Reviewed By: Sean Patrick Dolan
AKA Femmine infernali
Year: 1979
Director: Edoardo Mulargia
Cast: Antonio De Teffe, Ajita Wilson, Luciano Pigozzi, Christina Lai
Deep in the tropical rain forests of South America, there are women trapped in a
living hell- held in the crudest accommodations at a women's penitentiary, they
wear rags that barely cover their bodies, work long hours of forced labor
clearing the swampy forest for an unnamed purpose, and are fed nothing but snake
meat. They are all guilty of one crime or another, from prostitution to
murder, but there are few sadistic enough to call this justice. The guards
are free to whip them for the slightest infraction and rape them in the woods
should the mood strike them. Believe it or not, things get worse from
here.
The new Warden (Luciano Pigozzi) arrives shortly after one of the women attempts
an escape. The story is that she was eaten by a jaguar- the truth is that
the guards ran her down with a pack of dogs, then raped and killed her. In
any case, the Warden makes it clear that he is a strict disciplinarian, and that
anyone that disrupts the daily work or disturbs the order of prison life
will be swiftly and brutally punished. His methods include lashing women
down to a tree stump or hanging them suspended from the guard posts during the
heat of the day, as well as burying a woman shoulder-deep in the swampy earth
all night, leaving her to the mercy of poisonous snakes. He
immediately comes into conflict with the prison's physician, Doctor Farrell
(Antonio De Teffe). Farrell is disgusted by the abuses the guards and the
Warden inflict on the women, but he has been with the prison long enough to know
it is not going to change. He deals with the situation by drinking himself
into a stupor daily, remaining sober only long enough to treat the prisoners'
wounds. Encouraged by the new Warden's punishments and his viewpoint that
violence is an acceptable means to keep order, the prison guards become even
more cruel. The situation becomes intolerable after the woman buried in
the mud dies, and several of the more aggressive inmates, including Zaira (Ajita
Wilson), kill a female guard in revenge.
Dr. Farrell has developed a relationship with one of the women, Vivienne
(Christina Lai), after treating her following her rape by the guards. She
appeals to him on behalf of all the women, begging him to help them escape.
They are not afraid of being caught- to stay where they are is a fate worse than
death. Farrell comes up with a plan. Exploiting the Warden's phobia
of tropical diseases, he gives the prisoners a concoction that will make them
all sick. He then tells the Warden that the plague has broken out, and
that it is highly contagion. The Warden wants to have the women killed,
but Farrell convinces him instead to let him take the women to an old labor camp
several miles away to try to cure them. They are allowed to leave with
supplies and some guns and ammunition, and as soon as they are away from camp,
Farrell gives the women an antidote. Freedom will not be won easily,
however- they need to make it through ten miles of jungle hell before they reach
the river and safety. Besides the poisonous snakes, leeches, and
quicksand, they have to deal with the guards, who after discovering their plot,
are hot on the trial.
This is a true exploitation film, of the well tested and enduring "women in
prison' variety. The woman are dirty and sweaty, and their inadequate
clothing does not even cover their breasts as they saw logs and perform other
tasks. The two leaders of the guards, Martinez and Luis, treat the prison
as their personal playground. There are several graphic rape scenes, with
fully simulated sex. The Warden is an unflinching sadist who could have
walked straight out of any Nazi prison camp film. The women themselves are
hardened criminals, used to the hard work and mistreatment, and the usual coarse
language and cat fights you expect are present here. They are housed in
small cells, four women to a room, and of course the newest prisoner quickly
learns that she is going to be someone's bitch. Zaira and another woman,
Kate, fight throughout the film for alpha status in the cell, as well as for
possession of the new blood, the French prostitute Vivienne. Between the
rapes, lesbian sex, and communal showers, I don't think there are more than
fifteen minutes in this film that don't feature a fully nude woman.
This is a strong entry into the "women in prison" genre. It was
obviously shot on location, somewhere in South America, but all I could find out
was that it was a Italian-Spanish co-production. The same director,
Edoardo Mulargia, made another similar film, Orinoco prigioniere del sesso
(Orinoco-Sex Prison) which was itself reedited and released as Savage Island,
with Linda Blair as its nominal star. The acting here, though dubbed into
English, is first-rate, at least by exploitation film standards. De Torre
and Pigozzi both have impressive resumes of Italian films, including spaghetti
westerns and giallos- Pigozzi was even in Mario Bava's Hatchet For the Honeymoon
and Blood and Black Lace. Unfortunately, most of the other actors are
uncredited on the film, and IMDB is no help either. The prison guards
Martinez and Luis were both wonderful stock characters, and the female guard was
so shrill and obnoxious that it was extremely gratifying to watch her die. The
actress who portrayed Kate, the dominant cell mate who fought with Ajita Wilson
throughout the film was also a high point. Wilson herself, billed here as
"Transsexual Superstar Ajita Wilson" definitely stole the show.
She may have been born George Wilson, but she proves in this film, especially in
a full frontal nudity dance scene near the end of the flick, that she is all
woman now. Or was- she died in a car crash in the late eighties.
This film moves along swiftly for the first three-fourths of its duration, but
the escape through the jungle is drawn out too long and frankly, is somewhat
boring. For a better jungle adventure, try Martino's Mountain of the
Cannibal God, Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust, Lenzi's Cannibal Ferox, or even
Girolami's Zombi Holocaust.
I reviewed the 2000 Troma Entertainment DVD release. The picture and audio
transfer is clear; like I said the dubbed voices are not an annoyance this time
as they are fairly well done. There is actually no soundtrack to this
film. The DVD does have an eight chapter scene index, but is lacking in the
extras department. All of the extras here are Troma advertisements, but
there is one gem- a music video entitled "Soul of Troma".
Featuring a song I am sure is Motorhead, but which I couldn't put my finger on,
it is four or five minutes long and features some of the bloodiest scenes from
Troma B-flicks over the last 25 years. It is a truly stunning highlight
real, and helps to makes up for the overall deficiency. Plus, this is the
kind of film out on the fringe that is not likely to have directors or actors
dying to provide interviews and commentary, so it's forgivable.
Story: 4 Bitch Slaps
Extras: 2 Bitch Slaps
Picture/Audio: 4 Bitch Slaps
Overall DVD: 3 1/2 Bitch Slaps