Prison (1988)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writers:

Irwin Yablans (story)
C. Courtney Joyner (writer)

Release Date:

14 April 1989 (Finland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Horror Has A New Home.

Plot:

The spirit of a long-dead prisoner returns for revenge, haunting the prison's new governor.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Electric Chair | Haunting | Revenge | Supernatural

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Viggo Mortensen	...	Burke / Forsythe Electrocution
Chelsea Field	...	Katherine Walker
Lane Smith	...	Warden Eaton Sharpe
Lincoln Kilpatrick	...	Cresus
Tom Everett	...	Rabbitt
Ivan Kane	...	Lasagna
André De Shields	...	Sandor
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Tiny (as Tom 'Tiny' Lister Jr.)
Stephen E. Little	...	'Rhino' Reynolds
Mickey Yablans	...	Brian Young
Larry Flash Jenkins	...	Hershey
Arlen Dean Snyder	...	Captain Horton
Hal Landon Jr.	...	Wallace
Matt Kanen	...	Johnson
Rod Lockman	...	Kramer

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) (1990) | Finland:K-18 (heavily cut) (1988) | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2009) | Australia:R | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:(Banned) | West Germany:18 (re-rating) | Iceland:(Banned) | Argentina:18

Filming Locations:

Rawlins, Wyoming, USA

Company:

Empire Pictures

Trivia:

A special set of sledge hammers had to be purchased for actor "Tiny" Lister so that they did not appear to be "toys" when he held them. His sledge hammers weighed 18 lbs, and one was a 20 lb hammer.

Quotes:

Lasagna: I thought bustin' cars was your thing.
Burke: Well a car ain't nothing but a series of locks. Older the lock, easier it is. And this place... is old.

Movie Connections:

References Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Soundtrack:

Love will be Hurrying to You

Atmospheric

This is an excellent example of what can be done on a small budget movie. The acting is excellent considering the script & the whole atmosphere of the film is very foreboding. The gore is well done and used sparingly (look out for the excellent barbed-wire death) & the action is punchy when used. It's true that there are dodgy lines in the script at times, but compared to other movies on the same (or bigger!) budget, it's hardly noticeable at all. Overall, this is recommended. Trust me, it's better than it appears! 8/10