Cellule 9

Sleaziness and nudism abound in this movie with a lot of gory scenes , grisly killing and loathing frames . Somewhere in the jungles of South America mercenaries stop a truck which has supposedly loaded fruit. The cargo results to be six young girls (Karine Gambier, Susan Hemingway, Gouveia , among others) . Apprehended and handed over to the custody of the local prison wardens and jail chiefs (Howard Vernon , Dora Doll) . They are really villainous and heinous wardens who the prisoners really fear them . The unfortunate girls escape but are relentlessly chased by the most dreaded pursuers and they will stop at nothing to get their purports and at whatever means . Along the way , things go wrong . Beaten ! Shackled ! Raped ! Just another day in Cellblock 9 !

From the fevered , wonderfully perverted minds of Spanish filmmaker Jess Franco and Swiss producer Erwin C. Dietrich comes the notorious WIP shocker Frauen für Zellenblock 9 (1978) or Women in Cellblock 9 or Tropical Inferno . This is an extremely controversial movie , in fact it was and remains banned , nowadays , in the U. K. Stars Franco regulars Susan Hemingway , Howard Vernon and Karine Gambier and tells the tale of a gaggle of female freedom-fighters who are taken to a secluded women's jungle prison where they endure al manner of violent sexual humiliations . And with Howard Vernon and Dora Doll showing as two feared villain wardens at a death camp mistreating inmates and undergoing creepy criminal acts . Like all of the production in the prolific Franco/Dietrich collaboration cannon (most of which are represented in Full Moon's limited digitally and remastered uncut tranfer struck from Dietrich's own archival negative edition Jess Franco collection) this Zellenblock 9 or Cellblock 9 is a visually lush , erotic and exploitation work , armed with exotic locations , weird interpretations and dreamy musical score by Walter Baumgartner . Disagreeable movie stars the naughty as the evil doctor Howard Vernon and nasty warden Doris Coll enjoying the female prisoners and torturing them . Plot is incidental to violence , tortures and loads of nudism . Here the sinister entertainment is watching as the torture-loving wardens mistreat prisoners by using all kinds ordeals and tortures , as well as the subsequent getaway of the naked girls across the lush jungle . This is a below average and extremely sadistic film with lots of graphic gore , violence , guts and naked women.

Produced in short budget by Erwin Dietrich , the motion picture was lousily directed by Jesús Franco or Jess Frank with lots of skin and no acting , providing a boring flick in low budget with plenty of shortfalls , failures , flaws and gaps . In the Seventies Franco directed various WIP movies , such as : the revered classic ¨99 Women¨with Maria Schell , Herbert Lom , Elisa Montes , Mercedes McCambridge ; ¨Love camp¨ (1977) with Muriel Montosse , Monica Swinn ; ¨Barbed Wire Dolls¨with Lina Romay , Paul Muller , Monica Swinn ; "Wanda , The Wicked Warden" 1977 by Jess Frank with Dyanne Thorne , Lina Romay , Tania Busselier . Not for the easily offended (but what Franco movie is ?) Frauen für Zellenblock 9 (1978) is an essential and fundamental trash movie gem not to be missed for Uncle Jess enthusiasts. It is a 78 minutes of pure mind melting sleaze entertainment with no sense and for some fans being an exploitation gold .

Four hot chicks are sent off to a hellhole prison in either South or Central America and then spend most of their time butt nekkid, because it's a Jesus Franco film and chicks are contractually obliged to spend much of their screen time butt nekkid in Jesus Franco films, just like chicks are contractually obliged to have something unutterably horrible happen to them in Lucio Fulci films. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the chicks in Cellblock 9 only (very) briefly keep their clothes on for like the opening scene.

Anyhoo, this one's pretty nasty even by Senhor Franco's standards, and is chock full of misogyny, with some rather squirm inducing torture sequences to go with the bewbs and Franco's trademark lingering crotch shots.

One of the chicks in Cellblock 9, Susan Hemmingway, (At least I think it's her-she certainly looks young enough) was under 18 at the time of filming, which means it will never ever ever be accepted by the BBFC (British Board Of Film Classification) as she spends most of her screen time butt nekkid and chained, as well as getting down with three other chained and butt nekkid chicks. She also starred in Franco's Love Letters Of A Portuguese Nun, which I haven't seen, but am willing to bet isn't a dignified portrayal of a humble life of pious servitude in a convent. Cellblock 9 is also surprisingly down beat and grim, which puts it firmly in the category of totally and completely vile irredeemable filth which should not be viewed by anyone at all whatsoever, particularly chicks just released from prison. Best line: After thwarting an escape attempt by hawt chicks via fruit truck, a guard leers "THIS is the type of fruit my men like!" Awesome.

7/10, delivers in what it sets out to do in spades, and fans of dirty nasty no-value-at-all-whatsoever Eurosleaze exploitation should check out this grimy little doozy. Senhor Franco, you are a true cinematic Trashmeister, and I salute you good sir.

Jesus Franco has caught a lot of flack over the years, mostly of the order of talentless sleaze fixated hack and often from people who haven't actually seen many of his films. Women in Cellblock 9 is not one of his nobler efforts and those who admire him for his atmospheres and talent for fevered headstates and lush sexuality should stay far away, it is rather a relentless rush of mean spirits and cruelty. It does strike against the talentless accusation of his critics though, being a conventionally well made and even intermittently stylish work. Plotwise there's very little here. Several women attempt to escape a totalitarian South American state but are apprehended. They are then strung up naked and occasionally tortured until a predictable finale. It isn't a set up likely to appeal to many really, unremitting sexual abuse tends to be kind of a turn off for people and characters are largely neglected so there's little to hold on to if you aren't a big sleaze fan. Fortunately I am just such a person and thus had rather a good time, the key to it being its very one dimensionality I think. Through pained faces and pleading, through mostly absent context it builds an atmosphere of pure cruelty with a fine charge, some from the cast and some from the situation. The actresses are surely pretty uncomfortable in their scenes and their suffering is palpable, even infectious, as the film draws on its hard not to feel a sense of genuine unhappiness for them. As performers they work well too, Karine Gambier, Susan Hemmingway, Aida Gouveia and Esther Studer were all either Franco frequent flyers or adult cinema veterans and have an easy chemistry, and not just their characters but the film itself. Franco has occasionally cast women that just don't gel with his films but here they work beautifully and the camera is equally responsive. Mostly naked with loving gaze upon breasts and bushes they bring a physical energy that almost makes up for their absent characters, radiating convincing pain during even the more daftly lurid of their tortures. Though never graphic these scenes are imaginatively mean spirited and compered with glee by a hammy yet disturbing Howard Vernon, clearly having a hoot of a time as a bad, bad man who really likes his job. Things are always watchable, but like many a film of its ilk, this one is simply too unambitious. I know I said the one dimensionality works, but it still could have taken its one dimension and made it, oh I don't know, bigger? Though nasty it never goes for truly grim where it should, though sleazy it only once takes a time out to actually be sexy. I didn't expect much and happily I got pretty much exactly what I wanted from this one but I still can't help thinking it could have pushed the boat out a bit more. There is also a sad lack of wild zooms or out of focus shots, Franco never tweaks the atmosphere the way his other work has shown he can. When it comes down to it, this isn't that memorable and its a crying shame. Still a good time 6/10 from me though, even if it has slipped my mind in a few weeks time.

A group of women led by Karine Levere is caught by the warden of a women's prison,located somewhere in the South American jungle.None of them will reveal the secrets of their organization or the names of their collaborators in the cities,so they are handed over to Dr.Costa who,after four years inactivity in Europe,is delighted to be able to practice his torture techniques once more.Laverne fails to resist the inhuman treatments and reveals all.The only hope of saving the organization is for the girls to warn the city cell before it's too late.They trick the prison guard into having sex with them,knock him out and break out of prison.The warden and Dr.Costa must prevent them from revealing the practices inside the prison,so the hunt begins."Women In Cellblock 9" is an enjoyable exploitation film made by Jesus Franco.The script is terrible,but it serves as a pretext for showing lots of full-frontal nudity,sexuality and some rather nasty torture sequences.The film was produced by Erwin C.Dietrich,but it's not as memorable as "Barbed Wire Dolls".Franco regular Howard Vernon is perfect as a sadistic Dr.Costa and Susan Hemingway is a stunning beauty.So if you are ready for some fun sleazy thrills give this film a look.8 out of 10.

Released almost at the end of the infamous collaboration between Jess Franco and Erwin C. Dietrech, Women in Cellblock 9 is a entertainment women in prison flick starring the gorgeous Karine Gambier, the innocent looking young actress Susan Hemingway and the great Howard Vernon.

The movie follows a group of women lead by Karine Gambier, who are captured and send to a tropical prison. In there, a female warden and the sadistic Dr. Costas (Vernon) force the girls into revealing the secrets of the organization they belong. But the women won't talk, so they torture them in various ways. After the ladies can't take it anymore, the try to escape the prison, starting a battle to survive.

While no as sleazy as Barbed Wire Dolls (1975), the movie features some good torture sequences and a lot of female nudity, to satisfy all exploitation fans. Definitely worth a look. 7/10