Convict

Some of the worst acting I've ever seen. The movie is unintentionally funny. It really is that bad.

CONVICT is a low budget Australian prison film that sees a former soldier sent to a brutal prison where he must survive the machinations of the corrupt warden and a pair of sadistic guards. It's very much par for the course for a prison movie, with all of the shanks, male rape, bathroom beatings and unpleasant torture you'd expect to see, but at the same time it acquits itself well with the material.

The film's lead is played by the unknown-to-me George Basha as a tough but ordinary everyman who soon finds himself adapting to a violent world. The set-up and situations in which he finds himself are very predictable but I've always been a fan of the prison film as a whole so I really enjoyed this. The performances from the unknown cast are strong, particularly the bad guys, and the narrative keeps you guessing as to what's going to unfold next. Mostly though it's that sense of unease, of barely suppressed violence that had me intrigued. Not a great film then, but a solid one in any case.

Wrongly convicted...check Sadistic warden...check Young kid that main character cares about...check Sadistic guards...check Old grizzled convict who befriends...check One guard who is not as crooked and tries to help...check Sodomy scene...check Multiple prison murders that no one questions...check

Film follows every prison formula without adding any originality of its own.

Acting is forced, with some characters blurting out dialogue like a high school play. Emotional range is very limited for all actors. Motivation for why the people are acting the way they are seems manufactured, not developed. In addition, several MAJOR plotlines introduced are either forgotten, or edited out, making you wonder about what happened to so-and-so. Just slight logic being used would make movie null and void.

I don't get all the low raters, look if you want a classic prisoner film watch the 1972 Papillon, or Midnight Express - a real remarkable film, "Scum" is another, there's a few greats, surely you knew what you were getting into with Convict? By the very title and the first few minutes it's a kind of give away... it's a kick ass, tension belter, hard man, beat me up often flick.

Sometimes it's good to have Burger than a Steak, that's it, if you enjoy a lower budget prison film this is for you, if you're expecting a Oscar award winning, thought provoking classic, you're going to be disappointed, people educate yourself with films, Google it, it isn't hard, the choice of prison films is huge, also except you're not gonna find many new classics made now, best period for this genre was the 1970's. No question. Having said that, I enjoyed this because I knew what I was gonna get.

Starts off a little B Grade yet comes through, need to give it a chance.Good Aussie Movie.