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I don't think that any exploitation sub-genre has disappointed me as consistently as the 'women in prison' film; despite the massive potential for unbridled sleaze, extreme violence and all-out depravity, it seems that the majority of efforts (particularly those from Europe) offer very little for the discerning deviant other than endless unerotic lesbian trysts, shower scenes and unconvincing cat fights, all of which gets very tedious, very quickly.

Hell Penitentiary is no exception.

This derivative piece of garbage has Dr. Julia Rogers (Linda Jones) deliberately getting herself thrown in the slammer in order to find the only witness to her sister's murder. Once inside, Julia befriends influential prisoner Eureka Thompson (who has sex with her), gets herself a cushy job assisting the prison doctor (who also has sex with her), but arouses the suspicion of nasty dyke Warden Landers (who surprisingly doesn't have sex with her, preferring to torture her with a hot poker instead!). Eventually Julia locates the missing witness, who has been held drugged in secret room by Landers, but not before the despicable governor has repeatedly forced himself on an innocent inmate, the girls have taken plenty of showers, and the prisoners have rioted.

Directed on a shoestring with little imagination by Gianni Siragusa (from a script by SS Experiment Camp's director, Sergio Garrone) Hell Penitentiary is packed with soft-core lesbian sex and full-frontal female nudity from a motley selection of second rate skanks, which I have no doubt will prove to be a crushing bore to all but the most desperate of perverts. Likewise, the scenes of torture and violence are unlikely to impress, being amateurish and unconvincing in the extreme. Some amusement might be gleaned from the film's sheer crassness (the fact that all prisoners seem unable to button their blouses made me snigger), but the chances are that even the most avid WIP fans will find this one more than a little dull.

What can I add to previous reviews? Not much. Plenty of lesbian action in this soft-core porn flick. Probably considered shocking at the time, but pretty mild by today's standards. (The most shocking thing will probably be the unshaved armpits and the full bushes.) On the other hand, it delivers all the required WIP scenes. It would have been nice if they had been able to afford some good-looking women, but you can't have everything. At least you aren't seeing a lot of silicone.

Perhaps the most irritating aspect of the film is the music score, which is wildly inappropriate at times.

Favorite quote: "Please find out immediately who told the governor I was torturing (blank)."

Recommended only for those people who HAVE to see every WIP flick.

Anyone who has given this trash more than a 3, I really feel sorry for you. What's sad about this corrupt prison exploitation flick, which joins all those others, dubbed or not, was this vehicle, had quite a good plot, which if properly approached, wouldn't of come off as not a bad pic. 'But no', we're going for that same T and A, + lesbianism, and some ugly blood slashing pic. The acting is so unbelievably bad, and wooden, like those road posts you see in Sydney. Even some of the actor's movements, if reacting, in some scenes, aren't believable, and seem weird. Some of the actors hardly register any emotion. Hadn't they haven't been to an acting class? Sadly, there is a tragic moment for our heroine, infilltating this dirty stank prison, in a grand avengement. This is the redeeming feature, and I must say, I was truly heartbroken (satrical). AKA: fittingly known as Hell Penitentiary Great video cover though. Don't be deceived.

Wow. Just wow. What we have here, ladies and gentlemen is a true piece of subversive cinema. It may look like a film, it may smell like a film, but what it is, in essence, is a soft-core porno.

Forget the nonsense on the back of the box about the plot. Alright I'll brief you on it: a woman infiltrates a prison disguised as an inmate to find the only witness to her sister's murder. Yadda yadda yadda. Pure window dressing.

You can skip all the badly dubbed English and the terrible music.. just stick it on mute, close the curtains and hit fast forward to the nudie bits. And believe me, you'll never have long to wait between scenes. There's lesbianism, sado-masochism, intimately detailed showers.. and if you're really boring just straight-out sex.

It's just a shame so many of the women are ugly, but hey.. I guess the director couldn't afford Playboy's finest on his budget of 2p, a button and half a pack of Spearmint Polos, so that's okay. Just try to imagine them with the head of Angelina Jolie.

Oops, I've probably spent too long talking.. you probably want to get started!! I'll leave you to it, and get back to reviewing the real films!! Have fun!! 0/10

This is a mediocre outing into the WIP genre which tries to incorporate every cliché in the book- and then jumbles them together in a dull, inept and amateur way. Yes, you have a lesbian guard, shower scenes, cat fights and some mild abuse, but it is all too formulaic to be interesting. I love WIP flicks- but this just had me bored.

The prison seems to be a downmarket Italian language school, and the warders dress like hospital orderlies. Moderate nudity provided by Anjita Wilson and a couple of others. The violence is all a bit ham. Music is abysmal and leaves the whole film lame. If you are going to paint by numbers, then give it some edge- but this has all the edge of a kid's marble. For completest only.