The Naked Cage

"The Naked Cage" is a textbook anthology of "Women-In-Prison Drama" cliches (innocent heroine, sadistic warden, lesbianism, catfights, stabbings, riots, etc.). Watching it, you feel as if you're wallowing in a cesspool, and the fact that leading actress Shari Shattuck is not believable for a minute certainly doesn't help matters. At least Christina Whitaker is spirited and fun as the "wild" Rita. (*1/2)

While the women in prison movie genre was on its last legs by the mid 1980s, that fact did not stop schlock movie producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus from grinding out their own contribution. Typical for one of their productions, it was made on a low budget, which does show here and there (mainly with some cheap sets.) However, director Paul Nicolas does manage to inject some stylish touches here and there. And while the movie could have used a bit more sleaze, there is a decent amount of nudity and other exploitation touches here and there. However, the story is kind of a mess. There are some murky details, as if important information got edited out or was never filmed in the first place. And some scenes seem to play out of order. Central story details also unfold slowly, but Nicolas does go from scene to scene at a brisk pace so there are no boring or tedious moments. And there is some welcome camp, mainly with some really broad performances by the cast. While I am (oddly) not a big fan of the women in prison genre despite the treats many of these films offer, I will say this: If you like this particular genre, you will likely find this effort to be decently done.

A young woman (Shari Shattuck) is falsely convicted of a bank robbery and sent to a maximum-security prison run by a corrupt warden, where she is forced to suffer various indignities.

When you sit down to watch a women in prison movie, you already expect it to be exploitation all the way, with gratuitous nudity and very likely a girl-on-girl sex scene or two. While this film certainly does that, it is a little less blatant and for that it maybe deserves a little credit.

Not that this is good. The basic plot point is that a woman kidnapped at a bank gets sent to prison for the robbery she had no part of. This really makes no sense, but because it jumps from the cops showing up directly to the prison, we never see how such bungling could occur.

I love campy movies like this. The dialogue is a hoot, the scenes of women in jail are so preposterous but who cares? It's a cheap thrill to watch women slap, stab, pull hair and lez out. Even the warden (Angel Thompkins) is a hot babe who gets off being sadistic. In my opinion Faith Minton steals this picture as tough inmate who looks like she just came off of the pro-wrestling circuit. She has the best lines in the movie, my favorite being when she tells a muslim inmate "Nothing you sh#$heads do concerns me!" Sit back, watch and turn your brain off and you will have a good time. Yes, the language is quite foul but when there is this much unintended comedy it loses it shock value. Not the best of this genre (Chained Heat, Concrete Jungle) but close.

A leggy sexy girl (Rita) in short shorts and cowboy boots somehow manages to hitch a ride from some dude driving a stolen red Corvette. They team up in a robbery/shooting and drag the dude's girlfriend (Michelle)into the fracas and she is convicted of armed robbery and is to serve 3 years.

Thrown into an all female prison, Michelle tries to cope with the the requisite evil warden, personal conflicts, bad guards, bad prisoners, but hey it IS prison.

Actually this film has a lot of social justice between the nude prisoners running around and kissing and making out. The blacks are segregated but Michelle bridges the divide and teams up with them to ferment a full fledged Attica style riot.

The big tough gal, Faith Minton, a centerpiece in the population, is tough enough to serve in a men's prison, where she would get respect.

Lots goes on in this above average prison flick, and it kinda reminds me of a female version of Brubaker. If you see it for $5, buy it or rent it for a fun evening of chic on chic action with some social justice thrown in.

Sadly the movie did not provide IMDb with practicals, i.e. photos of all cast members and bios. So faces are blank, making it hard to identify the actors.

Moral: avoid going to prison at all costs. Be a good citizen. Well, even that might not help you if you are framed.