Friday, April 18, 2014

Women In Cellblock 9 (Blu-ray Review) - Ascot Elite


Switzerland/1977
Directed By: Jess Franco
Written By: Jess Franco
Starring: Karine Gambier, Howard Vernon, Susan Hemingway
Color/78 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: October 22, 2013 

The Film
Set in the jungles of South America during a time of revolution a truck carrying suspected revolutionaries is stopped and searched by members of the prison. The women on board are arrested and thrown into the infamous Cellblock 9. They're stripped and chained by the neck, no better than dogs, where they undergo interrogation tortures and humiliations by the warden and doctor. They are asked repeatedly who they work for and what they know and their silence causes more punishment. As the days pass the women formulate a plan to try an escape and disappear into the jungle.

WOMEN OF CELLBLOCK 9 is pure exploitation gold. Jess Franco's sleazy side was firing on all cylinders here with nudtiy, violence, torture and even some horror moments on display. From the forced nudity, to quasi rape of an inmate just so she could get a drink, to stock footage of crocodiles (who apparently can't go on land), to running naked through the jungles while being gunned down... WOMEN IN CELLBLOCK 9 has it all! This movie is trashy in the best way. It is 78 minutes of pure mind melting sleaze entertainment. I loved every second of it.

The Audio & Video
Ascot Elite has done another very nice job on this HD presentation. The anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) transfer is rather stunning from the lush greens of the jungle, to the blood reds that pop just enough and the natural, fleshy skin tones that show amazing detail I can't say enough good things about how nice the transfer is on this release. The audio tracks are nice as well, with German and English DTS-HD 5 channel surround or a 2.0 French track, the English track that I listened to, despite a bit of hokey dubbing, sounded excellent. The mix was full, and robust with no background noise to complain of. It is doubtful that WOMEN IN CELLBLOCK 9 will ever look or sound better than it does here.

The Extras
Extras include the original trailer, a still gallery and additional trailers. 

The Bottom Line
Women-In-Prison film fans rejoice! This is one of the sleaziest entries I've had the joys of watching and in glorious HD no less! There's a reason I love Euro-trash and this film is a great example of why. 

WOMEN IN CELLBLOCK 9 is available HERE

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