Nightmare - Im Lager der gequälten Frauen

One of those movies they used to show late at night or on Saturday afternoons on tv in the 80's. Scarred my little mind, with scenes of violence, rape, and racism. Like your worst nightmare come true. I refused to get out of the car in Georgia when driving to Florida every year after seeing this one.

Nightmare in Badham County is a 'women in prison' film, but I wouldn't recommend going into it expecting something along the same lines as the sleazy Jess Franco women in prison films as you're liable to be disappointed. That being said, this is still an excellent seventies made for TV movie and while it may be lacking in the sleaze factor; it makes up for that in other areas and John Llewellyn Moxey's film is still well worth a look. Naturally, considering that the film is a TV movie; it's not too violent, but influence was still obviously taken from the 'hicksploitation' genre and we focus on a small town where the legal system doesn't exactly adhere to the national standard. Two young college girls are driving through Badham County when they get a flat tire. After finding someone to help them, they run across the local sheriff and come a cropper when he doesn't take too kindly to them brushing off his advances and making a fool out of him. He then sets up his revenge; by having the girls thrown in a backwater prison for a minor offence.

This film will no doubt get plaudits for the acting, and it's certainly above average considering the type of film. Deborah Raffin and Lynne Moody give good turns in the lead roles, and really do manage to draw you into their characters. Lynne Moody is the standout for me for giving the more realistic performance; Deborah Raffin overacts to quite a large and noticeable extent on several occasions. The film draws in themes of the racial divide as the prison at the centre of the film separates the blacks from the whites. This is probably the most shocking element considering the lack of sleaze. The prison itself doesn't seem as imposing as some of the prisons shown in other films, and it actually never seemed all that difficult to escape from. However, John Llewellyn Moxey creates a great atmosphere of hopelessness that stems from the inmates and surrounds the central location, which ensures the film has the right feel to it. It all boils down to a well worked and memorable ending and while this film may not be one of the best in its field; it's very good and well worth seeing!

Reminiscent of the Roger Corman cycle of "babes-behind-bars" flicks from the late '60s and early '70s, this is an enjoyable little exploitation item. Maybe some think it has pretensions to mask as "social commentary," but don't believe it, and just enjoy it for what it is--a made-for-TV version of those great Corman Filipino "prison-chicks" flicks. Apparently the video version is a lot more explicit than the TV version, but I haven't seen that one yet, so I can't say. Deborah Raffin and Lynne Moody are the two poor souls who get shanghaied into a Southern hellhole, and while Raffin is her usual bland, whitebread self, Moody steals the show from her. She's a much better actress than Raffin, is (IMHO) prettier and far sexier, and has a fresh, approachable, open appeal that Raffin lacks. Robert Reed does a nice turn as the corrupt prison superintendent, and it's fun to watch Tina Louise playing the sadistic prison matron--and Lana Wood is a blast as a lesbian (ahh, where would women-in-prison movies be without them?) prison guard.

All in all, it's a fun watch if you don't take it too seriously--or seriously at all. Check it out.

Seriously good women-in-chains exploitation flick that was an ABC Movie of the Week. Deb Raffin and Lynne Moody star as coeds on summer break who pick the wrong backwoods town to have car trouble in. The town is run by a demented sheriff (Chuck Connors, much more effective as a baddie here than he was in "Tourist Trap"). When the girls spurn his advances, he jails them and rapes Moody, and then arranges to have them shipped off to the local prison farm. There, they are abused by the sadistic guards (among them Tina Louise) and brutal warden (Robert Reed). They soon discover not everyone gets out of the place alive, either. Della Reese plays one of their fellow inmates. The film is harrowing and believable, even if all the guards are shapely if not beautiful women. Guards in this type of film tend to come in all shapes and sizes, the better to intimidate and beat up on the inmates. The film is all the more frightening because this stuff happens in real life, or used to. Some decent nudity and whipping and cruelty, obviously added to the video release and for the overseas market.

UCLA coeds Cathy Phillips (Deborah Raffin) and Diane Emery (Lynne Moody) are driving around the country before the start of school. They get a flat tire. A black man is willing to help them but that gets the ire of Sheriff Danen (Chuck Connors). The Sheriff arrests the girls for trespassing and rapes Diane in jail. When Diane tries to raise the issue, the Judge adds prostitution to the charges and sends the girls to the prison farm in Badham County. The Judge turns out to be the Sheriff's cousin. The prison is a corrupt racist excuse to provide slave labor for the well-connected. It's run by Dancer (Robert Reed) and his sadistic prisoners-turned-guards.

I can't believe that this was a TV movie. Obviously, the nudity would be cut but it's still a brutal viewing experience. This is a mix of 70's sexploitation and social justice. Parts of this are very hard to watch. It is grindhouse in its nature. The acting ranges from solid professional to amateurish. Sometimes, the sexploitation detracts from the seriousness of the work.