Hell Penitentiary (1984)



(Original Title: Detenute violente) An Italian Women In Prison (WIP) movie




















































CHARACTERS

RATING: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10

REVIEW: It checks all the boxes for a WIP film, and has plenty of nudity. The downside is that it's repetitive as hell. I mean, how many times do we need to see the governor rape Cedana? How many times do we have to watch the prison yard plotting, or the sex scenes between Mae and the warden? Everything is set up within the first fifteen minutes; then it just coasts and repeats until the final breakout.


SYNOPSIS

Crime boss Frank Cuomo and his thugs have shown up to kill his girl and the guy she's sleeping around with. Sarah Winters (Enrica Saltutti) is at the wrong place at the wrong time. Aperio Bella Olivia and the guy try to escape but are killed. Sarah Winters (Enrica Saltutti) unfortunately knows too much. The criminals get her sent away to a prison on false charges. Julia Rogers (Linda Jones) is investigating the murder of her sister. Sarah, now in the clink, is introduced to the sadistic Warden Landers (Rita Silva) and her assistant, Angel.

One of the prisoners, Mae West (Leda Simonetti), goes to Warden Landers, hoping she can get a reduced sentence if she becomes her eyes and ears on the inside. Warden Landers has sex with Mae. Angel guards the prisoners; but one is able to slip out and contact Julia. Based on this clue, Julia knows the answer to her sister's death is found in that prison. So, she'll find a way to get imprisoned there. The new prisoners is brought before Prison Governor Trudeau (Cesare Di Vito). Julia is among the lineup. The Governor singles out the girl with short hair and brown skirt; named Cedana (? actress). Trudeau has his way with her. [The actress playing Cedena is either Helen Johansson or Lucia Rotolini; not sure which.] Cedana is tasked with taking care of Trudeau's deaf and blind wife (Adriana Giuffrè).

Julia meets her cellmate, Erica Thompson (Ajita Wilson). The prisoners take a shower. Julia works with Nora to find out if there's anyone here named Sarah. Nora says there aren't any. Ruth, a snitch, goes to the warden to tell her the girls have plans for a prison break. Erica and her bitches wait for the arrival of the snitch in the prison yard. They all pile on Ruth - killing her. Warden Landers continues her fling with Mae. In return for the promise of early freedom, Mae gives her sex and information about the planned escape.

Tess accidentally cuts herself in the kitchen. Julia is able to help her - which thereby gets her access to the medical ward. One the best things about this film is how the prisoners all dress like they're going to the mall. Julia gets acquainted with the prison doctor (Giorgio Cerioni). Once again, Mae does her thing with Warden Landers. The ladies continue to plot their escape - dressed in their finest apparel from Merry-Go-Round.

Back to Cedana and the prison governor. The doctor and Julia fall in love. Julia has a flashback about her sister. In the flashback, she talks to her about the dangerous relationship with Frank Cuomo.... which is insane because it should be abundantly clear to Julia that Frank killer her - no reason whatsoever to get herself locked up in prison to find this out. Pretty fucking obvious. One of the prisoners fakes an illness - this gives her access to the sick room, and thus can search for the missing Sarah. Sarah is indeed here - looking like death, being pumped full of drugs by the warden.

So, Julia is able to finally make contact with Sarah - and learn the most obvious thing in the world, that gangster Frank Cuomo killed her sister. Mae and Warden Landers. Here we go again. Warden Landers convinces the governor to allow the prison break to happen. That way, they can catch them in the act and punish them big time. (Sounds like a stupid idea to me.) The warden catches Julia with Sarah and tortures her. Governor Trudeau is once again raping Cedana. Mrs. Trudeau gets up out of her wheelchair and stabs the shit out her no-good husband.

The prisoners listen as it's announced that the governor is no longer with us. Warden Landers will now be acting as governor. The ladies have been plotting the escape this whole movie; now they finally set it into motion. They learn that Mae has been a snitch and she becomes the first casualty of the bust-out. Warden Landers and Erica have a standoff - ending with both of them dying. The doctor and Julia tell Sarah the good news. The nightmare is over. THE END

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