So here's the thing. 'Amazon hot box' is an homage to, parody of, and successor to exploitation flicks of decades past, primarily of the "women in prison" variety. In that aim, it is both as over the top as it possibly can be, and as inauthentic as it possibly can be. This goes for dialogue, fight scenes, special effects, acting, hair, makeup, set design, filming locations ("South American prison? That looks like a US state park... Oh. No, it's actually a US national park."), scene writing, character writing, humor, costume design, music, editing, sequencing, pacing, internal continuity, plot reveals, overall narrative, and more. Every aspect of this movie is excruciating - not exciting, not funny, not stimulating, not genuine, not meaningful, not impactful, not satisfying. In the rare, fleeting instance that a good idea is briefly latched onto, that idea is taken a step too far and rendered inert. In the rare, fleeting instance that a modicum of value is discovered, it is not allowed to linger, neither in the film nor in our imaginations.
And yet every passing moment of this picture - however exaggerated, lackluster, seedy, or otherwise dubious - is 100% deliberate. The truly absolute tedium that 'Amazon hot box' represents is realized only with the greatest of effort - cast and crew alike obviously wanted to make this exactly the way it is. A job well done, I suppose; that goal was undeniably accomplished. But why? To what actual end? Does that foulest of cinematic intent mean that 'Amazon hot box' is actually perfect? That's a question of semantics, I suppose. But perfection means nothing if it fails to elicit anything that could be interpreted as a favorable response from a viewer.
Incredibly, this isn't the worst movie I've ever watched. Backwards as it may be, the passionate labor put into producing this passionless pablum shines through. That includes, for a prime example, performances that are astoundingly inelegant in their superficial overtness or deficiency. It takes a lot of work to ham it up this much, and though directed to a wholly unconventional end, I think the cast demonstrate their skill in the most perplexing way. And so it is for all other elements of 'Amazon hot box' - bizarrely capable as it bears fruit harvested only to rot. But that still doesn't make it any fun. That still doesn't make it worth watching. The purpose is clear; I just don't understand it. I suppose if one is an especial fan of someone in the cast, or direly curious, then there is an actual reason to watch this. For anyone else at all - most assuredly not.
