Have the traumatic experience with the gynaechological adventure of Doriana Gray I've stayed away from Uncle Jess. Not because I didn't like it, I thought it was fine movie, but because I was slightly tired of vaginas up close. The thing is that the Francos I haven't watched here at home now only seem to be sleaze, sex and maybe even porn - so imagine my worries while starting Women in Cellblock 9, the new blu-ray from Ascot Elite. I remember the HD images I saw the last time and I didn't want to experience them again. But I didn't have to worry, this is - compared to Doriana Gray - a Disney movie. Eh, yeah, almost. Except it includes rape, torture, murder and total nudity for most of the running time!
Somewhere in an anonymous South American country four women is captured by the military regime, or at least by two of the regime's executioners - one of them the evil, Evil, EVIL dr Costa (the always excellent Howard Vernon), an expert torturer working under an Ilsa-like female camp leader (sorry, don't can't identify the actress - please help me!). Of course they want the truth from these poor women and starts to torture them in the most hideous way, not counting the psychological terror and rapes! But our heroines plans their escape, and they're gonna use their bodies to get what they want!
I expected something more shitty, actually. To be honest. But I got a quite slick and entertaining piece of sleaze, Smart? No way, but stylish like hell. The only scene that seemed a bit forced in the first one, in the truck, where the dialogue obviously is an afterthought, added on all the clips where you don't see the one talking in frame! I actually don't think the truck driver wanted to be in the picture either, because the only time you see something of his face you can see his eye, looking stressed directly into the camera. Poor guy. But Franco did his best hiding the man anyway.
Women in Cellblock 9 is a straight man's dream. There's nothing remotely arty with it, nothing personal. Except the end, which is surprisingly downbeat and bleak - which makes it rise above many of the similar movies made at the time. But except that it's just entertainment, trashy, evil entertainment. One detail I noticed was that the guards, which normally is some dudes picked from the streets without any thoughts, looks unusally "cute". I, with my vivid imagination, thinks maybe Howard Vernon had a hand in the casting here. The man was a famous flirter, a very charming man who probably wanted some good-looking men around him for once, to take away the pain with all the nude women! ;)
Far from Franco's best movie, but more entertaining and well-made than I thought it would be. The acting is also quite good - with the casual-looking Vernon leading the talents, but the girls aren't that bad either. As always the location looks like the park behind some hotel in Spain, but I wonder where it was shot? It feels I've seen that "jungle" many times in Franco's films.
Ah, one thing I noticed. In the English dubbing they actually never see "cellblock", but instead "blockcell". What the hell? Is that even a correct word? :)
Give the blu-ray a shot, I think it's worth it!
"But I didn't have to worry, this is - compared to Doriana Gray - a Disney movie. Eh, yeah, almost. Except it includes rape, torture, murder and total nudity for most of the running time!"
hahahhahahhaha....well....Rampant Rodent production does own subdivisions....so in a way, it could be Disney film.
"I expected something more shitty, actually. To be honest. But I got a quite slick and entertaining piece of sleaze, Smart? No way, but stylish like hell."
A WIP film......I don´t expect smart, I remember how surprised I was over Jack Hills efforts in the genre.
I thought they were pretty good.
"Women in Cellblock 9 is a straight man's dream. There's nothing remotely arty with it, nothing personal."
WIP films usually are a straight man´s dream....at least the few one I´ve seen.....
"Except the end, which is surprisingly downbeat and bleak - which makes it rise above many of the similar movies made at the time. But except that it's just entertainment, trashy, evil entertainment."
Interesting.....another WIP film I saw, La bestia in calore/Horrifying Experiments of S.S. Last Days/The Beast in Heat/SS Hell Camp/S.S. Experiment Camp 2(1977)(yeah, this film has lot of titles...hahahhahahhahahahh)was a good oldfashioned sleaze fest....and then all of sudden there was this dark, downbeat ending.
"I, with my vivid imagination, thinks maybe Howard Vernon had a hand in the casting here. The man was a famous flirter, a very charming man who probably wanted some good-looking men around him for once, to take away the pain with all the nude women! ;)"
So Vernon was gay?
I didn´t know that...
"Ah, one thing I noticed. In the English dubbing they actually never see "cellblock", but instead "blockcell". What the hell? Is that even a correct word? :)"
hahahahhahahah.....some intern did the subs?
Good review and thanks Fred.
Posted by: Megatron | January 11, 2014 at 15:48
As usual Megatron, thanks for reading :)
Yes, Howard was gay as a gay man can be! I've heard he was a very charming and out-going men. Another Jess Franco favorite who's gay is Jack Taylor, which is extra fun because he's really the ladies man in most movies I've seen him in!
Posted by: Fred Anderson | January 11, 2014 at 16:15
Fred: I see.....ahhahahhah....well, Ian McKellen can play ladies man sometimes, just look at him in Scandal (1989), it´s odd to see if you know his personal taste.
Posted by: Megatron | January 12, 2014 at 16:17