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Overall Rating : 5/10
Directed By : Kevin VanHook
Jake Busey (Road House 2 : Last Call)
Stacy Keach (American History X)
Danny Trejo (The Devil's Rejects)
Jamie Elle Mann
Supplied By : Anchor Bay Entertainment
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Mar. 1, 2007
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| PLOT Several years ago, a bloody riot of epic proportion ravaged the corridors of the Isla del Roca penitentiary, resulting in the gruesome death of both inmates and guards alike. Now condemned, the prison serves as nothing more than a shattered relic of archaic brutality; a chilling reminder of man’s morbid and murderous nature. Seeking to explore the violent history of the uprising, a naïve crew of filmmakers invades the decaying penitentiary, only to discover that a band of fugitives has taken refuge inside the empty jailhouse. Fearful for their lives, the filmmakers soon discover that the convicts may be the least of their problems – and that the victims of that fatal riot may still haunt the prison walls. |
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| THE REVIEW DEATH ROW is the story of the Isla del Roca penitentiary. The penitentiary seems to have a history behind it, and with the history comes rumors of a gruesome riot that took place within the walls of the facility years prior. The rumors told of a riot between the guards and the inmates that was unlike any other, and as a result many lives were lost except for one man named John Elias, all of him but his legs -of which he cut off to escape, and since he sacrificed something the madness ceased. A young documentary crew meets with Elias whom are shooting a documentary on the somewhat legendary penitentiary, and despite Elias telling of the gruesome past and others telling them of the possibility of being haunting the crew decides to research inside anyway. What they don't know is another group has already taken refuge in the old run down prison - a group of cons whom have participated in a jewelry story robbery that got nasty. Eventually the two different groups' paths cross but not before the evil spirits of the penitentiary's former inhabitants awaken to seek revenge on the trespassers. As they begin to die one by one in various ways, they fight to stay alive. I have reviewed a few titles by Director Kevin Van Hook already of Terror Hook, so before seeing his latest release DEATH ROW or aka HAUNTED PRISON I kind of knew what to expect - even more so by the general assumption just like anyone when they know it has aired of the Sci-Fi Channel(at like I believe it did). But to be honest DEATH ROW is quite decent, but still to call Van Hook a "critically acclaimed horror maestro" as does the product description for this DVD on Anchor Bay's website, is a bit of an exaggeration.... in my opinion he's improving with every project released but not quite to "maestro" status just yet. As for the film and plot....why not, there has been haunted houses, haunted dollhouses, mirrors, hospitals and even haunted lamps, so yes, why not a haunted prison? - i'm sure it's not the first film of it's kind(I just can't think of any at the moment) and it definitely won't be the last. The story is OK the set up is quite simple, jewel thieves and an amateur film crew cross paths in a haunted prison - a problem the film has is that it runs into plot holes once the basic idea is finished, Once the two groups pass, except for a few mentions of the thieves stolen diamonds, the motives of the groups seem to kind of disappear - for instance we never really see the film crew actually FILM anything, which really defeats any purpose for them to even be there....except to be butchered of course. The ghosts that are used here aren't all that scary, and are somewhat decent I suppose. The look to be CGI imposed images with some kind of motion trails used, they don't pose as big as a presence as they should, seeing as the film is about a haunted prison - but they are there. I will gibe credit where it's due however....it is the gore and make up effects that make this film what it is, characters die in many ways in which inmates do for instance the electric chair. But perhaps the crown jewel of this film gore wise, is a death scene that occurs via a license plate cutter! I have never seen this type of death scene in a film before, and I thought it was ingenious. The acting in DEATH ROW is best stated average but likable and tolerable. I really don't regard Jake Busey that great of an actor and never have, and he has yet to impress me....even in this film - in my honest opinion he is nowhere near as good as his dad is. Scott Whyte and Kyle Schmid both offer likable performances here, but I especially liked the women of the film. The women are all hot in their own way, but Jamie Mann certainly steals the show, the woman in just sexy - which leads me to question where has she been? I see that she is credited in a number of small roles, but this young lady needs to be one to have more important roles. DEATH ROW is a film that is a watchable horror for what it is, as it doesn't have a breakthrough or standout performance or anything like that, but plenty of creative gore and death scenes that keep it fun and somewhat enjoyable. |
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| GORE
METER 5/10 As I mentioned, various death scenes, including an electric chair death, one grated like cheese, chopped and half via a fan, and my favorite - someone sliced and diced in the license plate cutting machine.... |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 The score isn't really a standout, the typical suspenseful film score along with a few rock tracks. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM DEATH ROW really is more enjoyable than I expected. As I hinted the plot really isn't all that solid, as many ideas are abandoned and the remaining piece of the puzzle is revealed way too late, which results in an ending that doesn't really doesn't have that big of an impact. But the thing here to watch for is the great gore - i'm not sure what was cut from the TV broadcast, but in the DVD it all seems to be here for your enjoyment(and mine). this one would be for when there isn't much else to watch and you're in the mood for some pretty good effects - I would recommend renting as opposed to buying however. This DVD will released on March 6, 2007 |
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