Manicomio diabólico

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.

Judy Landers plays Susan. She jumps out of the shower, puts a pink aerobics outfit on, walks downstairs to seeing her mother strangled to death by Ray Sharkey(playing a killer named Silk). She runs out of house and into a construction site, meets up with Sharkey and falls. The fall doesn't kill her but gives her amnesia, so with some strings pulled by the man behind Silk's deeds - Susan is put into a sanatorium till she recovers her memory. Unfortunately for Susan, she is admitted to a mental institution run by Dr. Fletcher - the sultry Mary Woronov - who enjoys being sado-masochistic and experimenting on patients in a basement called Hellhole. The hospital is like no other. Most of the wards are playboy playmate caliber-looking girls. All of them disrobe quite freely. In fact this film has a lot of nudity in it with a cat-fight in the showers and a mud bath as standouts...anyway,...ah the mind wanders...Susan is being stalked by the man that killed her mother all the while learning about the atrocities committed by Dr. Fletcher. I found this film somewhat interesting for a number of reasons. It is outwardly a sleazy picture in many ways. It has a spin on the women-in-chains motif. Nudity and shock effects override storyline through much of it. The acting ranges from weird and bizarre(Sharkey) to competent(Richard Cox as the hero) to camp(Mary Woronov doing her best Dyanne Thorne impersonation) to less than credible(Judy Landers((but hey who cares right?))). There are a number of cool cameos by genre notables from the past. Terry Moore from Mighty Joe Young fame has a nice role, Marjoe Gortner has an intriguing yet thin role as a doctor in league with Woronov, and the aforementioned Dyanne Thorne has a brief cameo as a patient that thinks she is an actress. Director Pierre De Moro even has flashes of talent here and there. The opening sequence is somewhat chilling and the settings of Hellhole are very well-utilized in terms of atmosphere, lighting, etc... The ending is wholly predictable but somehow satisfying for a film of this ilk. But make no mistake, while outwardly a horror film, this is also a sexploitation film equally. Watch for Renee Vicary as Silk's girlfriend. Just lovely!

I remember first seeing this exploitation gem on HBO in the mid 80's, while spending the night at a friends house during 8th grade. It reminded me of a cheaper, dirtier Reform School Girls.

Mary Woronov as the deliciously evil, Dr. Fletcher has some great moments. I especially love when she blows the state inspectors a kiss goodbye while they are leaving the hospital... (after nearly discovering her clandestine, underground chamber of horrors, known simply and ominously as Hell Hole.

Lots of the actors look like rejects from a lame porno movie, and deliver their lines accordingly. One will find themselves alternately rolling their eyes and laughing their butts off while watching this.

The movie also has one of those great, cheesy synthesizer soundtracks to add to the fun. If you enjoy watching a movie just to see how bad it is, filled with senseless violence, drugs and lesbian sex, then watch Hellhole.

HELLHOLE begins with the murder of a woman by a madman named Silk (Ray Sharkey), who is dressed in Rob Halford's pajamas and sports an electrocuted Elvis hairdo. The victim's daughter, Susan, witnesses the crime, and survives an attack herself, while Silk slips away like a studded, leather-clad shadow.

The ordeal puts Susan in the Ashland Sanitarium for Women, where she meets the odious Dr. Fletcher (Cult goddess, Mary Woronov!). Susan soon sees Fletcher's sadistically eeevil side! By some astonishing coincidence, Silk works at the hospital too! Luckily, a wondrous shower scene breaks out, culminating in a miraculous Greco-Roman style, kickboxing catfight!

Uh oh!

There's trouble in the cafeteria! Here comes Fletcher and her goon squad, including the halfhearted Dr. Dane (Schlock god, Marjoe Gortner!) and iron-jawed Brad (Cult, Schlock idol, Robert Z'Dar!)! Soon enough, a patient is whisked away, and we are shown Dr. Fletcher's maniacal view of modern medicine! Meanwhile, pointless nudity erupts, and Brad leers a lot. How will Susan ever survive this loony limbo of the lost?

THIS MOVIE CONTAINS: #1- Mad science! #2- Mind-twisting torture! #3- Drug-induced mutations of madness! #4- Heavenly mud therapy! #5- Unnecessary, uncalled-for, unholy nakedness every few seconds! #6- Nurses in big, paper hats! #7- An actual rubber room! #8- The most epic finale since REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS!

Exploitation film fanatics need look no further! You have reached the promised land! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!...

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.