On a small island, a sadistic women’s prison is being run. There are 99 women there, all of whom have been stripped of their names and now only identify themselves with a number. The slightest misstep or violation of the rules is severely punished and there is no mercy. After a mysterious death, an inspector comes to the prison to review their methods. She discovers the sadistic methods of punishment and immediately makes sure to lighten the rules, something that is not appreciated by the prison warden.
She tries to gain the prisoners’ trust by talking to them and showing kindness and humanity, but the question is whether the women have already lost their trust in justice to such a degree that they are beyond rescue. I have no idea how many versions of this film there are, there are a whole bunch of different covers and editions anyway. Njutafilm’s release contains two versions of the film, an English-language softcore version and a French hardcore version. I’ve watched both versions to get an idea of how they differ and there’s really nothing of value in the uncut and “harder” version.
The only difference is that some close-ups of penetration etc. have been cut in. Unfortunately, it’s all too obvious that these are completely different actors (and actresses) than the ones who actually have the roles. There are even some rather clumsy wigs. A red-haired girl suddenly doesn’t have short hair and isn’t even red-haired anymore when she’s put on in front of the cameras. Pretty pointless in my book, I prefer the nicer version! Some say that this is the king of the Women in Prison films and there’s probably some arguments to support that. It’s beautifully filmed and the environments are magnificent! It feels like a mix between a prison and a penal institution (if you know what I mean).
It’s a bit of a prison camp all over it and not so much a prison perhaps. It’s hard to describe. The girls are pretty and you would like them to show a bit more of their bodies. I realise how sexist that sounds but part of the point of this type of film is to see some beautiful female bodies in different environments. Preferably gratuitous shower scenes and such. Unfortunately, nothing like that happens at all and you don’t even get to see any tits. I think I counted two or three nipples in the whole film and that’s way too few in a notorios movie like this.
Now I don’t mean that it has to be crudely pornographic to be good and worth watching but I would have liked a bit of a sense of sadism. There is no direct power struggle between the prisoners and the little interaction that takes place between the prison guards and prisoners is not particularly explicit – possibly if you refer to the hardcore version. In the end we also get a bit of a jungle movie when some of the women finally escape.
It is not a spoiler to say this because it neither adds nor takes away any vital plot. There would have been an opportunity here to offer a bit of sleaze perhaps but this is effectively avoided, a bit sad but that is how it is. Not all of Jess Franco’s films are obviously filled with naked female bodies, I have learned that from the film. Entertaining in a way and definitely a film that should be in the frame of reference for a WIP-interested film viewer, but I would have liked to see a few more tits.
Our rating
