Prison (1987)

Years after a Charlie Forsythe has been executed via the electric chair the state of Wyoming reopens the prison . During some renovation work a wall is knocked down releasing the spirit of Forsythe who is now bent on revenge This is a cross-genre film featuring prison exploitation movie mixed with horror . Before the credits role you know what to expect and no one is expecting the cerebral psychological horror dished out in John Hillcoat's GHOSTS OF THE CIVIL DEAD because this is more in keeping with ghost of the very uncivil undead Noticing the credit of director Renny who would give us DIE HARD 2 and DRIVEN strikes you that this is going to be a bit loud , noisy and exaggerated and guess what we get ? That said we also get an early starring role from Viggo Mortensen possibly the most underrated actor of his generation The story and style plays out as you expect it . A diverse group of cons split in to predators , prey and intelligent lone wolfs are sentenced to serious time in the penal system . You can't help thinking perhaps the conditions seen here are a bit to grim to be realistic but then you stop to consider that in real life convicted prisoners in some states live in tents in the yard then maybe no embellishment is given . It also noticeable how similar in some ways on a visual level this film is to Michael Mann's THE KEEP from 1983 but Mann did manage to make his film a bit more hypnotic than Harlin has done with PRISON

Charles Bands' company produced a number of fine genre films from this period, including "Re-Animator", "From Beyond", and this solid and under-rated supernatural shocker.It gets a lot of power from its main location, the real life Wyoming State Prison in Rawlins, Wyoming. It adds all the atmosphere to the proceedings that it needs. The film has a very oppressive feel overall and this is the result of this locations' effectiveness.The story has a run down and old prison being reopened to accommodate an assortment of criminal types. What happened was that over 20 years previous, a condemned man had been unfairly sent to the electric chair, under the watchful eye of guard Ethan Sharpe (the late, great character actor Lane Smith, in a rare lead role). Now Sharpe is the warden of the prison and he will find that he, his staff, and the cons will all be fair game for that long ago condemned man who's now a vengeance crazed spirit. Among those caught up in the nightmare are Burke (Viggo Mortensen), a laid back car thief, Katherine Walker (Chelsea Field), a woman from the State Board with reform on the brain, and Cresus (Lincoln Kilpatrick), a veteran con.This marked the American directing debut for action and horror specialist Renny Harlin, and it definitely got him noticed, as his next film would be the fourth entry in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series. It also provided a nifty showcase for stunt coordinator Kane Hodder, who plays the sadistic ghost; he of course would debut as Jason Voorhees in the seventh "Friday the 13th" film later the same year. The mechanical effects and the gore are both superb. The music by Richard Band and Christopher L. Stone is very appropriate throughout, and the lighting by Mac Ahlberg is extremely moody from start to finish. The movie doesn't skimp on the horror, and maintains a fever pitch at all times, working its way towards a pull-out-all-the-stops finale.The young Mortensen displays a natural sense of cool in one of his earliest roles, and Smith is wonderful as a real s.o.b. type of character. The fine cast also features such players as Tom Everett as the antsy, escape-prone Rabbitt, Ivan Kane as the personable Lasagna, Andre De Shields as the intense Sandor, Tommy "Tiny" Lister as a hulking inmate, Mickey Yablans (son of producer Irwin Yablans, who concocted the story for the film) as a young con, and Arlen Dean Snyder as the captain of the guards."Prison" is well worth checking out for die hard horror buffs eager to discover the less heralded productions from the 1980s, a decade dominated by the slasher film but which also provided us with some nifty gems like this. It's also irresistible for the chance to watch a group of young talents near the beginning of their careers.Eight out of 10.

In the 1990s, Finnish director Renny Harlin became known as one of the purveyors of Hollywood action cinema: "Cliffhanger", "Cutthroat Island", "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and "Deep Blue Sea" were his output. To be certain, he is almost always a candidate for Golden Raspberry Awards.This makes his early effort "Prison" all the more interesting. Far from the explosion-filled brain candy that he released in the final decade of the twentieth century, this is a clever horror flick. Nothing really special, but I certainly liked it. The movie also features early appearances of Viggo Mortensen, Tommy "Tiny" Lister and Kane Hodder (one of the many actors who played Jason Voorhees). It was certainly a major honor for character actor Lane Smith, who plays the warden.Apparently, Renny Harlin's next movie will be about the Russia-Georgia War of 2008 with Andy Garcia playing Mikhail Saakashvili (I'd always thought that Saakashvili should get played by Bob Hoskins). I'll keep an open mind about this one, but I'm also doubtful, given most of Harlin's output. In the meantime, I advise you to check out "Prison". Really neat.

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.