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 | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Van Damme does not use his martial arts in this movie.

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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 Caché (2005)

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Soundtracks

It's Warm in Here
Written by Bill Baird
Performed by Bill Baird

User Reviews

My goodness, is that Van Damme acting?

Firstly, can I just say that this has to be one of the most unoriginal movies I have ever seen. It steals from just about every prison movie ever made, especially "Midnight Express", "Lock Up", "The Green Mile" etc, and with a bit of "Shawshank Redemption" thrown in for good measure. So, if this is the case then why have I given the movie 8 out of 10? Because it's the best Van Damme movie I've ever seen.

Jean-Claude's films are made to appeal to fans of the kind of action film that disappeared from cinemas about 10 years ago: the unthinking, violent, easy-on-the-brain popcorn fodder that he, Arnie and Sly used to churn out by the bucket load. These days, Van Dame is much like Seagal in that all their films go direct-to-video (or DVD, as it now is). However, where as Seagal's post-fame efforts are united by their awfulness, Van Damme has, with "In Hell", made a real effort to do something a bit different.

So, he has no real martial arts skills, and no cheesy one-liners. Instead, he actually acts, and it's quite something to behold. Okay, he's never going to win any awards, but it's nice to see he's making the effort. Director Ringo Lam shoots the movie brilliantly, making it look a trillion pounds when in fact it probably cost about 50p to make. The supporting cast are quite good as well, with no terrible performances rearing up to ruin the film. I must admit, too, that I was quite moved by certain sections, and you could really feel for the prisoners trapped 'in hell' (what a title!).

So, in conclusion, give this movie a watch, and enjoy it- just ignore that you probably know where the plot is going long before it's even got there.

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

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$293,671

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