By their very nature, Women In Prison films are often pretty damn sleazy, but this one takes the cake. Directed by the inimitable Jesus Franco, it wallows in filth and degradation and nudity for a suitably grimy 81 minutes. As it plays out, there are numerous closeups of the female anatomy. There's shock therapy, masturbation, and sexual fetishes in this salacious story. Surprisingly, it's actually kind of slick looking for this sort of thing, enabling its eager viewers to view all of the action in great detail.
Francos' longtime leading lady Lina Romay stars as Maria de Guerra, the fresh fish at a womens' prison. She was convicted of murdering her father (played by Franco himself in a flashback), who'd attempted to rape her. Forming a subplot is the fact that one of the lady convicts has authored a scathing note telling about the atrocities visited upon her and her cellmates. The people in charge decide to punish everybody when the guilty party won't step forward.
Lovers of cinematic trash are likely to be pretty satisfied with what they see. There's not a particularly strong story here, but who is going to care? Franco serves up the exploitation and the sex with fervour. Also helping matters is the relatively brief running time. The performances are fun - Romay is appealing as usual, Paul Muller is good as the guilt ridden doctor Carlos Costa, and Martine Stedil shows conviction as the passionate Bertha Contrini. But the lady who dominates the proceedings is Monica Swinn as the Wardress; she's a hoot as a monocle and short-shorts wearing sadist.
Pleasingly putrid entertainment up to and including the ending.
Seven out of 10.
Francos' longtime leading lady Lina Romay stars as Maria de Guerra, the fresh fish at a womens' prison. She was convicted of murdering her father (played by Franco himself in a flashback), who'd attempted to rape her. Forming a subplot is the fact that one of the lady convicts has authored a scathing note telling about the atrocities visited upon her and her cellmates. The people in charge decide to punish everybody when the guilty party won't step forward.
Lovers of cinematic trash are likely to be pretty satisfied with what they see. There's not a particularly strong story here, but who is going to care? Franco serves up the exploitation and the sex with fervour. Also helping matters is the relatively brief running time. The performances are fun - Romay is appealing as usual, Paul Muller is good as the guilt ridden doctor Carlos Costa, and Martine Stedil shows conviction as the passionate Bertha Contrini. But the lady who dominates the proceedings is Monica Swinn as the Wardress; she's a hoot as a monocle and short-shorts wearing sadist.
Pleasingly putrid entertainment up to and including the ending.
Seven out of 10.