This is really a tough movie to forget, and surprisingly easy to watch considering how trashy and low-tech it is. Basically, Mattei uses his same grimy super-low-budget look as he did in NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES and RATS: NIGHTS OF TERROR. However, in this film, much like it's predecessor CAGED WOMEN, this trashy look actually really helps it out, evoking some odd sort of fantastical feel to a usually mundane setting.
The movie takes place in a women's penitentiary, but I honestly doubt any women's prison was ever in any way like it is presented. The convicts are almost all at least decent-looking and are a little too keen on fighting each other or having pseudo-lesbian exchanges, every-time showing off a little more than their panties for the camera. The one-up this film has over CAGED WOMEN is the fact that it actually has something resembling a plot as well as some pretty hard-edged violence. Four male prisoners (led by Gabriele Tinti, the only good actor of the group) take over the women's prison and proceed to terrorize the locals. The acting and music are a little less polished (read, pretty darn bad) but they actually really add to the atmosphere of the whole thing.
I really enjoyed the quasi-utopic view of the four male prisoners basically having everything they want right at their fingertips (much like how the four survivors in DAWN OF THE DEAD had everything they wanted within an abandoned shopping mall). All four of the men are sick, depraved perverts and are in the most condusive environment possible for their sort of behavior. Just imagine what happens when you put sex-starved male convicts together with sex-starved female convicts? (A pretty good idea for a movie!) It's also funny to see a lot of fairly classy actors basically making fools of themselves. Lorraine De Selle looks extremely uncomfortable, as does Carlo De Mejo in his last major role.
My only big complaint is that the good characters get killed off way too quickly and stupidly. The goofy guy who keeps the razor blade in his teeth seems to get the most horrible death imaginable, even though he was the most likable of the four male convicts, go figure. The ending is a little hard to decipher as well. Hats off to Mattei though, as his editing has never really looked better. There's also some surprisingly stylish sequences near the beginning and ending of the film, notably the oddly-lit Theater sequence and the flashback montage, which is aided greatly by Luigi Ceccarelli's simplistic synthesizer music. It's a pretty good film overall, surprisingly, if one takes into account the budget (or lack there-of) involved.
The movie takes place in a women's penitentiary, but I honestly doubt any women's prison was ever in any way like it is presented. The convicts are almost all at least decent-looking and are a little too keen on fighting each other or having pseudo-lesbian exchanges, every-time showing off a little more than their panties for the camera. The one-up this film has over CAGED WOMEN is the fact that it actually has something resembling a plot as well as some pretty hard-edged violence. Four male prisoners (led by Gabriele Tinti, the only good actor of the group) take over the women's prison and proceed to terrorize the locals. The acting and music are a little less polished (read, pretty darn bad) but they actually really add to the atmosphere of the whole thing.
I really enjoyed the quasi-utopic view of the four male prisoners basically having everything they want right at their fingertips (much like how the four survivors in DAWN OF THE DEAD had everything they wanted within an abandoned shopping mall). All four of the men are sick, depraved perverts and are in the most condusive environment possible for their sort of behavior. Just imagine what happens when you put sex-starved male convicts together with sex-starved female convicts? (A pretty good idea for a movie!) It's also funny to see a lot of fairly classy actors basically making fools of themselves. Lorraine De Selle looks extremely uncomfortable, as does Carlo De Mejo in his last major role.
My only big complaint is that the good characters get killed off way too quickly and stupidly. The goofy guy who keeps the razor blade in his teeth seems to get the most horrible death imaginable, even though he was the most likable of the four male convicts, go figure. The ending is a little hard to decipher as well. Hats off to Mattei though, as his editing has never really looked better. There's also some surprisingly stylish sequences near the beginning and ending of the film, notably the oddly-lit Theater sequence and the flashback montage, which is aided greatly by Luigi Ceccarelli's simplistic synthesizer music. It's a pretty good film overall, surprisingly, if one takes into account the budget (or lack there-of) involved.