Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Michael_Elliott Savage Island (1985) ** (out of 4)An escaped convict (Linda Blair) who was tortured manages to find the man (Leon Askin) who ran the operation. She then holds him at gunpoint while she explains the ordeal that she had to go through. This butcher job from Charles Band and Empire Pictures is actually two EuroTrash films, ESCAPE FROM HELL and HOTEL PARADISE, which were originally shot back-to-back with the same cast. Those two films are edited down in one 79-minute movie, which features newly shot stuff with Blair at the start and end. Why Band decided to shoot the new scenes is anyone's guess but he must have thought Blair on the poster would get more ticket sales. Overall this film is hard to fully judge because on one hand you're basically watching a chopped down version of ESCAPE FROM HELL and why do that when the full thing is available? You might as well watch that and if you must see the new scenes with Blair you can just fast forward through everything else here. As far as the new footage goes, it's all done pretty cheaply and doesn't feature anything that you must see. As for the two films that are edited into this, they both seem a lot better as there's all sorts of nudity, sex and of course silly violence. Ajita Wilson plays the lead prisoner who starts up a fight as the women are being killed and beaten in order to dig up diamonds for their evil owner. As for SAVAGE ISLAND, it's an ultra cheap film but with all the naughtiness going on, it's worth watching for exploitation fans.

gavin6942 Women who have been captured and sold as slave labor to a South American emerald mine hatch a plan for revolution and revenge.What this film consists of is footage from "Escape from Hell" (1980) and "Hotel Paradise" (also 1980) spliced together with a new wraparound featuring Linda Blair. The new wraparound is directed by Nicholas Beardsley... but who is Nicholas Beardsley?Of course, the new version makes no sense because the characters do not match up. The fact it is even comprehensible at all is something of a miracle. (Apparently Charles Band had a hand in creating this, but I am not sure the details on that.)The two films this came from were both directed by Edoardo Mulargia ("Don't Wait, Django... Shoot!") and written by Sergio Chiusi ("SS Experiment Love Camp"), so if any credit is deserved, it should go to them. But why not just watch their real films?Sadly, the quality is terrible (even on the Shout Factory release) and I suspect there is not much that can be done about that because the footage clearly did not come from original negatives.

Woodyanders A group of women are incarcerated at a brutal prison farm located on a remote island where they are forced to work as slave labor for a South American mining operation. Assisted by a band of jewel thieves, the much mistreated ladies decide to fight back against their cruel captors. This decidedly grim and unpleasant entry in the ever-popular chicks-in-chains exploitation sub-genre certainly covers all the essential seedy bases: Plentiful gratuitous female nudity, a group shower sequence (of course), ferocious catfights, scummy rapist guards, and the unavoidable climactic exciting revolt and subsequent break out. The harsh downbeat tone, an unremittingly sordid atmosphere, the complete dearth of campy humor, and a marked emphasis on sadism all give this perfectly putrid pip an extra foul and unnerving edge. This flick further benefits from a solid cast of familiar European exploitation cinema faces, with especially sturdy contributions from Anthony Steffen as the gallant leader of the jewel thieves, Cristina Lay and Ajita Wilson as a couple of tough and determined inmates, Luciano Rossi as a vicious slimeball, and Luciano Pigozzi as the supremely evil and callous warden. Moreover, it's always a hoot to see Linda Blair act tough while brandishing an Uzi and spitting out a few vile expletives. Leon Askin positively oozes as slimy crime kingpin Luker. Penn Jillette pops up in a fleeting bit role as an ill-fated security guard. The grubby cinematography provides an appropriately washed-out look. The droning redundant synthesizer score by Mark Ryder and Phil Davies likewise possesses a certain cheesy charm. Good scroungy fun.

dbborroughs Patchwork women in prison film was made from combining two Euro shockers with some new unrelated footage. The new footage has Linda Blair (who shoots security guard Penn Jillette in an blink and you'll miss it role) going to confront the man who runs a mine in the jungles of South America where women are abused and forced to dig for gems. Blair says she was one of the girls in the camp and once we get the confrontation the film flashes back to a group of women going to the island and being abused.This is an okay film with some stand out moments. Its very much of its type with all sorts of abuse heaped upon women who eventually revolt and then make a made dash into the jungle, however there are a few moments where the film creates some genuine tension and creepiness that lift it a bit above the typical voyeuristic level that these films normally operate on. Of course its not high enough to make this something you'd want to watch with your mom (unless she liked these sort of films) but if you're in a mood for this sort of thing you could do worse.