State Prison

If you made a genre flick in the late 80s, you basically had a 50/50 chance it would either be set underwater or in a prison (sadly, we never got an underwater prison flick). Framed for murder by mafia boss Moretti (Anthony Franciosa), Derek Keillor (Dennis Cole) ends up on death row, right alongside the mob boss' brother Frankie (Frank Sarcinello Jr.). But this is the least of Derek's problems as rogue government agent (and mob stoolie) Col. Burgess (John Saxon, who also directs) is using the prison as a testing ground for a new supervirus. This is the only flick Saxon directed during his storied career. For a guy who has worked with tons of directors, it appears the only ones he picked up any tips from were the cheap-o Italian ones. Sure, it is low budget, but that can't excuse the stilted staging, shooting gaffes, or clumsy exposition in the first 15 minutes. To his credit, Saxon did make it slightly gory and he works in a hilarious nude scene (our lead falls asleep during a prison riot only to fantasize about a female scientist). Cole, who looks like a more rugged Jan-Michael Vincent, is decent as the stoic lead and Franciosa - sporting a really bad rug - gives it his all as the cliché mob boss. The end takes place at Marty McKee's favorite location, Bronson Canyon. Retromedia released this on DVD as ZOMBIE DEATH HOUSE.

John Saxon. Why else wouldn't you watch it? Not only does he star, but also directs. "Zombie Death House" was a modest horror b-grade cheapie that I wanted to like more than I actually did. Sure it was amusing and rather oddball, but the threadbare execution doesn't gel with its cartoonish ideas and mangled plot involving many genres / themes. It starts off like a systematic crime joint (interesting montage in the opening credits), finds itself turning into a prison yarn and then hell breaks loose as a genetic virus (from an experimental drug) turns inmates into unstoppable zombies while innocent people find themselves under siege in the prison.

Sounds crazy as it throws in everything but the kitchen sink, however in the end it's rather monotone in its developments and a lack of directorial flair (although Saxon enjoyed using slow-motion) really does show it up. Little atmosphere or tension arises from the repetitive situations and the editing is clunky, but still there's a certain raw, brutal edge to it and some moments of pulsating graphic make-up FX offers creatively icky surprises. It's tacky and primitive, but Saxon does a decent job making it tight even though its slow to get going and with the dreary prison surroundings a suffocating strangle hold is constructed. Where it actually surprised though was the performances; mainly those playing the bad guys; John Saxon, Tony Franciosa and Howard George as the head guard. Saxon gives a typical conniving turn as some sort of ice-cold patriotic CIA agent who likes to preach, but it's Franciosa who's the life of the party as a mafia gangster. The rest are acceptable even with Dennis Cole's wooden persona in the lead and the ravishing Tane McClure looking professional. Also appearing is Alex Courtney, Michael Pataki and Ron O'Neal.

Formable, junky low-grade entertainment.

"Don't touch my twinkies"!

After mob boss Vic Moretti (late great Anthony Franciosa) kills his lady whom has been cheating on him with Derek, their new chauffeur/ Vietnam vet, and blames it on the poor guy, Derek finds himself in jail where he has to contend with a corrupt warden, Vic's prisoner brother who runs the jail, and, oh yeah illegal experiments conducted by a shady CIA agent (great genre-mainstay and first time director John Saxon) to turn various prisoners into super-human invincible zombies. Of course things get out of hand and it's up to Derek, and the rest of the unchanged prisoners, to save the day after the infected ones take the jail over.

John Saxon is a great talented actor & as a director Saxon is a... great talented actor. To say this movie (John's sole directorial outing to date) lacks a certain visual flair would be a bit of an understatement. However, the film isn't totally without merit. The dialog, while idiotic, is just bad enough to be humorous sometimes. Sadly, this isn't really enough for the movie to coast by on that alone and it takes forever for the film to even start coming into it's own (which is fairly late in the movie). As such, the most I can recommend this film is to say that if you're a fan of Saxon (which I indeed am), it's worth one watch, just go in with low expectations and you should be fine.

Eye Candy: Dana Lis Mason and Tane McClure get topless

My Grade: D+

Quite honestly, this has to be one of the worst films I have ever put myself through. I didn't even make it through the halfway mark, and that's saying something, considering I have watched some pretty dreadful films. I don't think the filmmakers even knew what kind of film they wanted to make. A mobster drama, or a horror film. It plays as both. The former taking up a good third of the film. So, my advice... avoid it unless you want to give up and hour and a half of your life, that you will never get back. Granted, John Saxon is a wonderful actor. But his talent as a director leaves a lot to be desired. Oh, and one more thing, the $1000 Shock Insurance Certificate that was included with the DVD, should be used to provide the first person who dies of boredom, not shock while viewing this awful film.

This film essentially begins with a Vietnam veteran named "Derek Keillor" (Dennis Cole) having been discharged from the Army and accepting a job working as a chauffeur to a mob boss by the name of "Vic Moretti" (Anthony Franciosa). Trouble begins, however, when Vic discovers that his mistress "Genelle Davis" (Dana Lis Mason) is having an affair with Derek. To remedy the situation, Vic kills Genelle and then frames Derek for the murder. To make matters even worse, it just so happens that Vic's brother "Franco Moretti" (Michael Pataki) is also a prisoner in the same facility and pretty much controls everything and everybody inside--and he is quite anxious to get his hands on Derek. But what he doesn't count on is the fact that a federal agent named "Colonel Gordon Burgess" (John Saxon) has decided to use some of the prisoners in that same facility as guinea pigs for a dangerous new drug which results in a contagious disease that begins to turn almost everyone inside the prison into raging zombies. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that the film started out well enough but then low-budget aspects soon became much too apparent, and things went downhill from there. Admittedly, having two attractive actresses like Dana Lis Mason and Tane McClure (as "Tanya Kerrington") certainly didn't hurt matters. Even so, it just wasn't enough for me to rate this film any higher than I have. Slightly below average.