A Masterpiece!

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

WOMEN'S PRISON MASSACRE is a typically slapdash and exploitational Italian women-in-prison movie from Bruno Mattei. It's posited as an entry in the BLACK EMANUELLE series, and Laura Gemser does appear, but only as one of an ensemble cast. After a slow first third full of the usual cliches and nudity, the plot kicks in for real with the arrival of Gabriele Tinti and his bunch of psycho criminals who soon take over the prison and hold a bunch of women hostage. Unpleasant sleaze is the order of the day here, with plenty of nudity at first before the film descends into some shocking and splattery violence towards the climax. It's derived from other, better films like THE DEER HUNTER and it doesn't have much charm, although Mattei ladles in the mayhem in a bid to keep his viewers entertained.

Women's Prison Massacre transcends the exploitation genre to become a genuinely good film in its own right. Although not for all tastes, those who appreciate this film would be well advised to seek it out.The film follows reporter Emanuelle (no, not that Emmanuelle)as she is imprisoned on trumped up charges. She finds herself trapped in a hell of violent inmates and corrupt guards and soon has to fight for survival. Things only get worse when a group of male death row inmates shows up.What separates Women's Prison Massacre from other WIP films is the extremely good filmmaking behind it. Bruno Mattei skillfully constructs a truly grim atmosphere, making excellent use of lighting and shadow, along with a superb soundtrack. Particularly noteworthy is the opening scene, which brings an artsy touch to this genre production. Run out and see it now!

This is really a tough movie to forget, and surprisingly easy to watch considering how trashy and low-tech it is. Basically, Mattei uses his same grimy super-low-budget look as he did in NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES and RATS: NIGHTS OF TERROR. However, in this film, much like it's predecessor CAGED WOMEN, this trashy look actually really helps it out, evoking some odd sort of fantastical feel to a usually mundane setting.The movie takes place in a women's penitentiary, but I honestly doubt any women's prison was ever in any way like it is presented. The convicts are almost all at least decent-looking and are a little too keen on fighting each other or having pseudo-lesbian exchanges, every-time showing off a little more than their panties for the camera. The one-up this film has over CAGED WOMEN is the fact that it actually has something resembling a plot as well as some pretty hard-edged violence. Four male prisoners (led by Gabriele Tinti, the only good actor of the group) take over the women's prison and proceed to terrorize the locals. The acting and music are a little less polished (read, pretty darn bad) but they actually really add to the atmosphere of the whole thing.I really enjoyed the quasi-utopic view of the four male prisoners basically having everything they want right at their fingertips (much like how the four survivors in DAWN OF THE DEAD had everything they wanted within an abandoned shopping mall). All four of the men are sick, depraved perverts and are in the most condusive environment possible for their sort of behavior. Just imagine what happens when you put sex-starved male convicts together with sex-starved female convicts? (A pretty good idea for a movie!) It's also funny to see a lot of fairly classy actors basically making fools of themselves. Lorraine De Selle looks extremely uncomfortable, as does Carlo De Mejo in his last major role.My only big complaint is that the good characters get killed off way too quickly and stupidly. The goofy guy who keeps the razor blade in his teeth seems to get the most horrible death imaginable, even though he was the most likable of the four male convicts, go figure. The ending is a little hard to decipher as well. Hats off to Mattei though, as his editing has never really looked better. There's also some surprisingly stylish sequences near the beginning and ending of the film, notably the oddly-lit Theater sequence and the flashback montage, which is aided greatly by Luigi Ceccarelli's simplistic synthesizer music. It's a pretty good film overall, surprisingly, if one takes into account the budget (or lack there-of) involved.

Every once in a while there are films that come along and enlighten us. For some it was ET for others it was Gone With the Wind and for me it was Women's Prison Massacre! I Felt moved just by picking up the box at the video store. This movie has everything sleaze, torture, sex, rape, throat ripping, violence, forced suicide, more sleaze, more sex, more torture, and more bullet hits then Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs put together. When the credits rolled tears fell from my eyes. Bravo! Bravo! I love this movie!!