Folli piaceri delle porno prigioniere

Caged Women (1980)

*** (out of 4)

A group of women are having fun and working at their local whorehouse when the police storm the building and arrest them all. They are sent to a prison located on an island cut off from the rest of the world and it doesn't take long for them to fall victim to the evil warden (Karine Gambier) and her rapist guards.

Also known under its original title, GEFANGENE FRAUEN and ISLAND WOMEN, this film came pretty late in the whole WIP (women-in-prison) movement. I've often said that if you've seen on WIP movie then you've seen them all. The only difference in them is the level of cruelty that they will go for. To me Jess Franco's BARBED WIRE DOLLS is the best of the lot but CAGED WOMEN deserves a lot of credit as well.

The film was written and directed by Erwin C. Dietrich, the long time producer for several Franco classics including BARBED WIRE DOLLS. He certainly knew what he wanted to deliver and this here is pretty much a remake of that film. With that being said, this movie is without question one of the most gratuitous movies in the genre. I say that because the sleaze factor is pretty much off the charts and especially when it comes to the sexuality and nudity.

The opening twelve-minutes or so is pretty much just a showcase for the various women. We see all of the ladies strip down, masturbate and do various other sexual things that certainly cross the line of what you'd see on Cinemax. It's like the director is teasing us with all of the beautiful women he has lined up and it just grows even sleazier once we hit the prison. I also give the director credit because there's not a single ugly woman to be found here as they're all extremely attractive and constantly naked.

Gambier, another Franco vet, is good in her role as the warden and you've also got Eric Falk playing a sadistic guard. The always stunning Brigitte Lahaie plays one of the prisoners and as I said there are countless other beautiful women in the cast. Storywise there's nothing original here and there's certainly no great direction or anything else but the film was meant to be pure trash and exploitation and on that level it works really well.