Hell Prison | 1980 | Spain/Italy | Edoardo Mulargia
Set against the sweaty and humid backdrop of the Filipino jungles, Edoardo Mulargia’s women-in-prison trash piece is more commonly known today as Escape From Hell. The female inmates of a tropical prison camp are subjected to the most appalling treatment, including frequent beatings, hard labour and punishing rape on a daily basis. When a new warden and a doctor join the administrative staff, several of the women decide to band together and try to escape their situation, exploiting the weaknesses of the drunk doctor to assist in their daring break for freedom. Filmed in tandem with the virtually indistinguishable Hotel Paradise, it is suspected that like its sister production, a harder cut of Hell Prison is out there with hardcore inserts, though this video version omits these. Since this sanitised version was originally rejected for a cinema certificate in the UK due to its scenes of sexual violence, it’s not surprising that the videotape was liable for Section 3 charges.