The Hot Box

The Hot Box provides almost everything the true connoisseur of sleazy trash B-movies of the 70s craves for - some hot girls, some nudity, some solid gunpowder smoke, and a production that is not too cheap for that kind of movie. The story revolves around some American nurses who get involved in revolutionary activities, leading to a real battle in the end. Additionally, we are treated to the beautiful Margaret Markov in her prime. It's astonishing that she did not receive more major roles considering her talent and charisma. The Hot Box only touches on the sexploitation business in a few scenes, with nudity portrayed in some scenes to spice things a little up. Torture is only briefly explored - so. If you're looking for movies like Black Mama, White Mama or Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, this may not be the right choice. However, I found The Hot Box entertaining enough to pass the time, although it may not be essential for hardcore sleazehounds.

If you expect sweaty chicks behind bars you're in for a major dissapointment.

The gals spend like one minute in the "hot box". Some third world rebels kipnap 4 American nurses to help their revolution. At first they protest but later they "wake up" and start diggin' the rebels' political aim. Jonathan Demme, who scripted this, has made some fun Women-In-Prison flicks for Roger Corman like "Caged Heat" and "Black Mama, White Mama" but this halfbaked "Exploitation With A Cause" is pretty boring despite massive doses of nudity and decent acting.

People who saw this at a drive-in in the early 70's must've been a bit confused.

Hellcats (aka The Hot Box, 1972) continues the jungle sleaze tradition, co-written by the future director of Silence Of The Lambs, Jonathan Demme. Director Joe Viola and Demme had already worked for Corman on the low-budget biker flick Angels Hard As They Come. They now headed to the Philippines to film the story of four deliberately vacant nurses (including its token black actress) kidnapped by the 'Peoples Army', a ragtag bundle of greasy drunks and lechers, and forced to spend most of their incarceration topless. Despite their hysterical over-acting, they slowly become politicized gun-toting radicals, once they are shown parallels between the corrupt local government and the Nixon administration. It's a real pre-Watergate oddity, doling out its heartwarming liberal sentiments while blatantly exploiting its female flesh.

In the jungles of South America. Lynn, Bunny, Ellie and Sue are American nurses working at a hospital clinic in the Latin-American republic of San Rosario. They are kidnapped by some bandits, who were hired by Flavio the leader of 'Peoples Army' to bring back to them. Were they would help their poorly treated civilians back to health and teach them of important medical practices. The girls are forced into it, despite attempts of escaping. Lynn after a while sees their reasoning, but the others just want to escape and they do. However they come to be captured by a brutal Army officer who abuses them, but they manage to flee back to Flavio.

Executive producer Roger Corman is at it again, with another mildly entertaining low-budget trashy exploitation fare made in the Banana Republic with some beautiful actresses to burn up the screen. The tone has a minor comic book feel to it, but the mechanical plot (co-scripted / produced by "Silence of the Lambs" director Jonathan Demme. Who he would also go onto pen the Corman films "Caged Heat" and "Black Mamma, White Mamma) is politically hounded with manipulative propaganda and heavy on the moral card. It's straining for depth and meaning as it tries to over-explain points in the surprisingly capable script, which in spurts it manages to capture some meaty moments and the few token unpleasant details (rape, beatings, torture, groping and violence) never takes over the show. It actually quite grounded in its low-brow elements, which might disappoint people looking for something sleazy. However plenty of nude topless scenes involving Margaret Markov, Andrea Cagan, Ricky Richardson and Laurie Rose make there way in. The acting from the sultry four, comes off as too strong and dramatised, but this vibrant quality gives the film some edge and personality. Markov ( The Arena, "Black Mama, White Mama") gives it a sensitive touch, Cagan playfully turns it up, Richardson goes at it in a collect manner and Rose (The Woman Hunt, The Abductors) keeps it wilful. Carmen Argenziano (Grave of the Vampire, Caged Heat, Crazy Mama) potently dons the role as Flavio and Charles Dierkop snarls it up perfectly as the brute of a Army officer. Workmanlike direction by Joe Viola is solid, without going out big. He churns out one effective surprise. It can meander and certain scenes are awkwardly forced, but it packs enough heat when it counts. Like two drawn-out, crackerjack combat onslaughts involving everyone going gung-ho with bullets, arrows and explosions. Gotta love the over-use of the sound when people die. It becomes funny, as you constantly listen to their painful expressions when they croak it. Leering camera-work gets up close, by suffocating you with the muggy air of the vividly exotic locations. The spotty music score gets into the right groove and flavour of the setting. Let those beating jungle drums go! A waring though, this is a cheap revolutionary action story than say a Women-In-Prison yarn.

Somehow it manages to feel fresh with its familiar ingredients, mainly due to the fact it's not just another WIP film and it wants to tell an actual story with a purpose than just to exploit. Entertaining low-end kitsch that's evidently more competent than most of its field.

As other reviewers have already mentioned, "The Hot Box" has been mis-marketed as a Women-In-Prison film, when in fact it is a low-budget action film with four American nurses getting caught up in a revolution taking place in the "republic of San Rosario". This was one of the earliest scripts that Jonathan Demme ("Silence of the Lambs") wrote in his career, and personally I found the structure a bit heavy-handed. I assume that the goal was to make the viewer root for the revolutionaries and against the oppressive government, yet for the first half of the movie most of the revolutionaries we meet are little more than cackling sex maniacs! And even the more "civilized" ones treat the four American women - who are nurses, mind you, not their enemies in any way - pretty horribly. In the second half, they are subjected to even worse treatment by the government side, and finally the revolutionaries are starting to come off as "the good guys" (by default!). Wouldn't it be wiser to try to build more sympathy for them earlier on? I also didn't like the small comedic touches in the film, they felt awkward given the generally grim and unpleasant content. What I did like are the four female leads, who make a likable and good-looking team; their unabashed nudity is most welcome. Is it just me or would Margaret Markov (who plays the most "idealistic" of the four) have been perfect for the part of an angel in a fantasy? (**)