Emmanuelle - A Detenta

"Women's Prison Massacre" is the last of the "Black Emmanuelle" series of films and this time director Joe D'Amato abandons his trademark sleaze for an attempt at an exploitation flick with a plot.

Emmanuelle (Laura Gemser)has gotten a bit too close to exposing a corrupt government official during the course of her investigative journalism, and he has her sent to a vicious women's prison on trumped up charges. 4 dangerous male convicts (including Gemser's real life husband Gabriele Tinti) are transferred there to be held until their trials and manage to create jailbreak mayhem a nasty hostage showdown with police.

I really wanted to like this film, but I just couldn't do it. The plot is a fractured mess, the acting awful and this film is so evasively shot (not enough film or budget for much visual explanation or gore, I guess) that I didn't even know what was supposed to be happening in most of the sleazy scenes (the razor blade castration, horny female convicts ripping one of the guys apart) until I read the DVD liner notes. Also gorgeous Gemser keeps her clothes on the entire time, and the actresses who do disrobe are less than stunning.

3 stars, one for Laura Gemser having a genuine beauty and screen presence that deserves something better than this drivel, one was a whole lot of accidental comedy ("I'll bite your nipples off!" and the blow up doll are the first examples that come to mind), one for Lorraine De Salle sticking it out in a film where she looks extremely uncomfortable in every scene (as if she's ashamed of being in this throwaway, whimpering end to an otherwise fun series).

In WOMEN'S PRISON MASSACRE, Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) is a reporter "in stir" due to her being framed by a drug dealer. She's under heavy scrutiny by prison security. She's also on the last nerve of Albina (Ursula Flores), who challenges her to an arm wrestling match.

Next, we're off to the showers, where the female inmates just can't keep their hands to themselves! In no time, their fun is interrupted by the fascistic femme-guards and their aquatic torture techniques.

These guards are awful! They're nasty! They're available!

Then, everyone's in trouble when a gang of male inmates invade the prison, quickly subduing the guards and killing anyone who resists.

These guys are pigs! They're dogs! They're irresistible!

Annnd, on and on it goes.

While this movie isn't unwatchable, its soft core cheeeze-factor is stratospherically high! Those unaccustomed to such ridiculous goings-on might find that their brains have died in their skulls by movie's end!

Be careful out there...

"Emanuelle" (Laura Gemser) is a journalist who has been setup and sent to prison by "District Attorney Robinson" (Jacques Stany) because she was getting too close to exposing his corruption. Yet even in prison he considers her to be too dangerous and so he conspires with the prison warden named "Colleen" (Lorraine De Selle) to have her killed before she can be released. To do that Colleen turns to the most vicious prisoner there by the name of "Albina" (Ursula Flores). However, as luck would have it 4 extremely violent men are sent to that same prison awaiting execution and they manage to take over the prison. When they do all hell breaks loose and nobody is safe from them. Now rather than reveal any more of the story and risk ruining it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this movie seemed to have potential but the low budget and over-acting really stood out and greatly weakened the overall effect. Likewise, although it contained quite a bit of nudity there wasn't much passion or eroticism to really make much of an impression either. That said other than the performance of Laura Gemser I didn't see anything that remarkable about this film and I rate it as below average.

This is in fact part of the "Black Emanuelle" series. Not that the series had any continuity from one film to the next anyway. In this, the last of the series, Emanuelle (Gemser) is wrongfully imprisoned because she was on the brink of exposing criminal activity in the local police department. There is a flashback sequence which explains this. How anyone could watch this film and NOT notice this, saying it is NOT an Emanuelle movie is beyond me. In the opening scene the prison holds a stage play of monologues where each girl tells her name and story. Gemser's character clearly states "My name is Emanuelle, and I am a woman." I sincerely hope that the people who are leaving comments about films on the database have at least SEEN the films they are talking about. Unless of course they're just seeing some edited US video release.

Emanuelle Escapes from Hell (1983)

** (out of 4)

Hack master Mattei directs this women in prison film that has Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) being sent to prison by a corrupt official. Once in prison she battles the warden as well as another inmate but soon things get out of control when four male prisoners take over the prison. Mattei and Gemser made another WIP film the same year as this one and the two movies share a whole lot in common. It appears most of the same cast and crew made both pictures and both remain mildly entertaining entries in the genre. The most shocking thing about this film is that Gemser doesn't take her clothes off, which must be a first in the ten or so films I've watched with her. The film is fairly sleazy but not near the level of a D'Amato or Franco film. The highlight include a rather erotic sequence when the men decide to have their way with the overly willing female prisoners. Gemser is her usual self, although, despite the title, this has very little to do with her Black Emanuelle films. The supporting cast features some good looking women but bad actresses but that's to be expected. Mattei's direction is certainly laughable and the screenplays has giant holes in it but all of this adds to the charm of the low-budget film. The dubbing is also extremely bad but adds a lot of laughs. AKA: Women's Prison Massacre, Emanuelle in Prison and its original title Emanuelle fuga dall'inferno.