Movie Review: Mr. Skin's "Women in Prison" Triple Feature "Chained Heat" / "Red Heat"/ "Jungle Warriors"

During the late eighties, at the tender age of twelve years-old, I was exposed to a multitude of soft-core filth on late-night cable. I seriously can't count the amount of times I waited for my parents to go to bed so I could take in a 1:20 AM showing of Joe D'Amato's Black Emmanuelle on Showtime. Aside from the Italian trash delights I was treated to on cable, nothing..I mean nothing destroyed the Brawny like some of the great "women in prison" films that showed regularly on the tube. For me, Chained Heat was the top of the heap. Now courtesy of Panic House, Synapse Films and celebrity nakedness expert Mr. Skin we have been brought a tantalizing trio of T&A that include the likes of Red Heat, Jungle Warriors and of course Chained Heat. Get your growl towel ready folks!

Buy the Women in Prison DVD

Exorcist star Linda Blair plays the pouty-lipped, perky-titted Carol Henderson. She's just arrived to jail via a bus full of other bad girls. Things aren't gonna be easy for Carol - we have the sleazy Warden Bacman (played brilliantly by John Vernon - Animal House),the equally nasty, Captain Taylor (Stella Stevens) her scuzzy boyfriend, Lester ( Henry Silva - The Italian Connection) and I haven't even gotten to the inmates. Duchess (Tamara Dobson, Black Cleopatra) and Ericka(Sybil Danning) are the alpha females of the joint; always battling each other for ground. Don’t second guess Carol though. She may be quiet, but she's tough as nails and holds her own just fine amongst the other felines.

Chained Heat is chock-full of skin. One of the most memorable scenes in Chained Heat takes place in the prison shower where all the gals are showing off their wares. I don't know if it's a testament to the quality of the materials (which are excellent) but in this awesome scene Russ Meyer cutie, Edy Williams' bush looks considerably fuller than it did on cable. Panic House has also restored some cut scenes that were censored in other versions of the film - including the often excised "hook death" in the bathroom stall. The rape scenes also seem a bit more explicit and longer than what I remember.

Red Heat brings sweet Linda Blair back to prison - this time in the not so friendly confines of a West-German klink. The stunning Sylvia Kristel plays Sofia, a vicious guard pent on humiliating and abusing the inmates any which way she can until they break. Kristel is actually pretty grand in her role and quite possibly the highlight of the film. Red Heat doesn't quite have the bite of Chained Heat but it's still heavy on the boobs and exploitative elements.

The third and final addition to the collection, Jungle Warriors, reunites Vernon and Danning who also join the likes of Marjoe Gortner(Food Of the Gods), Woody Strode and the enigmatic Paul L. Smith (Pieces, Popeye). So here, with the Jungle Warriors we not only have a fantastic cast of B-Movie performers but we also get to enjoy more nudity and graphic violence. There are plenty of bloody gunshot wounds,impalements and one poor shlub gets his noggin hacked off in one particularly juicy little death. The nudity is thankfully not of Paul L. Smith but of the actresses playing models in the film. The Amazon jungle becomes the backdrop where the ladies are held captive by a drug lord (played by Smith) following their plane crashing. Like the previous two films, rape is on the menu for the deviant prison guards. Jungle Warriors has a great pace to it, add that cast it's a nice sleazy slice of exploitation.

The picture quality on each of the features are overall very good. The color holds up well on each and the materials don’t show any signs of damage. Chained Heat definitely fairs the best and doesn't have the irritating boom-mikes dipping down that were present on theatrical prints. It looked like that "reporters" segment from Kentucky Fried Movie. Panic House knocked all of that out.

If the three movies on this set wasn't enough, there are even some extra features. We get some interviews with Chained Heat stars Sybil Danning and Stella Stevens. Sybil is still looking quite lovely and both have some interesting tales to tell about production. Panic House has also included trailers for each feature and introductions by Mr. Skin himself. The introductions are amusing, brief and pretty harmless. There's also an option to watch each film without it.

Having Chained Heat on DVD is a cool feat in itself. The addition of the Jungle Warriors, Red Heat and the extra features make this one a no brainer. Highly Recommended!