PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Ah, the “women in prison” film. An exploitation staple. Was there ever a sleazier ‘70’s/80’s sub-genre than this? And who better to release a shining example of this dirty little genre gem, Lust For Freedom, in high definition no less, than the purveyors of all things cheap, nasty, and goofy: Lloyd Kaufman and his gang of miscreants at Troma?
Lust For Freedom Synopsis
“A former female cop is framed by corrupt police, acting in collusion with the local judge, and has to fight her way out of the pen, alone, against tough inmates, and the people in charge.”
The trailer is age restricted, so you’ll have to hop over to YouTube to watch it. But I trust you’ll want to come back for our full review! Click Here to go…
The Setup
Directed by Eric Louzil (Class of Nuke ‘em High Part II: Subhumanoid Meltdown) and starring the stereotypical 80’s film bombshell, Melanie Coll, Lust For Freedom tells the story of Gillian (Coll) a former cop who does a bit of soul-searching after her fiancé is killed in an undercover arms deal gone bad. Unfortunately, Gillian’s travels lead her to rural Georgia County (near the Mexican border, for the uninitiated…) where she runs afoul of the shady local Sheriff Coale (William J. Kulzer; Night of the Beast).
Framed, charged, convicted, and sentenced faster than you can say “Judge Judy,” Gillian, and her naïve celly Sharon (Elizabeth Carroll) find themselves at the mercy of their often violent fellow inmates, the human trafficking Warden Maxwell (Howard Knight) and the sadistic guard Ms. Buskar (Judi Trevor; Leather Jackets). The independent and determined Gillian soon tires of the bars and chains, and unites her fellow inmates in an uprising. Who will ultimately survive?
Made for a reported $50k, and utilizing Ely, Nevada’s “Rent A Town” program (where you could rent, literally, an entire rural town to help them survive the local mine closing), Lust For Freedom follows the “women behind bars” formula pretty closely, but manages to be entertaining enough to make for a fun watch (apparently they couldn’t afford Wendy O’ Williams or Dyanne Thorne…). It checks all of the boxes, and then some: torture, porn, snuff films, prostitution, drugs, human trafficking, whips, chains, and even a dash of pro wrestling thrown in (late, legendary female wrestler Dee “Queen Kong” Booher makes an appearance as Big Eddie)!
Cast standouts include Kulzer, who looks like every ‘70’s sheriff in history, Trevor, who comes off as a twisted, unattractive Adrienne Barbeau, and one of my all-time B-Movie crushes, Michelle Bauer (Nightmare Sisters) makes a sizzling appearance as Jackie. The deputy with a conscience, Scruggs (Shea Porter; Shadows Run Black) also makes a capable foil for Sheriff Coale’s increasing reluctance to go along with the criminal enterprise. There’s a story here, not Oscar-worthy by any means, but it’s plenty to keep the viewer engaged, and fans of this particular niche of exploitation cinema will certainly like what they see!
Sure, there are some issues. The filmmakers make mind-numbing use of the two Grim Reaper tracks they evidently had the rights to (I counted at least 13 times that the song “Rock You To Hell” was used before I gave up…), the unlikely de-facto prison uniform consists of faded Levi’s and tight tank tops (no bras allowed!), and the somewhat awkward dialogue is rife with clumsy double entendres and obscure Troma references. But, Lust For Freedom also features all of the things we’ve grown to expect and love from Troma’s output of this era: big hair, gratuitous nudity, crazy fight choreography, and really chintzy effects.
All in all, Lust For Freedom is as much fun as one can expect from a prison full of wrongfully convicted nubile females. The Blu-ray features a pretty crisp transfer, given the obviously cheap source film, and includes the usual Kaufman intro & interview, director’s commentary, trailers from other Troma “masterpieces” and a little message from Eli Roth. But, hey Troma—What the Hell happened to the green Blu-ray boxes dammit?
Lust For Freedom is available from Amazon here:
