Violenza in un carcere femminile

The reporter Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) is on an undercover mission in a prison. If you ever watched any of the women-in-prison movies of the 1980s, you know: prisoners are not treated kindly there. However, "Violenza..." is a little bit superior to most of this genre insofar as it is not only into shower scenes. It's a tough, dark, fast moving flick with an amazing Laura Gemser and her husband Gabriele Tinti as a doctor who helps her to escape. The slowly evolving love interest between the doctor and Emanuelle is well scripted. Not for the fainthearted, however, is a scene where Emanuelle is locked up in a dark cell with a bunch of rats attacking her. Two years later, director Bruno Mattei went on to shoot "Rats - Notte di Terrore" with many more rats - a kind of unhealthy fascination, if you ask me. Laura Gemser and Gabriele Tinti continued with another prison movie "I Violenti" which is a sequel (not as good as the first film) to "Violenza..." although Tinti plays a different character.

I enjoyed this way too much considering who was responsible for it (the lamentable team of Fragrasso and Mattei). It's certainly a superior WIP flick- plenty of funny stuff, camp dialogue, ludicrous stereotypes and sleazy exploitation. The production is surprisingly polished though, and actually manages to maintain a plausible narrative throughout, which is quite an achievement in the circumstances!

Although Gemser appears as "Emanuelle", the character is considerably toned-down from her previous outings. In fact, she only has consensual sex once in the whole film! The "Emanuelle" thing seems to be more a commercial, tacked-on after-thought than an indication of what this film is actually going to be like.

Anyway, it's fun, check it out.

This WIP movie delivers all the goods in an almost plausible story. Laura Gemser, reprising her role as Emanuelle, is incarcerated in a sleazy women's prison where the warden is corrupt, the guards get excited by torturing prisoners, and the inmates use one another as pleasure toys.

Although intended for mature audiences only, this is a film that delivers the goods in this genre without trying to hold back; even the characters are interesting and developed.

Bruno Mattei's "Violence in a Women's Prison" is an enjoyable exploitation film.Laura Gemser plays a reporter named Emanuelle,who is going under cover to investigate reports of brutality and abuse of the inmates.She is exposed to beatings,forced sexual encounters,being chewed on by rats etc.The film has plenty of nudity and violence,but there is not enough sleazy exploitation for my liking.Mattei's obscure "Nerone e Poppea"(1983)is certainly more nasty and gore laden.Still the cast is pretty familiar for fans of Italian horror with Laura Gemser,Gabriele Tinti,Lorraine de Selle,Carlo de Mejo and Franca Stoppi to boost.So if you like WIP movies you can't go wrong with this one.7 out of 10.

Violence in a Women's Prison (1982)

** (out of 4)

Infamous Italian director Bruno Mattai takes a stab at the WIP (Women in Prison) genre as well as makes another entry in the famous Black Emmanuelle series. Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) goes undercover in a prison to see if it's true about the sadistic warden who likes to beat, torture and rape the women prisoners. If you've seen one WIP film then you've pretty much seen this one since the director doesn't try to do anything new or original here. You've got the countless lesbian scenes and constant nudity but this here grows old after a while. There's really not any shock value and the violence is rather low and contained to one scene where rats attack Gemser. Okay film but there are better WIP movies out there.