You won't be disappointed!

An Exercise In Nonsense

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Prison (1987)*** (out of 4)A rundown prison is about to re-open after twenty-years as Warden Sharpe (Lane Smith) plans to use the 300 new inmates to clean the place up and get it into working shape. One of the inmates (Viggo Mortensen) helps break down a sealed execution room, which unleashes the spirit of a previously killed convict and soon strange murders are happening throughout the prison.PRISON is a film I skipped for over two decades because I thought the story just sounded downright stupid. There's certainly egg on my face because while the story is lacking and there are some major flaws here and there, for the most part this is a pretty well-made film that manages to have some very good performance and a terrific atmosphere. A lot of credit has to go to director Renny Harlin who made this just before A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 and three years before breaking into the mainstream with DIE HARD 2.What works so well with this movie is the atmosphere created by the director. The rundown prison makes for a wonderful setting and I thought the entire thing had a rather authentic feel. Just watching the film you could really feel yourself inside these prison walls thanks in large part to the atmosphere, which is perfectly captured by some very good cinematography. The cinematography also works extremely well during the murder scenes where all sorts of crazy stuff is usually happening. The death sequences here are original to say the least, although they're certainly a lot different than the type horror fans were wanting to see during this period.Speaking of which, it's easy to see why PRISON didn't get too much love when it was originally released. Released during the era of slashers, I'm not sure how many people wanted to see a haunted prison movie and especially one that didn't feature that many gory deaths. What death scenes are here are quite unique but I'm sure most people were wanting Jason and Freddy. Not some invisible killer. As much as I enjoyed the majority of the film, there are still some problems including the story that really doesn't add up to much. Another problem is that the 102-minute running time starts to drag a bit towards the end.Another good thing working for the film are its performances with Smith being extremely good in his role as the warden. I thought he did a very good job and delivered an intense performance, which is going to remind many of the one Tommy Lee Jones gave in NATURAL BORN KILLERS several years later. Mortensen also does a very good job leading the film and it's easy to see even here that he was destined to become a strong actor. Chelsea Field is good in the role of a social worker and supporting players Tom Everett, Ivan Kane and Lincoln Kilpatrick also turn in good work.PRISON is quite original when you think about it, although there are some flaws here that keep it from being much better. People who overlooked the film back in the day certainly deserve to give it a shot.

I thought I had already written a review of Prison, but I guess not.Tonight I'm rewatching it after reviewing Lane Smith's film history.This one is overlooked completely on the Wikipedia bio of Smith. There isn't even a picture of him.I see it didn't make much money. That seems to frequently figure in to a film's "popularity", I'm afraid.Viggo Mortensen was little know when he starred in this gem.The special effects are especially good. They came up with some extremely creative ways of doing people in.Smith plays the vicious warden especially well.I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Some of the most tame prisoners ever seen on film are transferred to a prison haunted by an executed man years earlier. Was the evil warden involved? Uh, yes. A young Viggo Mortensen, showing none of the talent he showcased in his later work, is some sort of hotshot prisoner. A whole lot of nothing happens, except lots of blue gels over movie lights and added smoke to make shafts of light. It's a boring and lame forgotten 80s horror entry that should stay forgotten. Doesn't even deliver requisite gore and shocks. A flatline of a movie that takes its silly premise deadly serious. You'll be hard pressed to remember anything that happened except for lots of blue.

Prison is a pretty decent cult horror from the 80's, starring a young Viggo Mortensen as the protagonist- Burke. It basically takes the haunted house concept and re-orients it into a prison setting. Making it a haunted prison film.The film tells the story about a group of prisoners who are being transferred to a dilapidated old prison which has been put back in operation to deal with Wyoming's overcrowded prison population. The whole process is being overseen by a prison warden named Sharpe- who has a personal history with this old prison.It turns out that he had been involved with the murder of one inmate, and the framing of another. The framee would later be unjustly put to death for the crime the murder Sharpe was responsible for- essentially making him responsible for both killings.A couple of the prisoners are ordered to break down a wall- to access the old execution chamber- but in doing so, they accidentally release the angry and powerful malevolent spirit that had been sealed inside.At first, the spirit manifests itself as a bright light, while taking the form of what seems to be a charged cloud of electromagnetic energy. Either way, it starts to torment the prisoners and staff.The kills in this film are both creative, disturbing and all around awesome.It all kicks off when one of the prisoners is cooked alive within a solitary confinement cell. Later, while trying to escape, another prisoner finds himself trapped between a number of protruding pipes, which eventually end up impaling him.After Mortensen's elderly black cellmate pulls a gun on the warden, he gets himself shot in the foot. This incident marks the moment that things take a turn toward the insane...as the spirit starts to help the trapped inmates, and target the prison guards- electrocuting most of them in the process.The best kill in the film occurs when the particularly douchey prison guard is targeted by the spirit, who proceeds to wrap him to death with barbed wire.Meanwhile, a woman, who was tasked with overseeing the well-being of the prisoners during the transfer, starts to investigate the weird goings on. It seems like the spirit is trying to send her a particular message.After a bit of digging, she discovers that the old black guy had been killed by the warden, while Burke (or someone who looks exactly like him) was put to death for the crime.This implies that the two men have been reincarnated so that they could fulfill their unfinished business with the Warden.When an animist prisoner tries to evoke the evil spirit- with hopes of battling and defeating it- he unwittingly unleashes the beast. This failed attempt renders him consumed by the bright light, which kills him. The bright light then moves through the prison cells, but instead of killing the prisoners...it kills the guards and frees the men.However, no one is safe from the wrath of this evil force- not even the prisoners. The ones who attempt to escape end up dead.This does, however, provide an oppourtunity for Burke to save his injured cellmate and ensure the Warden gets his just desserts.As the three make their way to escape, they find themselves in the sights of the evil force (which has now commandeered a LMG). Just as they are about to escape (with help from the woman, who has returned to the prison at the behest of the ghost), a giant demon-in-an-electric chair bursts out of the ground and takes care of the Warden once and for all.This film is by no means perfect- it's full of flaws. And I found certain elements to be rather confusing: like whether Burke and his elderly black cellmate were actually "back from the dead"; what their relationship with the evil entity was (if any); and why the evil spirit was targeting the inmates. But the coolness of the kills more than compensates for this.In the end, while the whole thing is flawed, there's enough going on make it an intriguing (if obvious) take on the haunted building sub-element of the ghost film genre. The special effects are great, and there are a bunch of creatively entertaining kills. Aforementioned flaws aside, this is still a great horror to watch for the Halloween season.6 out 10