Plot: Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) has an insatiable lust for uncovering the truth and exposing corruption, so she goes undercover inside a notorious women’s prison, to shed a light on the human rights violations within. While her intentions are noble, she has no idea what hellish nightmares await her, as the conditions in the prison are far worse than she could have imagined. The inmates have to endure abuse of all kinds from guards, prison officials, and each other, as the atmosphere behind bars is an almost feral environment. Emanuelle herself soon begins to suffer some of these atrocities, but when her true identity and purpose are discovered, her presence could push the prison over the brink into total chaos.
Entertainment Value: Bruno Mattei weaves a nasty tapestry of grime, naked flesh, and unsettling atmosphere in Violence in a Women’s Prison, not to mention some quite hungry rats. This women in prison epic hits all the genre tropes, from lesbian sex scenes to cruel guards to group nakedness, but soaks it all in a dingy texture that makes things feel even nastier than usual. I mean, not only is genre legend Laura Gemser on hand, but she dumps a bucket of shit on someone. You can never go wrong with fecal assaults, if you ask me. Gemser turns in her usual good performance, bringing some class to the movie, even as she disrobes constantly, endures abuse, and is feasted upon by those damn rats. She has some memorable moments here and the movie is an interesting stop in her iconic resume. Other familiar faces are here as well, with Gabriele Tinti, Maria Romano, and even Franca Stoppi on hand. I don’t think this is Mattei’s nastiest or wildest movie, but it has such a grimy, oppressive atmosphere, which enhances the sleaze and violence. For even casual fans of women in prison, sleaze, or cult cinema, Violence in a Women’s Prison is highly recommended.
This one is rife with sleaze, with goddess Laura Gemser naked often and involved in sexual hijinks with both men and women. While most of the nudity centers on Gemser and a couple of other prominent actresses, there’s a prison full of fully naked women on showcase here. All manner of bare breasts, asses, and of course, epic tier bush is found in this one, in copious amounts. The actual sex scenes aren’t too graphic, with the men keeping their pants on at times, but the lesbian scenes offer some risque touches and the nasty atmosphere amps up the sleaze factor. The movie has scenes of violence and abuses of various kinds, but not a lot of bloodshed, outside of the wild rat attack that pops up. In that sequence, the effects look cheap and more campy than anything else, but it is a fun scene and a nice change of pace in the movie. The dialogue isn’t totally bonkers, but has some wild and awkward lines at times, so there’s some bright spots of dysfunction and stiltedness. On the craziness scale, the grimy tone, abundance of sleaze, and some oddball moments provide some solid points, though the movie sticks close to genre conventions, for the most part.
Nudity: 8/10
Blood: 2/10
Dialogue: 4/10
Overall Insanity: 7/10
Marc Fusion 