PRISON (1988)

OVERLOOKED HORROR MOVIES PART 2

This is second in the "overlooked horror movies." Today I'm going to review a very worthy but underated film called Prison from 1988, the 4th film directed by finnish director Renny Harlin who's best known for films like CLIFFHANGER, CUTTHROAT ISLAND, DEEP BLUE SEA and more recently EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING.

Let me begin by saying that this isn't a masterpiece by any means, but it's an interesting horror film with plenty of gore and genuine scares. Considering the somewhat boom period of 80's horror movies at the time, this stands miles above most of the horror films of that period. It was kind of a new take on the "haunted house" theme.

The film has a great cast including some people who've gone on to do much bigger and better things, most notably Viggo Mortensen who, as most of you know, is most famous for his role in the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. You will notice many familiar faces, maybe you won't remember their names, and neither do I, but it's interesting to see some of these people so young.

The film takes place in an old prison that hasn't been used in years, reopened to accommodate the overflow of criminals from other prisons. Warden Sharpe (Lane Smith) plays the prison warden, just the worst prick you can imagine. If you know Lane Smith, then you know that he's perfect for these kind of parts. The hero of the plot is Burke (Viggo Mortensen), a mysterious, cool character who doesn't get bothered too easily, who starts to piss Sharpe off very quickly. Weird shit starts to happen when the warden orders an old execution chamber to be reopened, and before long, the prisoners are getting picked off like flies. Obviously, tension in the prison rises, and it gradually becomes clear that an evil force is taking over the prison with one dreadful purpose in mind... to get back at Sharpe.

I haven't seen many of this director's other films, but I know he's a pretty capable director if nothing else. I've seen CLIFFHANGER and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 and they weren't too bad. The only problem I can really see with this movie is the pace. Although there is a pretty good amount of action, the plot tends to drag. There are few too many 'filler' scenes, but those points are minor. Although some scenes may seem to focus too much on characters that aren't really that important, you really get to know each character pretty well.

Now for the gore. No gore fan should be disappointed. Most of the killings are standard, but others are pretty inventive. The most notable is the scene where one of the prison guards gets wrapped in barbed wire, that's pictured on some versions of the DVD. Another awesome scene is when one of the prisoners escapes and gets impaled on all sides by "possessed" pipes, then the next day while people in the mess hall are eating, his remains spill through the ceiling all over the mess hall. There's another good scene where a prisoner just burns alive from the intense heat that the ghost of the prison is inflicting. Great stuff.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie, if nothing else, just to see Viggo!