Hellhole

Objectively speaking, this B flick is a mess, with a sometimes incoherent screenplay by Aaron Butler. Judy Landers stars as Susan, a young woman who's forced to witness her mother being killed by gleeful thug "Silk" (a scenery chewing Ray Sharkey). While fleeing him, she has a bad fall, gets amnesia, and ends up confined to a mental institution for young women. And it just so happens that the mad doctor in charge, Fletcher (Mary Woronov), is up to no good, performing insidious lobotomy type experiments.

"Hellhole" is not without the charms common to such exercises in pure sleaze. This exploitation-melodrama-horror film comes complete with all of the girl ogling / female nudity that a trash lover could want. There's even a pointless mud bath sequence that one must assume was in there because the producers demanded it. There is some decent atmosphere, but there is practically no gore to speak of. Some viewers will have to prepare themselves for the fact that some story elements are introduced and then pretty much dropped: the "papers" that the bad guys controlling Silk want so badly come off as a MacGuffin.

Making it all worth watching is a B movie cast to die for. Woronov gives easily the best performance in this thing, camping it up in her turn as the female villain. Sharkey is blatantly comical and offbeat as the psycho goon. She may be very sexy, but the less said about Landers' acting, the better. Also turning up are Marjoe Gortner, Richard Cox, Edy Williams, Robert Z'Dar (in his first film), Cliff Emmich, Lynn Borden, Dyanne Thorne, and Carole White. Cox is the nominal hero, a nice guy orderly who sympathizes with Susans' plight. Z'dar is amusing as a sadistic guard. Thornes' cameo as an inmate who thinks she's an actress is a highlight.

Executive produced by A.I.P. legend Samuel Z. Arkoff, and co-produced by his son Lou.

Six out of 10.

This somewhat entertaining garbage stars Judy Landers as Susan, a young girl who witnesses her mother's vicious strangling. Following this, she comes down with amnesia(of course)and is sent to a mental sanitarium for women(of course) headed by the mad Dr. Fletcher(played with loads of much-needed camp by cult icon Mary Woronov),who likes to perform unorthodox drug -induced lobotomies on some of the more out-of-control inmates. There is plenty of stuff in this flick to please any die-hard camp or exploitation fan: pointless lesbian scenes, gratuitous shower scenes & nudity, camp dialogue , horrid performances(with the notable exception of Woronov), & a cast that also includes Marjoe Gortner, Dyanne Thorne(of "Ilsa" fame), Ray Sharkey, & Terry Moore. All in all, a classic midnight movie.

With a seasoned cast of b-movie veterans like Judy Landers, Mary Woronov, Marjoe Gotner, and Ray Sharkey, Hellhole proves to be more than your average exploitation flick. This cast is clearly having a ball playing such a ridiculous scenes and inhabiting these wacky characters that it helps some of the film's flaws go down a bit easier.

Hellhole is best enjoyed if you turn off your brain and just go along with the flow. Why is there a mud bath in a mental hospital? Why is every woman in this movie a lesbian? Do women really shower like that? Why does the lead character disappear for large chunks of the run time? So many questions and very few answers, but if you just go along for the ride, you'll still have a good time.

This is one of the best chick flicks out there. No other film captures the essence of love, drama, and the feminine mystique as hellhole. The drama unfolds in a insane ward of a prison. The lovely ladies light up the screen in romp after romp. The wonderful Dr. Fletcher gives a command performance of a lifetime. This film has to be seen to be believed. Drop everything you are doing this very minute and rent or purchase this film.

There is a lot of nudity in this film. There is a mud bath and a girl on girl fight in the asylum showers. As far as the horror goes, the lobotomized victims do act like zombies. The leather and studs killer, named "Silk" leaves something to be desired. After a slow start the film picks up the pace only to have a drawn out ending where far too many characters need to be killed off. Some familiar B-movie stars on this not very common tape. I did not care for the ugly 80's make-up that the main character always wears, even too bed. Still, there is no real reason to pick at the plot details in this kind of film. At least it does not try to be too socially conscious.