In Hell (2003)

A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the wardens' entertainment.

Director:

Ringo Lam

Writers:

Eric James Virgets, Jorge Alvarez

Stars:

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lawrence Taylor, Lloyd Battista

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Kyle LeBlanc
Lawrence Taylor	...	451
Lloyd Battista	...	General Hruschov
Carlos Gómez	...	Tolik
Manol Manolov	...	Ivan (as Emanuil Manolov)
Chris Moir	...	Billy
Billy Rieck	...	Coolhand
Kaloian Vodenicharov	...	Dima (as Kaloyan Vodenicharov)
Alan Davidson	...	Malakai (as Malakai Davidson)
Veselin Kalanovski	...	Sasha
Ivo Tonchev	...	Marko
Juan Fernández	...	Shubka
Raicho Vasilev	...	Andrei
Milos Milicevic	...	Boo
Michael Bailey Smith	...	Valya

Storyline

Kyle LeBlanc is an American working overseas in Russia. When he hears his wife being attacked over the phone, Kyle rushes home to find that he's too late. The man who killed his wife is found not guilty on lack of evidence. So Kyle takes the law into his own hands, and kills the man to avenge his wife's death. He is sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Russian prison he is sent to is tough, and the warden amuses himself by putting on fights where he fills his pockets with money by betting on the fights. Kyle begins to break and go crazy, so he is forced into these fights because the warden knows he is a sure thing. Kyle's cellmate 451 begins to make him think what he fights for. With that, Kyle knows now he must fight another battle: the fight for inner peace. It is the only way he can become the man he once was.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | dark hero | prison guard | fight to the death | fistfight | 

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Taglines:

Rage unleashed.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong brutal violence, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Filmax International (Spanish)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 2003 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Security Housing Unit

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company Credits

Production Co:

777 Films Corporation, Millennium Films, Wonderworks Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marnie Alton previously was Van Damme's love interest in Replicant (2001), also directes by Ringo Lam.

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Quotes

451: People say one thing and do the other. It's just all bullshit. Don't waste words. Just best not to say anything.
Kyle: Yeah, OK shut up.

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Connections

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

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Soundtracks

Come Down
Written by O. Sakmarow and Ilya Kormiltsev (as I. Kormiltsev)
Performed by Chemical Angel

User Reviews

a Nu vAn DammE?

In Hell isn't quite the Oscar winner, but compared to Van Damme's last couple movies (who are we kidding, almost all of his movies), it is a pot of gold.

Sent to life imprisionment for the murder of his wife's killer, he is thrown into the violent world of prision fighting run by the guards. What happens? Watch the movie.

In Hell is shockingly well made due to it not being the typical Van Damme-fare. He shows a wide range of emotion while holding back his martial arts and instead getting beat up in over half the movie. The main reason to see In Hell is to see a damn good Jean Claude Van Damme movie.

8 out of 10