Chained Heat
USA
1984. Director: Paul Nicholas
Cast: Linda Blair, Sybil Danning, Stella Stevens, John Vernon
Unofficially a sequel (of some kind) to The
Concrete Jungle (1982) and director Nicholas' follow-up to his own
Daughter of Death (1982), Chained Heat scores full point
in all departments. On top of all that's expected from a film in this
genre, it has also what is perhaps the greatest cast ever in a women-in-prison
movie (add
to the above Henry Silva and Monique Gabrielle)
with Linda Blair in one
of her better roles. Plus great cinematography by our own Mac Ahlberg
(a former Swedish pornmaker, now an acclaimed director of photography
in Hollywood). It all adds up to a video classic of the best kind.
The plot is the same old one we all love in which Linda Blair is thrown into jail for some small misdemeanour. There she is directly confronted and befriended by main bitch Ericka (Sybil Danning) and her gang of ruthless lesbian punks. Then there's the prison warden (Vernon) who directs his own private porn films in his little office ("Don't call me Warden - call me Fellini!"). In fast tempo we are then in for the obligatory cat-fights, the gratuitous showers, a death by piano-wire and a tranvestite having his sausage sliced. While watching this movie today it's also quite interesting to note how little time has changed in some ways. In one scene characters are discussing the merits of The Young and the Restless, this never-ending TV-soap which is still running on TV today as if nothing ever happened. Neither in this genre much have changed through the years. But despite the endless steam of sequels, imitations and parodies that has followed (including Chained Heat 2), nothing matches the timeless, star-filled over-the-top entertainment of Chained Heat. A must-have in any collection.
© The Inzomniac's Movie Madness Review.