Femmes en cage

I've seen a handful of women in prison films, and one thing I thought I'd never see was a half decent one! Trust the director of the brilliant Massacre in Dinosaur Valley to come up with something more fun than the average women in prison flick! The film is not too different from the masses of trash directed by the likes of Jess Franco in the way that it's plotted, but Michele Massimo Tarantini forsakes overly graphic hardcore porn for a more story based approach, and that really does the film benefit as despite lacking what some may be watching for; Women in Fury is at least entertaining, and it's also the only women in prison flick that I'd consider watching again! Naturally, the plot focuses on a women's prison. The central character is Angela Duvall, a young woman wrongly sent to a Brazilian prison after supposedly murdering a drug dealer. She soon finds that there are lots of lesbians in jail in Brazil, and after being initiated into the prison by her fellow inmates and the guards, an opportunity to escape beckons, and Angela takes it...

As previously mentioned, this film does not feature as much sex and sleaze as many women in prison flicks, but that's not to say it doesn't feature any! The fact that it's not wall to wall sleaze really does do it benefit; the sex itself is graphic, but not overly graphic, and while many women in prison film grind to a halt as a result of too much graphic sex, this one always has the story to fall back on; which gives it a strong backbone. Aside from the sex and sleaze, there's also a fair amount of violence featured, which is nice and while this isn't as shocking as many genre films; it's still a brutal picture and I'm sure it has enough grit about it to please most fans of cult cinema. The women featured are mostly nice to look at and the lesbian sex scenes are well filmed. The way that the film changes from prison drama to a chase through the neighbouring jungle is good, and while overall I can't really profess this to be a brilliant film - I will say it's the best women in prison flick that I've seen, and it's the only one that I'd give high recommendations for.

Yep, that's right. No shame about it. What begins… True story… aye. Yes its one of those. Anyhow for a sub-genre that's pretty much rough around the edges and doesn't hold back on its draw-cards (sleaze, violence and sex). Michele Massimo Tarantini's Italian Women-in-Prison entry 'Women in Fury' (which was shot on location in Brazil) doesn't have that ultra-cheap cloud and rancid feeling, but shows a competently handled, well-paced, story focused (oh my and it's interesting!) and more often stylishly photographed exercise. That aside, it still doesn't cop out on the trashy essentials like cruel torture, cat-fights (there's a lot!), foul cussing, sexual domination, gratuitous nudity and some bloody violence. It's packed with plenty of cheap, raw and gritty thrills within its sweaty environment, but it's not drenched in unpleasantness. There's a little skill behind it all, although it's no masterpiece of its sub-genre, it still registers as one of its most entertaining. When it wasn't concentrating on the conventional aspects, it tags along with a doctor trying his best to get out Angela (the dashing girl who finds herself in prison with everyone having their eyes on her, after taking the fall for her brother) and then it turns into squabbling jungle adventure when a group of women prisoners scale the walls and escape. The script was better than I thought, but it had its cheesy moments and quips that I just couldn't take seriously. No kidding. The ending couldn't be anymore vapid. The music score is an overwrought and clunky mess, but never too distracting. Suzane Carvalho is capable in the lead role and truly is easy on the eyes. You can see why everyone wants a piece of this fresh meat. There are modest turns by Henri Pagnoncelli as the kind-hearted prison doctor and Leonardo Jose's corrupted head prison officer. The rest of the enthusiastic performances fit the buck. A solid WIP film.

This could be another film in a potential "Latin America WIP Film Festival"--other entries might include two other Brazilian WIP films "Amazon Jail" and "Bare Behind Bars" and the Argentinean film "Correcional de Mujeres" (strange that a continent that threw so many REAL innocent people in brutal prisons in this era wouldn't have made a lot more of these films, but then maybe that was why).

Although it's mostly Brazilian, this film was actually directed by an Italian director, Michele Massimo Tarantini (OK, so maybe not a GOOD Italian director). Tarantini is most famous for his laughable cannibal film "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley", but his best films were probably the sex comedies he made with actresses like Gloria Guida back in Italy, as he he had little grasp on the dramatic structure. Ironically though, this one of the better Latin America WIP films because it actually has a plot (well, kind of), and a clear protagonist played by the very sexy Brazilian actress Susan Carvahlo (also in "Dinosaur Valley"). Carvahlo here plays a frequently naked and abused "new fish" who is actually genuinely innocent. As a crusading reporter/prison reformer rushes to her rescue, she and her fellow inmates stage a daring break out. The end is pretty stupid and frankly not nearly as cinematically compelling as the lesbian rape or firehose scenes in the first fifteen minutes.

Carvahlo to my knowledge only appeared in a couple international releases, but she was pretty appealing. She went on to become a successful race car diver! (And while some may she disagree, she probably looks a lot better naked than Jimmy Johnson). I actually don't know that anybody (besides me) would be stupid enough to put together a "Latin American WIP Film Festival", but, if so, this would be the top entry.

* B.B.B. stands for Babes Behind Bars. Even though they all sound and look fascinating, these B.B.B. (or W.I.P = women in prison) movies usually are the most boring and incompetent exploitation moneymakers of all. All those movies directed by Jess Franco (Barbed Wired Dolls), Oswaldo De Oliveira (Amazon Jail) and God knows who else look promising enough but they ultimately fail in accomplishing anything at all, apart from showing tons of pointless and often even very unattractive naked female flesh. Michele Massimo Tarantini's – great name – "Women in Fury" is different from every possibly viewpoint and actually a surprisingly good film. It has a great story to tell, the acting performances are adequate for a change and even though the amounts of sex and nudity are plentiful, it always remains stylishly shot and within the boundaries of good taste. No endless sequences in which the camera zooms in on women masturbating or getting barbarically whipped for no reason other than sick sexual pleasure. Instead the script patiently takes the time to introduce the main characters and make the audience empathize with them. It involves nudity, of course, but it serves a purpose and at least the actresses here are highly desirable. The pivot figure is Angela Duvall, a silent girl doing prison time for a murder that was really committed by her cowardly brother. Very much against her own will, Angela causes amok within the prison's walls because everybody – guards as well as fellow inmates – want a taste of her beautiful body. The penitential doctor falls madly in love with Angela too and even convinces the authorities to release her, but in the meantime she and a handful of other girls already escaped into the Brazilian jungle where new types of terror await her. "Women in Fury" is an extremely violent film, with quite a lot of nasty massacres occurring every couple of minutes and legitimate tension nailing you on the edge of your seat. Suzane Carvalho is a beauty with talent and brains, and you're guaranteed to cheer for her. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best B.B.B. movie available on the market.

I've seen this one in many video stores -- It looks like a million others, but it's actually one of the better ones. What is it?? Ok, simply put -- innocent girl in Brazilian prison... What makes it worth seeing? Two words: Suzie Carvalho. If you like dark featured women (think Christy Turlington), then Suzie will make your day. A beautiful face on a body to die for. She gets put through all the cliches, almost, in this typical makes-no-sense-but-who-cares women-in-prison flick. This film certainly rivals "Reform School Girls" for best w-i-p flick. Suzie, BTW, is also splendidly naked in "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley", also at most video outlets.