» Cadence (1990, USA)
You look at this film and The Brig (1964) and it’s hard to imagine two more different approaches to managing military miscreants. (more…)
Posted on July 9th, 2015 at 9:54 pm. Updated on July 9th, 2015 at 9:54 pm.
The Nasty Guard
» Chain Gang Girls – Nami: Shared Cell 42 (2007, Japan)
Nami Mizushima (Yuka Kosaka) is a determined young woman, intent on revenge. Innocent and framed by her prosecutor boyfriend over his killing of his lover, she is so controlled she remains continent after three days in a completely blackened room with her hands cuffed behind her back. (more…)
Posted on July 6th, 2015 at 9:02 pm. Updated on July 6th, 2015 at 9:02 pm.
» Shadow: Dead Riot (2006, USA)
Shadow: Dead Riot appears to be based on a premise that the same sort of people who watch salacious Women-in-Prison films with shower scenes and predatory lesbian guards will also like zombies and gore and exploding body parts. It’s probably solid thinking from a marketing perspective, but the two elements here have rather clumsily been patched together. (more…)
Posted on June 28th, 2015 at 1:34 pm. Updated on June 28th, 2015 at 1:34 pm.
» Crime School (1938, USA)
James Cagney played the role of reformist warden in the 1933 film The Mayor of Hell, of which this is a remake. Humphrey Bogart has the same role here; it clearly requires a tough guy to bring some credibility to the task of prison reform. (more…)
Posted on May 12th, 2015 at 10:03 pm. Updated on May 12th, 2015 at 10:03 pm.
» The Brig (1964, USA)
This documentary-style film by Jonas Mekas is based on a play by Kenneth H Brown. A former Marine, Brown had himself spent thirty days in such a brig at Camp Fuji in Japan for being absent without leave; no doubt the film’s authentic feel can be traced back to those thirty days.
Posted on April 26th, 2015 at 2:31 pm. Updated on April 26th, 2015 at 2:32 pm.
» Furnace (2007, USA)
Why does a supernatural being, capable of passing through walls and furiously intent on avenging past horrors, wait until someone opens up its resting place before wreaking havoc on the world? You won’t find the answer here. (more…)
Posted on March 28th, 2015 at 8:57 pm. Updated on March 28th, 2015 at 9:19 pm.
» Zombie Death House (1988, USA)
To say that this is the best prison zombie movie I’ve seen is not saying much. But it is, even if it doesn’t contain any zombies. (more…)
Posted on March 16th, 2015 at 7:35 pm. Updated on March 16th, 2015 at 7:35 pm.
» Runaway Train (1985, USA)
I guess I knew that this was never going to make my list of true prison movies, but I couldn’t ignore it after one of my correspondents, Peter – a man who has spent a bit of time in maximum security prisons – said of it, “The opening sequence of (the) film – the boxing scene – is easily the most authentic prison scene I have ever seen.” On the other hand, not one of my train enthusiast readers has urged me to watch it for the authenticity of the careering train sequences. (more…)
Posted on February 9th, 2015 at 8:53 pm. Updated on February 9th, 2015 at 8:53 pm.
» Mercenaries (2014, USA)
Oh dear. I fear that I’m becoming a little repetitive regarding these action prison movies… but this is truly lamentable. (more…)
Posted on January 17th, 2015 at 7:31 pm. Updated on March 16th, 2015 at 7:45 pm.
» Coldwater (2013, USA)
I don’t quite understand these extra-judicial prisons, juvenile or otherwise. They seem to be somewhere in between a strict boarding school for which parents pay exorbitant fees, and out-of-control prisons where the brutality comes for free. (more…)
Posted on December 7th, 2014 at 11:45 am. Updated on December 7th, 2014 at 11:45 am.