Obligatory shower scenes, sadistic wardens, lesbianism, catfights, breasts, low budget… hmmm, sounds like “Women in Prison” movies to me! The genre, sometimes disguised as pseudo-feminism, verges on sexploitation and can often be found with an “adult content” sticker on the box. They also vary from really bad to deliciously bad, but are almost always good for two hours of unadulterated adult entertainment.
Switchblade Sisters (1975)–Not so much “women in prison” as a girl
gang flick (there is a jail with a butch lesbian warden scene), this movie will
nevertheless keep your rapt and guffawing attention. Knives, chains, guns, roller
skates, rape, treachery, power, leather, lust, high school, and boy gangs, Switchblade
Sisters has it all.
Ilsa, The Wicked Warden (1978)–Ilsa, played by Dyanne Thorne, is the
sadistic warden of a South American prison masquerading as a women’s clinic
“for sexually deviant women–nymphomaniacs, lesbians, and prostitutes.” Great
campy dialogue, good make-up and some truly horrific torture scenes.
Caged Heat (1974)–Jonathan Demme’s directorial debut, though not particularly
original, is still entertaining as hell. Good camera work lends to a passable
plot that involves a psycho-sadistic prison doctor giving the hot! hot! hot!
inmates shock treatment (and a little bit more) until they are walking zombies.
Girls in Prison (1994)–Just because the movie takes itself too seriously
doesn’t mean you have to. Starring Anne Heche and Ione Skye, this is your classic
“girl framed for murder, girl goes to prison, girl finds lesbian friends who
help her, girl released from prison, everyone is happy, even lesbian friends
who remain in prison” type plot. Don’t watch the last five minutes, though;
it ruins the entire movie.