Purely Joyful Movie!

Nice effects though.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Sweet young innocent Michelle (a winningly perky performance by gorgeous blonde Shari Shattuck) gets sent to a brutal women's penitentiary on a trumped-up bank robbery charge. While serving hard time in the joint Michelle runs afoul of both mean corrupt warden Diane (veteran B-movie actress Angel Tompkins in peak ruthless form) and ferocious predator Rita (essayed with lip-smacking wicked relish by the foxy Christina Whitaker). Writer/director Paul Nicholas tells the entertainingly trashy story at a brisk pace and maintains a perfectly seamy tone throughout. Moreover, Nicholas does an ace job of covering all the satisfyingly scuzzy babes-behind bars bases: A generous amount of tasty gratuitous female nudity, lesbianism, a group shower set piece (natch), a leering pervert racist rapist guard (a deliciously disgusting portrayal by Nick Benedict), a few fierce catfights, and the inevitable climactic riot. This movie further benefits from sound work by Lucinda Crosby as eager rookie guard Rhonda, Stacey Shaffer as friendly and spunky ex-junkie Amy, John Terlesky as Michelle's wormy sleazeball boyfriend Willy, Faith Minton as fearsome top con Sheila, and Aude Charles as tough black inmate ringleader Brenda. Hal Trussell's glossy cinematography provides an appropriately glittery sheen. Christopher L. Stone's syncopated score hits the funky pulsating spot. Recommended viewing for fans of this ever-worthwhile exploitation cinema sub-genre.

Writer / director Paul Nicholas, who'd previously done the Linda Blair classic "Chained Heat", returns to the Women In Prison genre for this diverting bag of cinematic trash. Although it doesn't offer anything that W.I.P. fans haven't seen before, it still goes through its paces adequately, offering gore, atmosphere and titillation in respectable doses. The supporting cast is largely nondescript, but there are a few performers that stand out, which I'll get to in a moment. The movie does have a fair bit of set-up; the main character doesn't get to the prison until 16 minutes of screen time have gone by. But once she's there, there's plenty of sordid melodrama to keep an exploitation fanatic amused.Lovely Shari Shattuck of 'The Young and the Restless' fame stars as Michelle, whose bank is held up by her no-count husband Willy (John Terlesky, "Chopping Mall"), who's met a ferocious femme fatale named Rita (Christina Whitaker) who has put him up to it. The robbery goes awry, and after all is said and done Rita falsely claims in court that Michelle was a willing participant, which gets Michelle sent to the slam for three years.You get what you pay for with "The Naked Cage". Lesbian encounters? Check. Shower scenes? Check. Repulsive male characters such as rapist guard Smiley (Nick Benedict)? Check. And of course there's the usual corrupt warden (B movie veteran Angel Tompkins, "The Teacher") who's always got something going on. The ladies in this thing are enjoyable to watch; Shattuck is appealing as the "good girl" heroine who definitely takes her lumps before this is over. Faith Minton has an undeniable presence as butch top con Sheila. Buffs will note the presence of Carole Ita White ('Laverne & Shirley'), who'd already appeared in "Hellhole", "Chained Heat", and "The Concrete Jungle". Larry Gelman ('The Bob Newhart Show', 'The Odd Couple', "Chatterbox") has a cameo as the prison doctor. But it's the intense Whitaker who dominates things with a campy portrayal of a vindictive and vicious character.All in all, if you're a devotee of this genre, you may not be blown away by "The Naked Cage" but you should have a pretty good time.Seven out of 10.

I love campy movies like this. The dialogue is a hoot, the scenes of women in jail are so preposterous but who cares? It's a cheap thrill to watch women slap, stab, pull hair and lez out. Even the warden (Angel Thompkins) is a hot babe who gets off being sadistic. In my opinion Faith Minton steals this picture as tough inmate who looks like she just came off of the pro-wrestling circuit. She has the best lines in the movie, my favorite being when she tells a muslim inmate "Nothing you sh#$heads do concerns me!" Sit back, watch and turn your brain off and you will have a good time. Yes, the language is quite foul but when there is this much unintended comedy it loses it shock value. Not the best of this genre (Chained Heat, Concrete Jungle) but close.

Standard fare about female criminals and a female penitentiary certainly doesn't have the best acting in the world and relies heavily on predictable material. Why bother?