Le camp de l'enfer

OPPOSING FORCE, better represented by its original title, HELLCAMP, draws its inspiration from THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME/ZARKOFF'S HOUNDS, and in turn clearly served as inspiration for G.I. JANE. Major Tom Skerritt joins a band of young elite soldiers, including a female (Lisa Eichorn), who are sent to a remote island for special training. They are quickly caught by soldiers stationed on the island and subjected to all sorts of realistic POW conditions: minimal food, frequent beatings, mind games, isolation units, forced marches and even waterboarding. No one breaks, least of all Eichorn, which infuriates the base commandant (Anthony Zerbe) who by his own admission has been on the island too long. He cracks under the strain and instead of ending the "exercise," ups the torture quotient, zapping Skerritt with electricity and raping Eichhorn. Zerbe's sergeant, played by Richard Roundtree, stands by and does nothing about any of this. Zerbe then sends Skerritt off into the jungle, pursued by his evil Asian henchman, played by steely-eyed George Cheung. Skerritt quickly turns the tables on the bad guys and pretty soon, it's all-out war between Zerbe's and Skerritt's men. Skerritt is terrific as always, and Eichorn play a proud and determined soldier who shows she can hold her own against the enemy. The film is quite graphic and contains large dollops of nudity and deaths. Full of unexpected twists and turns, HELLCAMP is well worth your time.

"Opposing Force", or "Hell Camp" can be divided in half. The first half is honestly quite boring as volunteers for a secret military experiment on P.O.W. torture are degraded and tortured like you have seen in dozens of war films. Only here it lasts for just short of an hour. Anthony Zerbe is the Commander running the "Hell Camp", along with Richard Roundtree. Until Zerbe completely loses it and rapes Lisa Eichhorn, nothing much happens except the usual P.O.W. stuff. The rape sets off a rebellion and escape that turns the movie into a chase in the jungle similar to any "Most Dangerous Game" clone. While the second half is definitely better than the first, everything about "Opposing Force" is so familiar, that it all becomes a "so what". - MERK

This film, i think i've seen it twice, is actually a really entertaining movie. Your really feel the hatred for Commendant Becker, and the suffering of the in-training POW's.

Tom Skerritt is good as always, he must be one of the best low budget actors there is.

Well worth seeing.

Zerbe scares the sh*t out of me again! Seriously, this guy plays menacing like few can. Not just a mindless hunter type of fear...his villains are cunning, his gaze unsettles and his smile sends shivers down your spine. This movie makes me cringe with his sadistic portrayal of Becker. A man who convinces himself that his actions toward the female prisoner are for her own good. He justifies everything he does to her and never seems to realize that he is doing these things because he wants to. That is frightening to watch.

Roundtree's character is disappointing. Too weak for a big man like him to play. He is, in essence, the Nazi, just following orders even though he knows they are wrong. By the time he wakes up to his cowardice, it is too late. But in the same vein as Zerbe's character, the tormentors have rationalized their actions, and as history shows us, this seems to be how these things play out. People under control, looking weak, held by people in authority who start abusing their power over them. I've seen the Iraq example given several times, or Gitmo. It is a fair comparison...so is the Nazi model.

Strong cast elevates this otherwise minor action-thriller into something halfway decent. An elite army force is sent to a remote island to simulate extreme combat conditions, in order to prepare physically and emotionally for active duty. Once there, they're quickly captured and subjected to inhumane treatment which soon becomes criminal in the extreme. The camp commander's inscrutable methods have long been feared, but not until now is the whole gamut of his atrocities and sadism exposed. When head captive Logan (Skerritt) finally realises the crimes that are being perpetrated against his outfit, he goes berserk and demands and end to the simulation, but of course the psychotic camp commander Becker (played by crazy-eyed Anthony Zerbe, a fine actor better than this material) remains 'in character' (so to speak), and keen to erase any suspicion of wrong-doing.

The curve ball to all this is that one of Skerritt's men, is, well, a woman (Eichhorn). Her place in the team already under heavy scrutiny and unfavourable with the men, she finds herself the easy target for Zerbe to exploit. Zerbe is convincing, if somewhat one-dimensional, while Roundtree as his straight-shooting offsider provides much needed balance. George Cheung is chilling as an ex-Viet Cong assassin used by Zerbe to prowl the jungles in search of human prey. Eichhorn doesn't have the easiest of roles to play, her character subjected to constant indignities, although she still manages to project femininity and vulnerability in spite of her macho GI Jane persona.

"Hell Camp" does begin to deteriorate in the second half, as Zerbe's megalomania becomes all consuming, and the sadistic brand of torture he employs is sure to be objectionable to many audiences, particularly the female cohort. Good cast, but not enough restraint in managing the violence, which ultimately becomes gratuitous and vulgar - the climax and conclusion also less than satisfying. Proceed with caution.