I absolutely love any film or TV programme set in prison. I am the proud owner of all 692 episodes of Prisoner Cell Block H on DVD boxsets. I have a real dread of ending up in prison - not because I commit crimes, but because I fear being framed or caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. The idea of prison has captivated the cinematic imagination for decades and it has produced some very decent films - among them, some of the greatest films that have been made. These films deal with the misery of being confined all day, the deep friendships and bitter rivalry that can develop between prisoners, saintly or sadistic screws, the Darwinism of prison that only the strong survive. Prisons are definitely hotbeds of drama, cruelty and also transcendence. I have listed 10 prison films that captured my imagination below. Please add your own favourites.
10. Stoic (2009)
Four prisoners are playing a game of poker for cigarettes. What becomes a bet for Mitch to eat toothpaste if he loses, erupts into a case of severe bullying, harassment and violence as his three other cellmates force him to eat the toothpaste. This is followed by forcing him to drink various liquids - including faeces and urine from the toilet bowl. When Mitch is sick after drinking this putrid concoction, he is forced to lick up his vomit. After a failed escape attempt by Mitch, one of the cellmates anally rapes him. They then shove a broom handle up his rectum and sodomise him with it, forcing the broom handle into his mouth when it is covered in faeces and blood. Mitch goes catatonic. His cellmates decide to hang him and make it look like suicide as this trauma might result in a lowering of their sentences. So they do this, press the emergency button and put on an act of shock and upset. The three cellmates are interviewed about Mitch and they display various amounts of remorse. The notorious Uwe Boll has a sudden change of direction in his career with Stoic, instead of making Z grade video game adaptations he turns to art house prison based fare. Stoic is brutal, harrowing and gruesome. The squeamish viewer may find themselves feeling thoroughly nauseated by the events in the film. However, Stoic is not a run of the mill film, it is distinguished by its probing of peer pressure and it is also very well acted by an ensemble cast which features Edward Furlong. What happens in the film is horrific but it is also compelling to see just how far the cellmates will sink in their depravity and to which degree will they show individual contrition about what happened. The group dynamics are fascinating to watch - how people can be egged on to do dreadful things by each other. That is what lies at the heart of the film. All the grotesquery with broom handles etc. is just a byproduct to shock the viewer out of complacency. I cannot say that I enjoyed it, but it was different.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
Four prisoners are playing a game of poker for cigarettes. What becomes a bet for Mitch to eat toothpaste if he loses, erupts into a case of severe bullying, harassment and violence as his three other cellmates force him to eat the toothpaste. This is followed by forcing him to drink various liquids - including faeces and urine from the toilet bowl. When Mitch is sick after drinking this putrid concoction, he is forced to lick up his vomit. After a failed escape attempt by Mitch, one of the cellmates anally rapes him. They then shove a broom handle up his rectum and sodomise him with it, forcing the broom handle into his mouth when it is covered in faeces and blood. Mitch goes catatonic. His cellmates decide to hang him and make it look like suicide as this trauma might result in a lowering of their sentences. So they do this, press the emergency button and put on an act of shock and upset. The three cellmates are interviewed about Mitch and they display various amounts of remorse. The notorious Uwe Boll has a sudden change of direction in his career with Stoic, instead of making Z grade video game adaptations he turns to art house prison based fare. Stoic is brutal, harrowing and gruesome. The squeamish viewer may find themselves feeling thoroughly nauseated by the events in the film. However, Stoic is not a run of the mill film, it is distinguished by its probing of peer pressure and it is also very well acted by an ensemble cast which features Edward Furlong. What happens in the film is horrific but it is also compelling to see just how far the cellmates will sink in their depravity and to which degree will they show individual contrition about what happened. The group dynamics are fascinating to watch - how people can be egged on to do dreadful things by each other. That is what lies at the heart of the film. All the grotesquery with broom handles etc. is just a byproduct to shock the viewer out of complacency. I cannot say that I enjoyed it, but it was different.