Red Heat

Women-in-prison flick involving an innocent American tourist in West Germany who is mistaken for a spy, grilled until exhaustion sets in, and sent to jail without a word to her soldier-fiancé. After publicly nixing her hit "Chained Heat" on just about every talk show of the 1980s, it's amazing that star Linda Blair would even think of doing another jailhouse underachiever. This one, filmed in chilly blues and grays, is just as seedy and depressing. The roster comes complete with a decadently lascivious guard (gaunt, kinky Sylvia Kristel), a terrified blonde, a friendly butch, and lots of malicious broads. Blair manages (somehow) to keep her dignity and has a few strong scenes, including being interrogated and collapsing under pressure or standing up to the review board with a firm "F*** you!" The direction is fairly tight, and the movie is engrossing almost in spite of itself. *1/2 from ****

Linda Blair has stated that she was sold this film as a "female Midnight Express." Yes, it has elements of that. But it's more like an adult remake of Born Innocent. Linda's character even has the same name, Chris. Born Innocent represents Linda's best work as a juvenile. Her performance is better in Born Innocent than in The Exorcist. Red Heat may well be her best performance as an adult. Yet this is one of the most difficult Blair films to find. I don't think it ever got a proper theatrical release in the United States, although it may have played the grind house circuit. I first saw in on VHS year ago, and watched it recently again on YouTube. It's a wildly entertaining film that's face-paced and got it all - nudity, rape, cat fights, shower scenes, suicide, etc. You've seen it all before, but the setting in an East German prison before the wall came down (actually filmed in Hungary) adds a great deal to the mood and tone of the film. For Linda Blair fans, this film is essential. For fans of women in prison flicks, it's not to be missed.

Linda Blair is behind bars again! This time in ultra-communistic, ultra-fascist East Germany (if you thought the Cold War had died down in the mid-80s, films like this and "Rambo II" make you re-think your position). She gives an earnest performance in this (plus she has one terrific topless scene), and Sylvia Kristel makes a convincing "top bi*ch". The film has moments of artistry (Blair's voice-over reading of her letter, which stops when the warden throws it away), and the feeling of grim hopelessness inside the prison is well-portrayed. But there are some pretty boring parts too, mostly in the first and last 20 minutes. The long-awaited fight between Blair and Kristel is also a disappointment, because it takes place in near-complete darkness and the director keeps interrupting it with less interesting action footage. Footnote: avoid the Region 2 DVD version, it is cut in several places. ** out of 4.

Decent entry into the Women In Prison genre finds Linda Blair, two years after "Chained Heat", back in the slammer in this politically loaded yarn. She plays Christine Carlson, an innocent college student visiting her fiancée, Mike (William Ostrander), an Army lieutenant stationed in Germany. After a fight with Mike, Christine finds herself in one of those "wrong place at the wrong time" scenarios by witnessing the abduction of Hedda (Sue Kiel), a spy who was trying to defect. The evil authorities force Christine to confess to espionage activities, and both she and Hedda are thrown in an East German prison. This particular place is ruled by alluring Sylvia "Emmanuelle" Kristel as Sofia, a top con who relishes her position in the pecking order - and relishes enforcing it. "Red Heat" is all just somber enough, trashy enough, and entertaining enough to make it an acceptable diversion. The requirements of the genre are satisfactorily met, with the standard display of delectable female nudity, lesbian couplings, harsh violence, and mean, sadistic villains that fans come to expect. Linda is appealing as always, and compelling to watch as we see her prison stay start changing her - not exactly for the better, of course. One can hardly blame her whenever she does snap. The sub plot of Mike doing everything he possibly can do - his career be damned - helps keep the movie moving along nicely, and the story leads right up to a respectably rousing climactic prison break. Beefy actor Ostrander, whom you may recognize as having played bully Buddy Repperton in the film version of "Christine", is good, as is Kiel, although Kristel remains the most fun to watch as she clearly enjoys playing the part of the bad girl. With the action enhanced by typically fine and atmospheric music by Tangerine Dream, and capable direction by Robert Collector, this movie is definitely good of its kind, with a palpably serious mood and a lack of camp. Overall, solidly done and worth a look. Seven out of 10.

Not quite, but close! Linda Blair has proved again and again that she shares a rare quality with Mark Hamill, the ability to attach herself to one cinematic landmark and follow it with an entire career of complete trash. I saw RED HEAT on TV when I was about 11. Perhaps I was too young to understand this film's more basic appeal at that time, what I did get from it was that women in prison do crazy things to each other. Was there a plot beyond that? I'm not sure. There's something about an escape attempt but it isn't very clear. RED HEAT can really be best described as crap. It doesn't even succeed at that fun/pathetic B-movie level. The picture is alternately boring and confusing. The ending is about as clear as a muddy ditch and a lot less satisfying. I'd comment on Blair's performance if she'd actually given one. RED HEAT is a forgettable, exploitive little thing that should have been made by someone who understood the genre. I give it no stars.