Some movies, no matter how bad they are, can be a blast to just sit back, relax and watch the craziness unfold. Women’s Prison Massacre, also known as Emanuelle Escapes from Hell, is that type of movie, co-written by Claudio Fragasso, who you may know as the mastermind behind Troll 2 and the boring, convoluted mess known as Beyond Darkness. I can’t think of one thing in this movie that is done well, be it the acting, the atrocious dubbing or the story. Well, actually, I take that back, as the randomly epic arm wrestling match and the generous helping of nudity are done fantastically well.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 89 min
ASPECT RATIO: 1.85:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
SUBTITLES: English
REGION: A
RATING: Unrated
PRODUCTION DATE: 1983
RELEASE DATE: Dec 8, 2015
PLOT SUMMARY
From the “Big House” to the grindhouse to your house!
Master of exploitation Bruno Mattei (Cruel Jaws, Rats: Night of Terror) hauls his unique cinematic stylings to the slammer in Women’s Prison Massacre! Sultry reporter Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) is on the verge of breaking a big story about a corrupt politician when she gets framed and sent to a women’s prison. There, incarcerated women face unspeakable cruelty and inhumane conditions — and that’s before a quartet of dangerous men are temporarily transferred to the facility! When the felonious four overpower the guards and take over, it’s up to Emanuelle and her fellow inmates to take control of the prison — and their very lives.
Featuring Mattei’s signature flourishes and a script co-written by Claudio Fragasso (the visionary behind Troll 2 and Beyond Darkness), Women’s Prison Massacre is a brutal and uncompromising entry in one of cinema’s most infamous genres.
MOVIE
Women’s Prison Massacre starts events off with a bang, as we witness a riveting play being put on by three female prisoners, one of them being the lead character, Emanuelle (played by go to Black Emanuelle star Laura Gemser). One of the prisoners, the bad ass, blond hair wearing Albina (Ursula Flores) doesn’t like this play and we get a vegetable fight to end all vegetable fights. The madness doesn’t stop there, though, as we witness women groping each other in the shower, the guards having none of it and nearly drowning them in the sinks and Albina laughing manically by their sides. Emanuelle, who is a reporter and was barking up the wrong tree during her investigation into a drug ring and is wrongly convicted of drug charges, does not get along with Albina and they put their limits to the test, by going over the top in an epic arm wrestling match that takes about 2 minutes to complete. It’s a phenomenal show of story telling if you ask me.
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| Mere moments before the arm wrestling match to end all arm wrestling matches. |
If you think Women’s Prison Massacre is just going to be boobs, bush and cat fights, you are wrong… well, technically you’re kind of right, but anyway. It isn’t long before the flick gets to the main point of the story, if there is a point, where a bunch of crazy serial killers (be prepared for one of the most over acted performances to have ever graced the screen, all thanks to Pierangelo Pozzato) are placed in the prison for holding until their sentences (why are male prisoners placed in a women’s prison, we may never know) and they escape, taking the female prisoners and the hot female warden (Lorraine De Selle), who loves to wear leg suspenders under those non revealing clothes, hostage. Will the women stand up to these crazy men like the poster suggest, or will they do nothing, but grope, have sex with them and die uselessly? I will never tell you, but I will tell you that there is a wonderful Russian Roulette scene that goes on and on and on and on….
Women’s Prison Massacre is one movie that is bad, so, so bad. The dubbing in the movie does not in the least bit try to match up to actor’s mouths, the story is a jumbled mess of violence and sex (hey, I’m not complaining) and the acting is painful. The movie is a pure masterpiece of cheese and you owe it to yourself to witness this cinematic delight right away. By doing so, you’ll get to witness the most non choreographed walking chase scene to have ever been filmed.
BLU-RAY
Scream Factory gives us Women’s Prison Massacre in a bare bones release, with no features in sight. The video is a bit rough around the edges, but the audio is not too bad, which really highlights that terrible dubbing job. I’m thinking this movie would’ve been better off served up in a double feature with another Black Emanuelle movie, such as Violence in a Women’s Prison, which looks to have the same plot as this movie and was also directed by Bruno Mattei. Both movies where shot back to back and would have gone great together, but alas, we get what we get.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- Nothing, but the joy of witnessing this movie on Blu-ray.
VERDICT
Women’s Prison Massacre is a terrible movie, but it’s the kind of movie you expect when it comes to the infamous Black Emanuelle series. It’s a violent, sex filled mess and I couldn’t have loved it any harder. Scream Factory unfortunately missed out on doing a great double feature with Violence in a Woman’s Prison, but at least we get this masterpiece on Blu-ray.
RATING
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| Any rating less than four zombie brains would be madness and I won’t stand for it! |