Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

GL84 Moving into a disused prison facility, the inmates quickly find themselves becoming involved in a series of freak accidents around the facility and realize that a former electrocuted inmate is haunting the prison and forcing them to find a way of stopping him.For the most part this here was quite the fun and enjoyable offering.most of what makes this one work quite well is the fact that there's a lot built on the incredibly freaky and quite exciting supernatural moments featured throughout here. That the majority of these scenes are shown taking advantage of the prison location with something way more illogical and fantastic that could possibly happen in real life makes for a fun time here with this one getting to utilize that in building up far more suspense than expected. There's some fun in the beginning here where the inmates are sent through their rounds and are put into the the prison itself which leads into the escape attempt that starts this one off nicely. Inside, the other scenes from the discovery of the execution chamber that holds the great release scene of the lights coming out of the hole and enveloping the group, the first attack on the two in solitary which is a huge scenes where the burning walls leading into the race to get them free while they're being burnt alive in grisly fashion. Other highlights include the attack on the escaping convict in the bowels of the facility where all the wiring and piping which is pretty bloody once it builds nicely to the fine finale of the body dropping in the middle of the mess-hall during dinner and the great prison riot scene where the inmates overrun and get into a big fight against the guards who get involved, making for a rather fun time as well. The big finale where they try to escape and get caught up in the actual revenge against the ghost going after the wronged parties is where this one again puts in some solid action with some solid and enjoyable scenes here against the crackling supernatural powers and big gruesome kills that give this a really overall good time here by adding the gruesomeness as well as the nice action. Given that there's a really impressive prison location that seems perfectly in tune with the type of setting that has some solid suspense and a fantastic pace that keeps things moving along without too much of a problem, and it holds up nicely over it's minor flaws. The biggest issue here is the overall lack of information given out over what's actually happening in the prison, with this one running through nearly until the end before it even really gets to any kind of attempting an explanation for what's happening and there's just a simple throwaway line about it which really gets lost in the chaos of the situation. It really should've been given earlier while also holding more of an importance of what's going on throughout here rather than how it holds up here. It does run into some clichés here in how it shows off the authority figure in charge and how the actual prison itself is run that makes it feel a little familiar without really attempting anything new, but the biggest issue is the lack of explanations really hurting this one.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, picture nudity and mild drug use.

Michael_Elliott Prison (1987)*** (out of 4)A rundown prison is about to re-open after twenty-years as Warden Sharpe (Lane Smith) plans to use the 300 new inmates to clean the place up and get it into working shape. One of the inmates (Viggo Mortensen) helps break down a sealed execution room, which unleashes the spirit of a previously killed convict and soon strange murders are happening throughout the prison.PRISON is a film I skipped for over two decades because I thought the story just sounded downright stupid. There's certainly egg on my face because while the story is lacking and there are some major flaws here and there, for the most part this is a pretty well-made film that manages to have some very good performance and a terrific atmosphere. A lot of credit has to go to director Renny Harlin who made this just before A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 and three years before breaking into the mainstream with DIE HARD 2.What works so well with this movie is the atmosphere created by the director. The rundown prison makes for a wonderful setting and I thought the entire thing had a rather authentic feel. Just watching the film you could really feel yourself inside these prison walls thanks in large part to the atmosphere, which is perfectly captured by some very good cinematography. The cinematography also works extremely well during the murder scenes where all sorts of crazy stuff is usually happening. The death sequences here are original to say the least, although they're certainly a lot different than the type horror fans were wanting to see during this period.Speaking of which, it's easy to see why PRISON didn't get too much love when it was originally released. Released during the era of slashers, I'm not sure how many people wanted to see a haunted prison movie and especially one that didn't feature that many gory deaths. What death scenes are here are quite unique but I'm sure most people were wanting Jason and Freddy. Not some invisible killer. As much as I enjoyed the majority of the film, there are still some problems including the story that really doesn't add up to much. Another problem is that the 102-minute running time starts to drag a bit towards the end.Another good thing working for the film are its performances with Smith being extremely good in his role as the warden. I thought he did a very good job and delivered an intense performance, which is going to remind many of the one Tommy Lee Jones gave in NATURAL BORN KILLERS several years later. Mortensen also does a very good job leading the film and it's easy to see even here that he was destined to become a strong actor. Chelsea Field is good in the role of a social worker and supporting players Tom Everett, Ivan Kane and Lincoln Kilpatrick also turn in good work.PRISON is quite original when you think about it, although there are some flaws here that keep it from being much better. People who overlooked the film back in the day certainly deserve to give it a shot.

crystalart I thought I had already written a review of Prison, but I guess not.Tonight I'm rewatching it after reviewing Lane Smith's film history.This one is overlooked completely on the Wikipedia bio of Smith. There isn't even a picture of him.I see it didn't make much money. That seems to frequently figure in to a film's "popularity", I'm afraid.Viggo Mortensen was little know when he starred in this gem.The special effects are especially good. They came up with some extremely creative ways of doing people in.Smith plays the vicious warden especially well.I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

scooby572 Caught this film in about 1990 on video by chance and without knowing what i was in for. Many horror fans may have missed this thinking it was a typical prison film and the ones who did get it didn't like it as it was not what they wanted to see. The above mentioned factors are probably the reasons it is low rated but just ignore that and give it a whirl if you're a fan of the genre.It has strong suits in all departments from script and atmosphere to acting and the prison itself. An absolute diamond, a film i still have on video to this day. Check it out.