't the makers have come up with a slightly more substantial reason behind the ghostly events than that? Then there are some inconsistencies with the ghosts, some have this blurry edge around them while others don't, some can speak while others can't, some can possess human beings while others can't & it would have been nice to have things a bit more consistent. Then there's the somewhat clichéd character's, they are alright by low budget horror flick standards but why do they keep splitting up? It's so annoying when it happens & why don't they spend more time on trying to find a way out of the prison? It seemed to me they spent most of the time walking around doing nothing in particular. One also feels obliged to point out that the ending isn't very good either. The actual story is sort of fun, there's enough gore to keep one entertained & at least it doesn't last too long so I'd say it's worth watching if your a fan of this sort of low budget horror flick although more demanding viewers will probably want to give it a wide berth.
Director VanHook does alright although I thought it was too over-lit at times which limited any sort of atmosphere that could have been achieved, the film looks too much like a film as it were. I wouldn't say there's many scares here either but there is some good gore including someone chopping his own legs off with an axe, someone is sliced in half by a spinning ceiling fan complete with guts splattering on the floor as well as assorted spinal column pieces & the like, someone is wrapped in possessed barb wire in a scene similar to one seen in another haunted prison flick Prison (1988), someone is cut up into little bits in some sort of machine with the cut up bits of their body falling off the end of a conveyor belt, there's plenty of blood, gory gunshot wounds & my personal favourite kill when someone is pushed through wire mesh fencing & there's shots of the mesh sinking & cutting into their flesh. For those interested there's gratuitous & pointless shower scene in the prison toilets but she keeps her underwear on so it's a bit of a none starter.
Technically the film is fine, it's well made & competent although it's not stylish. The special effects are pretty good with CGI computer effects kept to a minimum. The acting is OK, there a couple of familiar faces faces here including Jake Busey, Stacy Keach & Danny Trejo.
Death Row is an OK way to pass 90 odd minutes, it's nothing deep or meaningful & it won't change your life but I thought it was watchable enough for what it was. Better than I had expected although to be fair that wasn't going to be difficult.
Big House On Haunted Hill...
azathothpwiggins19 May 2022
A group of documentary filmmakers venture into an abandoned prison, only to find themselves besieged by desperate criminals. If that's not bad enough, it appears that the place is haunted. Soon, the ghosts of murdered inmates are roaming around looking for unsuspecting college kids and jewel thieves to mutilate.
While this may sound intriguing, it's actually rather dull. It's your typical, retread story about ghouls and their victims. It's just not all that chilling, original, or fun. The usually reliable Jake Busey isn't a very engaging bad guy here, and the ghosts are mostly ridiculous.
On the upside, there are some well-done gore FX, so gorehounds might at least enjoy that...
While this may sound intriguing, it's actually rather dull. It's your typical, retread story about ghouls and their victims. It's just not all that chilling, original, or fun. The usually reliable Jake Busey isn't a very engaging bad guy here, and the ghosts are mostly ridiculous.
On the upside, there are some well-done gore FX, so gorehounds might at least enjoy that...
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