From the opening credits we are in the gutter and that is where we stay until the end when Olivia De Havilland finally crawls out of her house after being terrorised by a gang of hoodlums when she becomes stuck in her home elevator. This is a cruel and nasty film and many will take offence at it, but it is not without merit. The opening credits are excellent, setting the scene well for the brutality which is to follow. All the characters we meet in the film are without morals and have no respect or compassion for anyone else. Stealing, terrorising, beating, murder and abuse is part of everyday life for these people. The performances throughout are excellent and thoroughly convincing although the characters portrayed are repellent. Jennifer Billingsley and Rafael Campos are frighteningly realistic as drugged up and dysfunctional teens with James Cann excelling as their psycho leader. He exudes a bold and magnetic but threatening sexuality and is only half dressed for most of the film. His eventual fate and his compatriots reaction to it are truly shocking. Jeff Corey and Ann Sothern are also outstanding in their roles as older, but just as irresponsible, members of the same breed. One major problem with the narrative is the unexplained fate of the Ann Sothern character, apparently the scene of her eventual murder was filmed but not used. This is probably a blessing as it would have increased the intensity of the film to an unbearable level and would have been very hard to take. As it is, it takes some will power to sit through the abuse and murder of Jeff Corey's drunk. This is a difficult and challenging film to watch but it is powerful and suspenseful and deserves to be seen.
Review of Lady in a Cage
