User Reviews

Paul Nicholas directed and wrote Chained Heat - and Julie Darling - so The Naked Cage feels like a ribfest play, going back to play the hits.

Michelle (Shari Shattuck, who shows up in some of the worst - and I mean best - movies of the 80s video horror era like Uninvited and Death Spa) has left the farm for the city to work at a bank just in time for her ex-husband Willy (John Terlesky, the second person to play Deathstalker) and his prison lady Rita (Christina Whitaker) to try to knock it over. They take Michelle hostage, Willy gets shot and somehow, the police take Rita's word that our heroine was part of the robbery and that's how we get to, well, The Naked Cage.

Of course, Rita ends up in the same jail, which is a hell hole were all the prisoners wear their own versions of the uniform which doesn't make it a uniform when you think about it. Angel Tompkins (The Teacher) is the warden who, of course, is corrupt.

Luckily for Michelle, she's in for bank robbery, which wins her some points with her fellow inmates instead of making her fresh meat. As for me, I'm happy that Lisa London - who was in Guns and Savage Beach - and Leslie Scarborough from Stewardess School are in this, because it reminds me that instead of using my mental acuity for doing something that means something for the world, I can instead instantly recall actresses from movies I saw on Cinemax thirty years ago.

Also: Carole Ita White, who played Trouble, is like a WIP lifer. Se was also Cheeks in The Concrete Jungle, Spider in Chained Heat, Ms. Jenkins in Savage Streets (not WIP but so close) and Nurse Turner in Hellhole.

One has to wonder how the Fabulous Thunderbirds felt about "Tough Enough" being in this movie. I'd like to think they loved WIP films. Right? That song was in every movie that was filmed in 1986, including Gung Ho, Wise Guys, The Money Pit, Hannah and Her Sisters, Ruthless Peopleand Tough Guys.

Sweet young innocent Michelle (a winningly perky performance by gorgeous blonde Shari Shattuck) gets sent to a brutal women's penitentiary on a trumped-up bank robbery charge. While serving hard time in the joint Michelle runs afoul of both mean corrupt warden Diane (veteran B-movie actress Angel Tompkins in peak ruthless form) and ferocious predator Rita (essayed with lip-smacking wicked relish by the foxy Christina Whitaker). Writer/director Paul Nicholas tells the entertainingly trashy story at a brisk pace and maintains a perfectly seamy tone throughout. Moreover, Nicholas does an ace job of covering all the satisfyingly scuzzy babes-behind bars bases: A generous amount of tasty gratuitous female nudity, lesbianism, a group shower set piece (natch), a leering pervert racist rapist guard (a deliciously disgusting portrayal by Nick Benedict), a few fierce catfights, and the inevitable climactic riot. This movie further benefits from sound work by Lucinda Crosby as eager rookie guard Rhonda, Stacey Shaffer as friendly and spunky ex-junkie Amy, John Terlesky as Michelle's wormy sleazeball boyfriend Willy, Faith Minton as fearsome top con Sheila, and Aude Charles as tough black inmate ringleader Brenda. Hal Trussell's glossy cinematography provides an appropriately glittery sheen. Christopher L. Stone's syncopated score hits the funky pulsating spot. Recommended viewing for fans of this ever-worthwhile exploitation cinema sub-genre.

**SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*

I bought this video. "The Naked Cage" is a fine, fine film. I would rank it among the very best women's prison movies that I've seen. That is saying a lot as I consider myself to be a connoisseur of the genre. "The Naked Cage" is good stuff.

The movie starts off with a hot chick hitchhiking to the song "Tuff Enuff" by the Fabulous Thunderbirds. She gets involved with a loser and they plan a bank heist. Naturally, an innocent blonde is implicated in their robbery. The rest of the movie is at the women's prison where the blonde fights for survival among prison riots and horny guards.

All of the elements of a successful women's prison flick are here. Lesbian wardens, sadistic prison guards, mass shower scene, prison fights and plenty of unnecessary female nudity. The key in these movies is to keep the violence level high. The nudity is always good but for a women's prison flick we've got to see the women reduced to animal-like ferocity to survive. "The Naked Cage" keeps the girls very angry.

If you like women's prison flicks, check this one out.

I know that I'm quite simply delusional and this is just a cheap women-in-prison exploitation film but in this movie I saw a symbolic battle between good and evil- revealed however, as merely an internal battle between sin and morality. The boyfriend dies, illustrating Michelle's growing temptation towards homosexuality. This is done opposite a butch woman. Perhaps it shows an issue, such as her fantasizing about women destroying their relationship. Michelle is in an emotional prison because she can't admit her sexuality to herself. In jail we have two colors/sides- the green and the pink. One would assume our protagonists side is the good and the other evil- however, we can see from the characters that it is merely a differentiation between the familiar and the other. Amy represents Michelle's aversion to accepting herself, to staying where she is. The warden and the butch represent her temptation towards same sex attraction.

Amy saying she won't let the bird fly illustrates how Michelle is reluctant to let her true self raise its wings The only guy in prison is pure evil- possibly this represents the hostility of society towards homosexuality.

Ironically, the most lesbian acting of all the women in the film is on Michelle's 'side', perhaps this represents the fact that this sexuality resides within her, and will be confident once released. Then again I am 98% sure I'm pulling this out of my ass. But you have to admit it's a fun way to watch the movie and strange how things really do line up.

Michelle tells off the guy who attempts to romance her (another illustration of her distaste for men), this sets off the man who works at the prison. This represents her fear that accepting herself and refusing men in order to become her true self will result in society becoming hostile towards her.

Her reluctance to report on Sheila (her inner lesbian) to the warden (external temptation of homosexuality), shows her inability to fuse the two together. There is still a disconnect.

The Warden's desire to beat M's inner lesbian using her fantasies of other women is an attempt to bring Michelle to accept her sexuality. Michelle is terrified of fantasizing about other women because she's unable to accept herself. The beating is an important part of the film because it is the point at which Michelle begins to have no ability to stay in denial. From this point on she is a victim of the forces of temptation and fantasy and undergoes extreme mental duress as her comfort zone and identity is torn away from her. At this point she's forced to confront the fact that society will be hostile towards her, as the man who works in prison comes to her while she's in solitary (undergoing mental duress due to her growing acceptance of reality) and assaults her. Michelle wins because she knows that she is more powerful than whatever society can do to her.

At this point the butch (fantasy) changes colors, to join Michelle on her side. Amy (M's comfort zone) changes into brown, a new color being introduced to represent the feelings and identities shed as Michelle begins to accept herself and her sexuality.

The new guard who is employed represents a less toxic side to Michelle's sexuality- romance and love as opposed to the toxicity and negativity heretofore attached to temptation.

Michelle questions why she's even in prison in the first place, why things keep getting worse for her. At this point, the new guard (love) comes to help her. She lets Amy's bird free, showing that she is now ready to accept herself.

However, there are still a few things for her to deal with. Unfortunately, fantasy is still an as evil, because although Michelle has accepted feelings of romance, she still has a negative view towards lesbian sex. Fantasy wants 5 minutes alone with Michelle to attack her. This is clearly symbolic of sex. Michelle needs, at this point, to accept and own not just her romantic attraction, but her sexual desires as well. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen just yet. But at this point, Amy is killed by fantasy, symbolizing the death of her past identity. She can no longer go back into closet and must deal with her sexual desires.

Throughout, Michelle's personal sexual journey is paralleled by the journey of black people as a whole. They are represented on the pink (other) side of the prison, and their journey culminates in the finishing off of the 'society' character. This symbolizes how one person's journey to freedom can also be mirrored in the fight for freedom of all minorities and people (homosexual, black, women vs men, etc).

Finally, there is a fight between Michelle and her sexual desires. The ensuing fight ends with sex killing shooting love and then Michelle killing sex. This is because neither of them are entities separate from Michelle and they have been integrated into her as a whole. Michelle leaves and is now free of her mental prison.

Yes I know that, almost certainly, none of this was meant by the writer, and I'm simply writing my own story, but I love this interpretation just the same.

Nothing like a big hair prison girl film. Michelle (Shari Shattuck) is wrongfully convicted and is forced to three years (90 minutes real time) to be in a woman's prison with a lesbian warden, raping guards, and girl gangs. There are better prison girl films out there. This is also part of a dvd multi-pack.

Guide: F-bomb, sex, rape, nudity (Shari Shattuck, Lisa London, Valerie McIntosh, Stacey Shaffer, Angel Tompkins, Christina Whitaker, Aude Charles

I have watched many films set in prisons, the ones with females have the best story lines for me. There will be several spoilers ahead so here goes:

A young woman named Michelle living in the country first appears to be in an idyllic life but then we find out she has to cope with an on/off boyfriend who is addicted to drugs called Willy.

Willy soon meets Rita a strong and confident woman who manipulates him into trouble resulting in him agreeing to rob the bank in which Michelle works. The robbery goes horribly wrong when the police arrive and after a brief car chase Willy is killed and both guilty Rita and innocent Michelle end up in different prisons.

This is only the beginning of the nightmare that Michelle is about to face as whilst in prison she meets top dog Sheila, drug addict Amy, the bitchy lesbian warden and rapist Smiley.

Various dramas happen until Rita,who is out for revenge is transferred to the same prison as Michelle causing further problems.

There is not much i can fault this film for apart from its depiction of some of the nasty things that are portrayed such as racism,segregation,rape and a brutal murder of one of the female prisoners near the end of the film although these topics are what makes the film memorable.

I enjoyed both the roles of Michelle (Shari Shattuck) and Rita (Christina Whitaker) for different reasons Rita because she was cruel,calculating,direct and an outright bitch and Michelle because she was caring,sweet although naive but quickly switched on her survival instincts whenever she needed to.

I would give this film 8 out of 10!